Bruce Conner: Films from the BAMPFA Collection

June 15 & 27, 2025

Alive with satire, irony, and rhythm, experimental filmmaker Bruce Conner’s collage films have influenced countless artists and captivated viewers. His work constitutes a wry, devastating portrait of America. These two programs of his short films are drawn from the BAMPFA collection.

Read full description

Bruce Conner: Crossroads (1976), © Conner Family Trust, San Francisco
Bruce Conner: Cosmic Ray (1961), © Conner Family Trust, San Francisco
Bruce Conner: Vivian (1964), © Conner Family Trust, San Francisco
Bruce Conner: The White Rose (1967), © Conner Family Trust, San Francisco

Upcoming
Films
Upcoming
Events
Selected
Objects
Past
Films
Past
Events

Past Films

Bruce Conner: Films from the BAMPFA Collection

June 15 & 27, 2025

Member-exclusive presale begins Wednesday, May 7 at 11 AM.

Tickets for the general public go on sale Friday, May 9 at 11 AM.

Not yet a member? Join today starting at just $40/year for access to the member presale, half-price film tickets, and more.

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).

These programs, drawn from BAMPFA’s collection, are timed with the gallery exhibition To Exalt the Ephemeral: The (Im)permanent Collection. Patrons should be sure to visit the exhibition to see Conner’s visual art on display.

—Susan Oxtoby, Director of Film and Senior Film Curator

Less

Thank you to Michelle Silva on behalf of the Conner Family Trust, San Francisco.