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The Alex Hank Collection and Tarmak22 proudly present REPORT. A highly acclaimed film and deeply felt artwork on the assassination of John F. Kennedy by Bruce Conner (1933 – 2008). Born in McPherson, Kansas, by the late 1950s Conner became a pioneering experimental filmmaker, as well as a notable figure of the American artistic scene and of the counterculture movement in the San Francisco Bay Area.

As most of his fellow Americans in 1963, the young artist was mourning the loss of their president and digesting the news and tensions that derived from the ongoing Cold War. What started as an initiative to report from an artistic point of view on the aftermath of the assassination unfolding in John F. Kennedy ́s native town of Brookline, Massachusetts, eventually became a four year long obsessive project for Conner.

Largely based on stock footage, this film is the 8th and final version, released after four intense years of reworking and coming to terms with the tragic event. The film is divided into two parts. The first recreates the moments of the assassination by the use of experimental assemblage of film media and archival radio transmissions. The second part is Conner’s artistic and critical commentary on this historic event, denoting the artist’s pioneering montage technique and his masterful ability to create new meaning from borrowed and found video footage and sound. This film — originally shot in 16 mm and recently digitally restored — employs visual humour and social criticism while personally mourning Kennedy’s death.

This artwork is presented as the second iteration of a project series by The Alex Hank Collection that seeks to highlight individual works in dialogue with new audiences.This series began in 2020 with the screening of The Parley (2016), a video work by the Danish artist group Superflex.

This exhibition is organised by Tarmak22 in collaboration with Sokoloff + Associates Art Advisors, NY. Special thanks to the Conner Family Trust.

Images
Annik Wetter
© Bruce Conner
© Conner Family Trust. Courtesy Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.