Black Heart Press

Whoooo! Came into the printshop after my last post, and was greeted with: “Young man, you have no idea about lithography videos! Here, let me show you a link or two”. It’s always nice to be called “young man” by someone who’s like 10 years younger.
Either way. I stand corrected (or at least severely informed) and shall present to you “Four Stones for Kanemitsu” (1976). Poetically titled after F. Scott Fitzgerald and heavily borrowing from Kurosawa, it should be obvious halfway through the opening credits (swishhh, text, swishh) that we’ve set our eyes on a work nothing short of a -crayonstone- milestone of lithographic cinema.

Four Stones for Kanemitsu, part 1.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-KQMCI559Q

Four Stones for Kanemitsu, conclusion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kyFgoKRmlQ

Starring Matsumi Kanemitsu as the Artist, Serge Lozingot as the Master Printer, Gene Sturman as the Press Assistant and Betty Fiske (?) as the mean lady who supervises the edition and makes the artist sign it, the movie is narrated by its protagonists, with the French and Japanese accents competing for cuteness. Once again, Japan comes out on top on my score card.
Directed by none other than June Wayne, nominated for one Oscar - which I can not see it not winning - it’s 30min of your life you’ll not regret having spent on youtube (for a change).

Was unable to attend the litho openings in Helsinki today (other than a quick glimpse into the Ateneum on my way home) due to Finnish classes, where I, among other things, learned this beauty of a word:

SUKLAAJÄÄTELÖTÖTTERÖ
(chocolate ice cream cone)

Me talk pretty one day… in Finnish.


Footnotes:

Here’s a picture of Serge Lozingot sporting a nice ponytail in the Gemini G.E.L. printshop in 1980:
http://www.nga.gov/gemini/029fs.htm

For another 1h16min29sec that at least I gladly spent on youtube listening to Tamarind Godfather Garo Antreasian reminiscing about the early days of Tamarind (He’s the hairy forearms you’ve seen so often in the first T book) go here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Be6Ed9LBwUI

June Wayne, who started this whole T thing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vfi—Jt0BOA

And because random side notes are cool, when googling Kanemitsu one is bound to find Bizen Kanemitsu, a Japanese sword maker who among many other blades produced a sword named Ishikiri, which translates into _”Stone cutter”_.