One of the masters of American experimental film, Bruce Conner created collage films that have influenced countless artists and captivated viewers with their exquisite use of newsreel, old documentaries, fiction films, cartoons, and countdown leaders, occasionally interspersed with some of his own camera work. Alive with satire, irony, and rhythm, his work constitutes a wry, devastating portrait of America. Having begun his career as an assemblage artist in the mid-1950s, Conner—who was also highly regarded as a sculptor, painter, and photographer—was drawn to the avant-garde collage film. His careful cutting of found footage—images of destruction, sex, and aggression that we typically encounter in popular entertainment—transforms the source material and reveals a tragic absurdity and fascination with the apocalypse. Conner’s careful distancing from the subject and orchestrated pacing frequently cuts an image on the point of maximal shock. “Like most of Bruce Conner’s films, repeated viewing yields deeper layers of successive structures” (Anthony Reveaux, Film in the Cities).