SCATTERED REMAINS (US, 1988, James Broughton and Joel Singer)

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SCATTERED REMAINS (US, 1988, James Broughton and Joel Singer)

Described as “a cheerfully death-obsessed tribute to James Broughton’s poetry and filmmaking,” SCATTERED REMAINS is a cinematic performance piece enlivened by its experiments in poetic speech and poetic vision. Joel Singer creates a multi-faceted portrait of Broughton, who acts out his poetic verses within unlikely situations and surprising camera inventions. In the course of this divertissement, Broughton probes the puzzlements of mortality, destiny, and the magic of language.

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SONG OF THE GODBODY (US, 1977, James Broughton and Joel Singer)

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SONG OF THE GODBODY (US, 1977, James Broughton and Joel Singer)

“The film consists predominantly of extreme close-ups of parts of James Broughton's body. The camera slowly becomes the tool revealing the erotic beauty of the body and the sensual pleasure in loving oneself. The ecstasy and power of sexual gratification are celebrated by the camera, as it maintains an erotic role, probing, revealing and visually caressing. Broughton's song is a praise of his body as divine androgyne, and an acceptance of this higher godly sexual power.” —Richard Bartone, Millennium Film Journal

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DEVOTIONS (US, 1983, James Broughton and Joel Singer)

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DEVOTIONS (US, 1983, James Broughton and Joel Singer)

As described by James Broughton and Joel Singer, “DEVOTIONS is the vision of a world where men have forsaken rivalry and taken up affection, thereby creating a society that relishes a variety of comradely devotions. The film takes delight in observing the friendly things men can do together, from the odd to the rapturous, from the playful to the passionate. These events appear in a series of cameo duets performed by men of all ages and appetites.

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FOUR IN THE AFTERNOON (US, 1951, James Broughton)

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FOUR IN THE AFTERNOON (US, 1951, James Broughton)

FOUR IN THE AFTERNOON depicts four poetic variations on the search for love featuring four oddball characters — Game Little Gladys, The Gardener’s Son, Princess Printemps, and The Aging Balletomane — living out their daydreams. Willard Maas dubbed FOUR IN THE AFTERNOON “the best poetry film ever made.”

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Big Joy: The Films of James Broughton and Joel Singer

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Big Joy: The Films of James Broughton and Joel Singer

In 1979, while working as a curator and archivist in The Museum of Modern Art’s Department of Film, Jon Gartenberg programmed four films by James Broughton: FOUR IN THE AFTERNOON (1951), THE PLEASURE GARDEN (1953), THE GOLDEN POSITIONS (1970), and SONG OF THE GODBODY (1977) — the lattermost a collaboration between Broughton and his longtime partner, Joel Singer. GME is pleased to welcome a selection of films by Broughton into our collection, including five of his collaborations with Singer, which are now available for rental or purchase by academic and cultural institutions worldwide. 47 years following the aforementioned MoMA program, this acquisition of Broughton’s and Singer’s films represents a full-circle moment in Gartenberg’s curatorial career and his advocacy of these great artists’ work. These films, spanning 1948-1988, are available individually as well as across three packages: Early Films by James Broughton, James Broughton: The Second Act, and Broughton & Singer.

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