San Francisco Cinematheque Program Notes (1992)

1992 Program Notes Sometimes I whined to her about my films. When would they be able to walk on their own two feet? Gunvor told me that the best part of filmmaking is the MAKING, not the finishing. Be patient, and delight in the work. No change, no manipulation could ever be anything less than organic, or else the viewer's experience would always ring untrue, artificial, insincere. I remember the way she would read my sometimes confused visual language, cutting away superfluous, perhaps beautiful shots, allowing us to discover a kernel of meaning and maybe, just maybe, transcendence. Arrivals at transcendence were rare, of course. But with Gunvor we always proceeded together. Never ahead, always with. Often, I wouldn't listen to her suggestions, as we sat hour upon hour at the editing table in a dark room, moving our way through my film. With every step forward, I seemed to take two steps back: Gunvor always needed to know how a choice ten minutes into the film connected formally to another somewhere back at the beginning. And I would just say it felt right. I did it and it must stay. She would sigh, look skeptical, and then move on. Whether she agreed with us or not. Gunvor trusted her students' decisions, for she saw us as committed artists involved in an often painful, sometimes joyous struggle. After each and every editing session I would feel drained, yet profoundly connected to the challenge at hand. Only several days later could I appreciate the masterful insights Gunvor brought to my work. I now know how lucky I was to have experienced the exquisite eyes and ears of such an artist. —Lynne Sachs, 1992 Gunvor Nelson grew up in Kristinehamn, Sweden. After living in both England and Holland she returned to her native Sweden and attended Stockholm's Konstfakskolan. She moved to the United States in 1953 and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Humboldt State College, and, in 1960, received an MFA degree in painting and art history from Mills College in Oakland. After a brief return trip to Sweden, she moved back to the Bay Area and married Robert Nelson, a fellow art student (and maker of celebrated "underground" films such as Oh Dem Watermelons and The Great Blondino). She moved from a career in painting to filmmaking in 1965 with the release of Schmeerguntz (made with Dorothy Wiley). Her films have been screened internationally at venues such as the Berlin Film Academy, the Wadsworth Atheneum, the Walker Art Center, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the National Film Theater (London), the Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), the Cannes Film Festival, the Swedish Film Institute, Pacific Film Archive, and Anthology Film Archives. She has been the recipient of numerous awards and grants including a J.S. Guggenheim Fellowship, American Association of University Women Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts, Filmverkstan Fellowship, Sweden, American Film Institute, and a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship. She recently resigned a film teaching position at the San Francisco Art Institute—a post she held for more than 20 years—and will soon return to her home town of Kristinehamn. Gunvor Nelson Filmography (all films 16mm) Schmeerguntz (1965), co-maker: Dorothy Wiley: 15 minutes* Fog Pumas (1967), co-maker: Dorothy Wiley; 25 minutes My Name is Oona (1969); 10 minutes* Kirsa Nicholina (1970); 16 minutes* Five Artists BillBobBillBMBob (1971), co-maker: Dorothy Wiley; 70 minutes Muir Beach (1970); 5 minutes Onedk the Same (1973), co-maker: Freude; 4 minutes Take Off (1972); 10 minutes* Moons Pool (1973); 15 minutes* 97