Ken Jacobs
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A pioneer of the American film avant-garde of the 1960s and '70s, Ken Jacobs is a central figure in post-war experimental cinema. From his first films of the late 1950s to his recent experiments with digital video, his investigations and innovations have influenced countless artists. A New Yorker by birth, Jacobs graduated from City University to find himself in the midst of the downtown art scene of the 1960s, which included artists Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol, beat writers Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac; and the experimental theater troupes of Trisha Brown and Yvonne Rainer. Although Jacobs had studied painting with Hans Hoffman, he quickly gravitated to film, finding kindred spirits in radical filmmakers such as Jonas Mekas and Hollis Frampton. An early friendship with Jack Smith yielded several collaborations, including the seminal underground films Blonde Cobra (which Jonas Mekas dubbed "the masterpiece of Baudelairean cinema") and Little Stabs at Happiness, as well as a Provincetown beach-based live show, The Human Wreckage Review.
Known for
Credits
60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero (2011)
Director
20 Little Films (2012)
Director
Blonde Cobra (1963)
Director
For Life, Against the War (1967)
Director
Up the Illusion (2023)
Director
Cyclopean 3D: Life with a Beautiful Woman (2011)
Director
Sebastian and Jonas Leaving the Party (2019)
Director
Tourists of the Familiar 70 (2024)
Director
From Introduction to Orson Welles’s Falstaff: Chimes at Midnight (2023)
Director
Jonas Mekas in Kodachrome Days (2009)
Director
Flo Rounds a Corner (1999)
Director
Star Spangled to Death (2004)
Director
Keeping an Eye on Stan (2003)
Director
New York Ghetto Fishmarket 1903 (2007)
Director
Celestial Subway Lines/Salvaging Noise (2005)
Director
Eat the Rich: Aligning Perspectives and Other Challenges to Viewers (2022)
Director
Seeking the Monkey King (2011)
Director
Granular (2015)
Director
Gift of Fire: Nineteen (Obscure) Frames That Changed The World (2007)
Director
Capitalism Defeats Life on Earth, Cab in Rain (2017)
Director
A Spin Through Night City (2017)
Director
Book of Splendors, Part Two, Book of Levers: Action at a Distance (1977)
Director
Lurking (2016)
Director
Two Wrenching Departures (2006)
Director
The Surging Sea of Humanity (2006)
Director
Ulysses in the Subway (2017)
Director
The Death of P'town (1961)
Director
A Primer in Sky Socialism (2013)
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The Lackadaisical Speed of Light (2015)
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Ontic Antics Starring Laurel and Hardy: Bye Molly (2005)
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Sensoriums at Sea: Toothy Two (2010)
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Circling Zero: Part One, We See Absence (2002)
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Saturday Afternoon Blood Sacrifice (1956)
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New York Street Trolleys 1900 (1999)
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A Date with Shirley (2026)
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Movie That Invites Pausing (2020)
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Shelley Duvall is Olive Oyl (2017)
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PAINTED POSTER (2020)
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Orchard Street (1955)
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The Sky Socialist: The Environs (2019)
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Spaghetti Aza (1976)
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A Tom Tom Chaser (2002)
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Return to the Scene of the Crime (2008)
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Anaglyph Tom (Tom with Puffy Cheeks) (2008)
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Berkeley To San Francisco (2009)
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Manhattan is an Island (2023)
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Brick Building with Red and Green Windows (2020)
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Hot Dogs At The Met (2009)
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Swee’pea’s Favorite Eternalisms (2017)
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In Front of Anthology (2021)
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Nervous Magic Lantern: 3D for One or Two Naked Eyes (2019)
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I'm Telling You (2016)
Director
BOOK OF ETERNALISMS 42 (2026)
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The Signing (2009)
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For James Otis (2023)
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When Timofeev Moves Everything Moves (2022)
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Razzle Dazzle: The Lost World (2007)
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Snow in Headlights II (2016)
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Joys of Waiting for the Broadway Bus #4 (2013)
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Ken Jacobs / Robert Poss @The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival (2016)
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"Slow is Beauty"-Rodin (2009)
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Book of Eternalisms 8 (2023)
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Popeye Sees 3-D (2014)
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BOOK OF ETERNALISMS 40 (2025)
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Batchellor’s Dog and Beach (2015)
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The Alps and The Jews (1986)
Director
Ken Jacobs / Tom Chiu of Flux Quartet @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival (2016)
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Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son (1969)
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Amorous Interludes: His Favorite Wife Improved (or The Virtue Of Bad Reception) (2008)
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Tourists of the Familiar 1 (2023)
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Tourists of the Familiar 5 (2023)
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Sensoriums at Sea: Dr. Toothy's New Entranceway (2010)
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Lisa and Joey in Connecticut (1965)
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Naomi Is A Dream of Loveliness (1965)
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Opening the Nineteenth Century: 1896 (1991)
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Joys of Waiting for the Broadway Bus #3 (2013)
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Blankets for Indians (2012)
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Adventures of Cookie Truck (2021)
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Depth for One Eye or Two (—)
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Mosco Street 3: Attack of The Perfect Camera (Fuji W3) (2016)
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Jerry Takes A Back Seat, Then Passes Out Of The Picture (1975)
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America Lets Her Hair Down 1905 (2022)
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Tourists of the Familiar 20 (2023)
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The Guests (2014)
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PAPPY SEES 3D, TOO (2019)
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Riverbed (2024)
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Tourists of the Familiar 15 (2023)
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Flowers and Bike (2020)
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Details of Pollock's White Light (2019)
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Excerpt From THE SKY SOCIALIST Stratified (2009)
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Hobgoblin Ball (2023)
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Transparent Apartments (2020)
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Disorient Express (1996)
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Little Stabs at Happiness (1963)
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Storefront (2020)
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Joys of Waiting for the Broadway Bus #1 (2013)
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Perfect Film (1985)
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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (2023)
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Book of Eternalisms 39 (2025)
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Chaos Is Order Misunderstood (2019)
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Let There Be Whistle Blowers (2005)
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Hanky Panky January 1902 (2007)
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Ken Jacobs / diNMachine @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival (2016)
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Get Up and Go (2017)
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Double Wow (2021)
Director
Brook (2009)
Director
Once Upon a Planet (2019)
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Foliage in Moving Car Window (2020)
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Things to Come (2019)
Director
Bitemporal Vision: The Sea (1994)
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RECIPROCAL (2020)
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Make Light On Film (1995)
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Downtown Loft with Skylights (2026)
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OCCUPY WALL STREET, THE 99% JOIN IN (2011)
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BOOK OF ETERNALISMS 43 (2026)
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Working Girls (short) (2020)
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Fair And White: Parts I, II, III and Extra (2010)
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Cyclops Observes the Celestial Bodies (2015)
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Ken Jacobs / Ghosts Of The Holy Ghost Spermic Brotherhood @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival (2016)
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Chinese New Years II (2020)
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Ronald Gonzales, Sculptor (2009)
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Tourists of the Familiar 10 (2023)
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Municipal Building Passage (2020)
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Whims of Twenty Twenty-Three (2023)
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Urban Peasants (1975)
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The Green Wave (2011)
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The Georgetown Loop (1996)
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BOOK OF ETERNALISMS 41 (2026)
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The Moments: Evening Boat Ride (2018)
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Krypton Is Doomed (2005)
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Aspiring To Music (2021)
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The Sky Socialist: Flight (2002)
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Failure (2019)
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Period Piece (2020)
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Joys of Waiting for the Broadway Bus #2 (2013)
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Popeye Sees 3-D, TOO (2007)
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Book of Eternalisms 1-6 (2023)
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Zazie Learns About Money (2015)
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Canopy (2014)
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Hoffman Student (2021)
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Artie and Marty Rosenblatt’s Baby Pictures (1964)
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Window (1964)
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The Pushcarts Leave Eternity Street (2011)
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Le Prince: Leeds Bridge 1888 (2005)
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The Doctor's Dream (1977)
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DAY AND NIGHT (2011)
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The Whirled (2003)
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Roots of Manhattan (2020)
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Ken Jacobs / JG Thirlwell @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival (2016)
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Nervous Lantern at Kill Your Timid Notion Festival (2007)
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Molten Landscape (2016)
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America at War, The Home Front: Film Opening (2011)
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Airshaft (1967)
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Red Green (2020)
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Ken Jacobs / Rick Reed & Tara Bhattacharya @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival (2016)
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MOVING ROAD (2019)
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Broadway Building (2020)
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Gravity Is Tops (2009)
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Hydroelectric Dam (2016)
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Garage Wall (2020)
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Brain Operations (2009)
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Eternal Beach (2021)
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Street Vendor (2012)
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What Happened on 23rd Street in 1901 (2009)
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The Day Was a Scorcher (2009)
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Chronometer (1990)
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DeKooning Passed (2020)
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THE WHOLE SHEBANG (2019)
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Sleeping American (2020)
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The Scenic Route (2008)
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BMT (2025)
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Chinese New Years (2020)
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Real Action Figures (2022)
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Joan Mitchell: Departures (2019)
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CRUSH (2019)
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Reichstag 9/11 (2016)
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Broadway Buildings III (2020)
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Spasm (2023)
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The Sky Socialist (1966)
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Ken and Flo (2020)
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Another Day in Days of Yore (2020)
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Above the Rain (2019)
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Alone at Last (2008)
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The Discovery (2008)
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Love Story (2008)
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Little Cobra Dance (1956)
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DR. TOOTHY (2020)
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Baud'larian Capers (1962)
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Another Occupation (2011)
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Revolving Door (2011)
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A Small Misunderstanding (2021)
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Capitalism: Slavery (2007)
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Elbow Dance (2008)
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Other Urban Lives (2023)
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Sky Dive (—)
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Bandit (2020)
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Buster Keaton Embossed (2022)
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Celestial Bodies (2014)
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Resting Merchant (2020)
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One Dozen Roses (2022)
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Barber (2020)
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Neon Sign (2020)
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The Winter Footage (1964)
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Whirlpool (2020)
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Cartoon (2019)
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Pushcarts of Eternity Street (2006)
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Clouds and Trees (2020)
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Friendly Building (2020)
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Mountaineer Spinning (2004)
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We Are Charming (2007)
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Central Park (2016)
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Soft Rain (1968)
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Figures I - V (2019)
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Ken Jacobs / Victoria Keddie @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival (2016)
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Windbreaker (2017)
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Walkway (2009)
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Mosco Street Rapture (2007)
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Keaton's Cops (1991)
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Binghamton, My India (1970)
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Street Commerce II (2020)
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Book of Eternalisms 7 (2023)
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Tree Stump (2018)
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The Roses (2011)
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BMT Canal Street (2016)
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Writhing City (2023)
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Hubble II (2020)
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Abstract Eternalism (2021)
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Changing Azazel (1973)
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A Loft (2010)
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Empty Seats (2015)
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Cartoonish 1-10 (2021)
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Bison (2020)
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Rubble (2020)
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ABSTRACT (2019)
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Chrysalis (2015)
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Water Balloon (2020)
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Beautiful Dreamer (2017)
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Broadway Buildings II (2020)
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Titles (2007)
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Insistent Clamor (2005)
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Spiky (2020)
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Bob Fleischner Dying (2009)
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Along the Elevated (2017)
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Rain Clouds (2020)
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We Stole Away (1964)
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Dimsum and Dragons (2019)
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Spiral Nebula (2005)
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Lazy City (2020)
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Looting For Rodney (1995)
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Street Commerce (2020)
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Floral (2015)
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Capitalism: Child Labor (2007)
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TV Plug (1963)
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Reading Society (2020)
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Nymph (2007)
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Fire Escape (2020)
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Spotted Fever (—)
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Waiting Room Window (2020)
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Mosco Street 2 (2016)
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Turbulent Waters (2011)
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Halley’s Comet (2020)
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The Near-Collision (2010)
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Duck (2020)
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Winter Sky (1964)
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XCXHXEXRXRXIXEXSX (2021)
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City Foliage (2020)
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Pygmalion Cubed (2014)
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Aimless Sightseeing, Seoul (2015)
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Afternoon Tide (2015)
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Facade with Face (2020)
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Doyer Street (2020)
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Sergei Eisenstein Embossed (2022)
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Wire Fence (2014)
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Bargains (2020)
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Spaceworks (2020)
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Natural Collage (2020)
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Globe (1969)
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1st Window (1964)
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Nissan Ariana Window (1969)
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