In 1990, Jordan made another classic Visible Compendium, a 17-minute work which took 2-1/2 years to make and relates to an idyllic trip in a hot air balloon as an enigmatic journey. Here, he also begins to focus on sound as collage by collecting audio bits and pieces as he did with pictures. The film itself is cut to the soundtrack, which mixed both recognizable and unrecognizable sounds, making it a true "compendium." The film is a kind of a puzzle constructed from fragments of unnamed meanings and fragments of light--light being the base for all film--in which Jordan wants the viewer to discover his own meaning in these films by bringing a personal predisposition into play. Today, Visible Compendium remains an important experiment into the secrets of the unknown.

The Visible Compendium. Courtesy of Larry Jordan.

For his next film, Jordan decided to use animation and (mostly) live-action techniques in the form of a biodocumentary mixed with segments of the work of the imagist poet HD (Hilda Doolittle), in particular, her poem "Hermetic Definitions." The HD Trilogy includes short filmed pieces of contemporary poet Joanna McClure as she journeys through ancient ruins and a Mediterranean village, seeking to captivate Doolittle's essence. Born in Pennsylvania, HD spent much of her adult life among the literary circles of England and Europe. She died in 1961 at age 77 and "Hermetic definitions" was her last poem. The idea behind Jordan's film was to encourage viewers to discover the importance of the poet and her work. Today, Larry Jordan teaches at the San Francisco Art Institute and continues his lifelong search into the possibilities for collage animation. He is collecting more engravings and visual fragments for two projects Glass House and Kabbalah. He forsees these films taking 10 years to complete, but patience is a virtue in the work of Larry Jordan. Both films intend to bring a mystical wheel of images into view, as his interests remain in the deep realm of spirtiual mysticism, from ancient Egypt through the medieval Kabbalah to the present. He seems to have a monumental task ahead of him.

When not engaged in the painstaking frame-by-frame process of animation, Jordan works as a kinetic sculptor making three dimensional boxes from the same materials as his films. One might consider his art work as films in reverse. One thing is certain, Jordan has brought the fine art of collage technique to a pinnacle throught his career.

Jackie Leger is a Santa Monica-based documentary filmmaker interested in the roots of American experimental film.

Larry Jordan Filmography

Please note, all films were done in 16mm color and sound, except where noted. Films with an asterick (*) next to the title are animated.

Morningame, silent, black & white, 6 minutes.

1954
The Child's Hand, b&w, 7 min.
Man is in Pain, b&w, 4 min.