In conjunction with their exhibit of his visual works, MOCA sponsored a number of screenings of Dennis Hopper’s films and film works by other artists related to him this month.Bruce Conner was a friend of Hopper’s, and they worked and exhibited together on numerous occasions. This relationship was the subject of a panel discussion and screening at MOCA, which included the acid-trip scene from Hopper’s Easy Rider along with Conner’s films A Movie, Breakaway and Looking for Mushrooms, all screened on 16 mm. The talk itself was interesting, and included Toni Basil (who appeared in both Easy Rider and Breakaway), Conner’s gallerist Michael Kohn and his film editor and collaborator Michelle Silva. Unfortunately, A Movie and Looking for Mushrooms were both projected completely out of focus, and with the house lights left on during the former. Still, it was a nice chance to get to see Conner’s work projected, work that continues to be vital, even though it’s influence is so pervasive that, as the panelists noted, it has become a part of the standard vocabulary of much work—most notably in advertising and music videos. The implications A Movie makes on what film is and can be through the systematic deconstruction of every assumption of how it is often used continues to be a profoundly rich experience, no matter how many times I have seen it — either in Conner’s work itself or having been digested and regurgitated in countless other works.

A screening of Andy Warhol films featuring Dennis Hopper was co-hosted by the Los Angeles Filmforum. It was a delightful treat to see an entire reel of Screen Tests, including two of Dennis Hopper from the mid-60′s. These short portraits are deeply satisfying to watch, as Warhol directs the subjects in various subtle ways from behind the camera. The sheer volume of them assures that I will probably never see them all, though it would be a pleasure to be able to. Tarzan and Jane Regained… Sort of, on the other hand, was a dreadful mess. It had moments of interest, but overall… well, I would never want to see it again.