The Secret Life of Hernando Cortez

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The Secret Life of Hernando Cortez
Directed byJohn Chamberlain
Screenplay byEdward Leffingwell,
John Chamberlain
Produced byAlan Power
StarringUltra Violet,
Taylor Mead,
John Chamberlain
CinematographyJohn Chamberlain,
Richard Davis,
Carol Williams
Release date
  • 1968 (1968)
Running time
58 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Secret Life of Hernando Cortez is a 1968 experimental film by John Chamberlain.[1][2][3] It starred two of Andy Warhol's Factory actors, Ultra Violet and Taylor Mead.[1]

History[edit]

John Chamberlain is primarily known as a sculptor, but starting in 1968 he made two experimental films.[3] The plot of this film is casual, like many counterculture films of the 1960s, and was essentially about "what to do after arriving in Veracruz".[4] The film has been described in writings as "freeform," "sexually explicit," and as "hallucinatory soft porn".[5][6] Chamberlain described an underlying theme of "conquest".[7] Art critic and curator Edward G. Leffingwell helped write the screenplay,[8] and fashion designer Tiger Morse served as the costume designer.[9] It was filmed in color in the Yucatán and has a 58 minutes runtime.[7][10]

The Secret Life of Hernando Cortez was screened in February 1967 at Hunter College, alongside Chamberlain's film Wide Point (1968), also starring Taylor Mead.[11][12] Both films were shown at the 1968 Annual Exhibition, at Whitney Museum of American Art.[13] It was later shown in the context of movie theaters, film festivals and international art exhibitions.[14][15] The Secret Life of Hernando Cortez has a cult following.[16] The film is part of the Chinati Foundation collection.[17] A flyer for the 1967 film screening at Hunter College is part of the collection at the Smithsonian Institution.[11]

Cast[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Aramphongphan, Paisid (2021-05-11). Horizontal Together: Art, Dance, and Queer Embodiment in 1960s New York. Manchester University Press. p. 132. ISBN 978-1-5261-4842-1.
  2. ^ a b c Strickland, Carol (1993-06-13). "Unshackled, Unconventional Sculptor". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  3. ^ a b Kennedy, Randy (2011-12-22). "John Chamberlain, Who Wrested Rough Magic From Scrap Metal, Dies at 84". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  4. ^ Judd, Donald (2016-11-22). Donald Judd Writings. Simon and Schuster. p. 507. ISBN 978-1-941701-35-5.
  5. ^ Getsy, David J. (2015-11-03). Abstract Bodies: Sixties Sculpture in the Expanded Field of Gender. Yale University Press. p. 116. ISBN 978-0-300-19675-7.
  6. ^ Beck, John; Bishop, Ryan (2020-03-13). Technocrats of the Imagination: Art, Technology, and the Military-Industrial Avant-Garde. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-1-4780-0732-6.
  7. ^ a b Janssen, Volker; Bix, Amy; Nash, Linda (2012-12-12). Where Minds and Matters Meet. Univ of California Press. p. 303. ISBN 978-0-520-28910-9.
  8. ^ Smith, Roberta (2014-08-20). "Edward G. Leffingwell, Curator, Dies at 72". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  9. ^ "Тайгер Морс" [Tiger Morse]. Кіноріум (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  10. ^ "Rochester Native's Sculpture: Art or 'Manufactory'?". Logansport Pharos-Tribune. 1979-01-28. p. 13. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  11. ^ a b "Flyer for a screening of films by John Chamberlain". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  12. ^ Marter, Joan M. (2011). The Grove Encyclopedia of American Art. Oxford University Press. p. 436. ISBN 978-0-19-533579-8.
  13. ^ "John Chamberlain". National Gallery of Australia. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  14. ^ ARTnews. Vol. 70. ARTnews Associates. 1971. p. 4.
  15. ^ Morris, Ali (2015-07-31). "Heavy metal: John Chamberlain's first UK exhibition takes Edinburgh". wallpaper.com. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  16. ^ Cooke, Lynne (March 2012). "Perfect Fit: John Chamberlain Remembered". Artforum.com. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  17. ^ "John Chamberlain". The Chinati Foundation. Retrieved 2023-02-26.

External links[edit]

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