Co-produced by WNDX and Senufo Editions
Made possible by a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts to WNDX
In 2011, a processing facility in Kansas, the last to process Kodachrome, discontinued the K14 developing process. The historical stock became obsolete. In 2010, I photographed 14 rolls of Kodachrome 16mm, which had been stored since 1986. The stock was developed, in the last batch of footage processed. The resulting film is American Colour. The film was photographed over a week while traveling to Kansas from the birthplace of Kodachrome in upstate New York. In the wake of the obsolescence of Kodachrome, the footage is used to explore the stocks historic and unique rendering of colour, hue and light value in relation to the American landscape and its architecture.
The accompanying soundtrack is homage to Leopold Mannes and Leopold Godowsky Jr. the two violinists whom invented Kodachrome in 1935. The piece was created using a violin, tape, processing and site-specific shortwave radio recorded during the photography. The soundtrack will be performed live when possible.
“Joshua Bonnetta’s American Colour (note the bi-national spelling), was shot on old rolls of 16mm Kodachrome during a pilgrimage from the stock’s birthplace inupstate New York to Kansas, where its final rolls were processed earlier this year. Like a postscript to Dean’s Kodak, American Colour explores Kodachrome’s historic use and singular hues, doing so with digital means in the wake of its obsolescence.”
– Andrea Picard, Toronto International Film Festival
WNDX & Cinematheque co-present
Joshua Bonnetta’s American Colour
WNDX & Senufo Editions LP / DVD release and screening
Fri March 9, 2012 | 9:15pm @ Cinematheque (100 Arthur Street)
Acclaimed Canadian filmmaker Joshua Bonnetta will present a selection of film and video works including his most recent American Colour. This film is a unique experiment exploring the various values, cultural and visual, of Kodak’s legendary, and recently discontinued, Kodachrome film stock. This beautiful and meticulously constructed film combines Kodachrome colour fields with footage Bonnetta shot while travelling across the American Midwest from Rochester (Kodachrome’s birthplace and the home of Kodak), to Dwayne’s Photo in Parsons, Kansas, the only laboratory in the world to still process Kodachrome at the time of his journey. American Colour was processed in the very last batch of Kodachrome ever to be processed. Live composed sound featuring field recordings taken on the trip will be performed by Bonnetta. This event also serves as a launch for the WNDX / Senufo Editions dvd/lp release of American Colour with monograph text by Irene Bindi. Join us for a unique moving image experience.
Acknowledgments
WNDX acknowledges the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Winnipeg Film Group for this program
Full colour gatefold cover, black vinyl Lp (cut at SST), no-region DVD (NTSC only), printed inner sleeve with a monograph by WNDX curatorial collective member Irene Bindi. Limited to 300 copies.