PITTSBURGH(1959): “Equilibriums of Paradox” and the Bicentennial City of Tomorrow

The article utilizes archival materials and oral testimony to arrive at a new understanding of a sponsored, documentary short made by On Film Inc. Commissioned on the occasion of Pittsburgh's 1958–59 bicentennial, the film celebrates the Steel City's historic identity as an industrial behe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Moving image (Minneapolis, Minn.) Minn.), 2012-10, Vol.12 (2), p.70-94
Main Author: Kilcoyne, Sean P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
American cinema
Archives
Artistic expression
Authorship
Avant garde
Brakhage, Stan
Centennial celebrations
Cities
Documentaries
Documentary films
Electrical equipment and supplies industry
Exhibitions
Experimental films
Failure
Features
Film & television production
Film archives
Film archiving
Film preservation
Film prints
Filmmakers
Lye, Len
Motion picture industry
Movies
Short films
Smith, Eugene
Van Dyke, Willard
Vanderbeek, Stan
Weegee
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Description
Summary:The article utilizes archival materials and oral testimony to arrive at a new understanding of a sponsored, documentary short made by On Film Inc. Commissioned on the occasion of Pittsburgh's 1958–59 bicentennial, the film celebrates the Steel City's historic identity as an industrial behemoth, while repositioning it for a hi-tech future predicated on the atom. Despite contributions from Stan Brakhage, Weegee, Eugene Smith, and others,Pittsburghdisappointed many of its makers and sponsors when it was completed; it is not believed to have been screened for audiences of the time. Piecing together the film's production and exhibition history is one focus of this article; advocating the preservation ofPittsburgh's original elements and facilitating access to them is another.
ISSN:1532-3978
1542-4235
DOI:10.5749/movingimage.12.2.0070