Dominique Païni retraces 40 years of cinema in art press
Dominique Païni's text for the Entrevues Belfort Film Festival catalogue (November 24–December 2, 2012) traces four decades of cinema coverage in art press. Founded in 1973, art press distinguished itself by integrating cinema into broader cultural and intellectual discourse, unlike specialized film journals. Early issues featured interviews with Michael Snow by Laurie Anderson (issue 2) and analyses of Jean-Marie Straub, Jean Eustache, and Jean-Luc Godard. The magazine championed radical filmmakers such as Pier Paolo Pasolini, Robert Bresson, and Peter Greenaway, treating cinema as an art form among others. Païni highlights the 1980 dossier (issue 43) with Godard, Pasolini, Marguerite Duras, and Wim Wenders, and the 1998 special issue on Godard's Histoire(s) du cinéma, which included contributions from artists, philosophers, and architects. art press also supported experimental cinema, aligning with the Centre Pompidou's opening in 1977 and its avant-garde film department. The magazine's approach—mixing high art, pornography, and theology—reflected a refusal to separate retinal pleasure from conceptual rigor. Païni notes that art press's editorial line, under Catherine Millet, treated cinema as integral to visual arts, not a secondary feature.
Key facts
- Dominique Païni wrote the text for the Entrevues Belfort Film Festival catalogue.
- art press was founded in 1973 with its first issue featuring Barnett Newman.
- Michael Snow was interviewed by Laurie Anderson in art press issue 2.
- Robert Bresson was interviewed in issue 17 (March–April 1975).
- Issue 43 (1980) included a cinema dossier with Godard, Pasolini, Duras, and Wenders.
- In 1998, art press published a special issue on Godard's Histoire(s) du cinéma.
- The Centre Pompidou opened in 1977 with a department for avant-garde cinema.
- art press's approach refused to separate retinal pleasure from conceptual rigor.
Entities
Artists
- Dominique Païni
- Michael Snow
- Laurie Anderson
- Jean-Marie Straub
- Jean Eustache
- Jean-Luc Godard
- Pier Paolo Pasolini
- Robert Bresson
- Peter Greenaway
- Marguerite Duras
- Wim Wenders
- Andy Warhol
- Barnett Newman
- Annette Michelson
- Jacques Rancière
- Catherine Millet
- Philippe Sollers
- Jean-Paul Fargier
- Paul Virilio
- Hal Foster
- Julia Kristeva
- Gary Hill
- Pascal Convert
- Éric Rondepierre
- Bernard Tschumi
- Philippe Forest
- Hans Belting
- Gilles Tiberghien
- Alain Badiou
- Marie-José Mondzain
- Marc Augé
- Kent Jones
- Cyril Beghin
- André S. Labarthe
- Jean Douchet
- Robert Longo
- Bernard Dufour
- Britt Nini
- Jacques Henric
- Viviane Forrester
- Corine McMullin
- Michel Nuridsany
- Francis Gars
- Roger Talon
- Paul Vecchiali
- Liliana Cavani
- Bruno Dumont
- Ovidie
- Benoît Jacquot
- Luc Ferrari
- Jean-Louis Schefer
- William Kentridge
- Douglas Gordon
- Stan Douglas
- Eija-Liisa Ahtila
- Jean-Christophe Royoux
- Yann Beauvais
- Raymond Bellour
- Marie-Claude de Rouilhan
- Guy Scarpetta
- Patrice Blouin
- Federico Fellini
- Philippe Garrel
- Bob Wilson
- Don Foresta
- Fred Forest
- Edward Kienholz
- Peter Kubelka
- Henri Langlois
- Claudine Eizykman
- Guy Fihman
- Christian Lebras
- Michael Haneke
- Leos Carax
- Georges Pompidou
- Louis Jouvet
Institutions
- art press
- Entrevues Belfort Film Festival
- Cahiers du cinéma
- Positif
- Gallimard
- Centre Pompidou
- Cinémathèque française
- Musée national d'art moderne
Locations
- Belfort
- France
- New York
- United States
Sources
- artpress —