Tyler Turkle's website: www.tylerturkle.com
Tyler Turkle's Wikipedia site: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyler_Turkle
Strange assembly of stark and nearly surreal images tell the tale of life and death as seen through the eyes of an observer and eventually the subject himself - a blind man in a wheelchair. The film relies on a number of cinematic devices to bring into focus the trials and tribulations of being out on the streets, alone and handicapped. The result is a striking visual narrative of how people view those among us who are "different." We believe we can see them but they can't see us. Or can they?
1973, 16mm, 5m, b&w
Fast-paced film works its way through American culture in a crazy quilt of images and wild sounds including truckers' CB radio banter and arcade machine gun fire. A theme of give and take is established as a young man tries to get rid of a coconut head, visits a carnival peep show, dances and twirls batons with a dog, and finally hops a truck to somewhere.
1974, 9m
A chance meeting between the artist, ten young boys, and a yoyo champion in a drug store parking lot provides the substance for this rambling and anarchic filmed interview that at once parodies "man on the street" television interviews while introducng and sustaining an unusual but deliberate verité technique on its own.
1974, 16mm, b&w/so, 16m, $50
A lyrical tour guide takes the viewer on a trip down the Wakulla River in North Florida. Although the camera remains relentlessly fixed on him, his vivid, near-musical descriptions of Southern flora, fauna, and wildlife gives a better view of things than total visual mobility could ever allow.
1975, 16mm, color/so, 3m, $20
A peculiar homage to the things that go wrong, this film is purportedly about rugby. The self-explanatory title for this jumpy "documentary" is less concerned with the filmed subject (the game, the field, the players) than a comic editing style and the complete acknowledgement given to the technical aspect of gathering and manipulating raw footage.
1976, 16mm, b&w/so, 4m, $20
"A 'silent' interview, QUIET AFTERNOON is the most strange and moving of Turkle's films, documenting the year-round garage sale of an eccentric, elderly Ohio couple. The omission of sound and the focused, grainy attention of their legacy of bric-a-brac, discarded appliances and collected curiosities adds greatly to the film's ultimate emotional effect." - Frank Young, Florida Flambeau
1977, 16mm, b&w/si, 9m, $30
"Playing on all of Tyler Turkle's previous interview films, accelerating and violating their stylistics, LINCOLN LOGS FOR JESUS is a nearly Cubist look at the world. A fast-paced consumer jaunt, almost ritual in nature, winds its way through flashes, repetition, swift cuts, and the reverse switch for an edgy, jarring continuity." - Steve Dollar, Media X
1978, 16mm, b&w/so, 5m, $20
Seventy seconds of furiously energetic filmmaking in which all of the possible pauses in visual and aural activity have been removed. What is left when all of the fat has been trimmed? Monkeys with diamond studded collars, killer fish, and a parade of incongruous images, statements, questions, and answers guided to an exciting climax by a storefront dummy who takes over the interviewing chores midway through the film.
"The central idea of Turkle's interview films involves getting around the images that block perception. The film tricks the images or somehow pushes them toward a deliberate self-consciousness, while simultaneously encouraging their chance or found condition. The processes of chance and deliberation combine to produce works of gentle beauty and profound, acerbic wit. Altogether the effects of these films is that of sentiment moved to the power of scrutiny." - Richard Milazzo, Artmode
Exhibition: Herbert F. Johnson Museum, Cornell University; New Orleans Museum of Art; Fort Worth Art Museum; SF Museum of Modern Art.
1981, 16mm, color/so, 1m, $20
Walk That Dog, Observeillance, Cut, A Quiet Afternoon With Strangers, Lincoln Logs for Jesus, and Excess, Black Noise, and Fast Moving Pictures may be rented together for the price of $50.
From the very first encounter between native Americans and the great reptiles of the Florida swamps, an enduring rivalry was born. Legend and lore lead us to believe the alligators, those fierce and mighty beasts of the swamps, were tamed by the Seminoles, the first people of Florida. Today, that battle between Seminoles and alligators rages on through the football programs of two major universities.
Born and bred in the Deep South, the football rivalry between Florida State University (Seminoles) and the University of Florida (Gators) has roots so old that it is hard to tell exactly when and where it all began. The great history of that rivalry is now revealed and elaborated on as fans and supporters of Florida State University express themselves in a wild and vivid celebration of school spirit.
This thirty minute video is a kitchen sink of satire, parody and social commentary packed with fast-moving and informative interviews, TV preaching, alligator wrestling, stuffed animals, fight songs, blood hounds and chitlin' eating.
2003, DVD 31 minutes, $25 individuals; $50 others
After thirty-two years, forgotten film footage resurfaces to provide a unique look at the past from a contemporary point of view. The film was shot by the filmmaker in 1974 and the subject is a sculpture installation by Florida artist Jim Roche at the Whitney Museum of Art in New York City. Jump to January 2006 and Roche sees the footage for the first time. His reaction informs the viewer about the installation and what it all means, then and now. The video includes the artist's original 1973 audio proposal to the Whitney Museum curator who chose to proceed with this extraordinary exhibition.
2006, 17m
A 2 disc DVD box set for $24.95 plus shipping and handling. Includes the following titles: