Peter Hutton 1944)
Filmography (partial)
New York Near Sleep for Saskia (1972), 10 minutes
Florence (1975), 8 minutes
New York Portrait, Part I (197677), 15 minutes
Boston Fire (1978), 7 minutes
New York Portrait, Part II (197980), 15 minutes
At Sea, in Berlin, Lenin Portrait (198183), 45 minutes
Budapest Portrait (198486), 35 minutes
Landscape, Part I (for Manon) (198687), 15 minutes
Landscape, Part II (In Titans Goblet) (1988), 10 minutes
New York Portrait, Part III (199091), 15 minutes
Lodz Symphony (199293), 20 minutes
Study of a River (199496), 60 minutes
Vienna (199697), 15 minutes (in progress)
Study of the North Sea (1997), 60 minutes (in progress)
Hutton on In Titans Goblet (1988), 10 minutes:
The title refers to a painting by Thomas Cole circa 1833, The Titans Goblet. I have long admired this work for its wonderfully surreal depiction of the American landscape. The painting reveals a gigantic goblet towering over a landscape of mountains and valleys. Inside the goblet is an ocean, complete with sailing ships ringed by Greek ruins.
My film depicts elements of the landscape of the Hudson River Valley where Cole lived and painted. The film opens with images of a burning landscape which is actually a landfill in Catskill, N.Y., where Cole had his studio. The fire was the result of two boys having accidentally ignited three million rubber tires. The film concludes with images of a rising moon surrounded by moving clouds. The quality of light in these images reminds me of the seascapes painted by Albert Pinkham Ryder. The American landscape has changed dramatically but remains a thing of great beauty and mystery for me.
(PH)