Still Underground: Films by Robert Nelson
Known for prankster experimentalism and on-the-spot invention, the films of Robert Nelson are among the defining landmarks of the post-Beat American underground of the 1960s and '70s. His free-spirited approach, sharp wit, and artistic rigor marked inspired collaborations with William T. Wiley, William Allan, Steve Reich, and the Grateful Dead, and helped shape a language and style for the burgeoning psychedelic culture.
Born and raised in San Francisco, Robert Nelson is an artist by background, having trained as a painter before unexpectedly becoming a filmmaker in the mid-1960s. By 1967, his short films, characterized by their free-spirited humor, unexpected twists, and inspired setups, were among the most circulated of the American underground. 'Hauling Toto Big' is a dense and ecstatic work of fragmented narratives, dream states, chaos and serenity... a culmination of Nelson's cinematic interests.
Program:
THE AWFUL BACKLASH (w/ William Allan, 1967, b/w, 15min.)
MORE (1971/98, b/w, 18min.)
THE GREAT BLONDINO (w/ William T. Wiley, 1967, b/w & color, 43min.)
Selected Filmography
Plastic Haircut (1963)
Oh Dem Watermelons (1965)
Confessions of a Black Mother-Succuba (1965)
Thick Pucker (1965)
Oily Peloso the Pumph Man (1966)
Super Spread (1967)
The Great Blondino (1967)
Hot Leatherette (1967)
Grateful Dead (1967)
War is Hell (1968)
Rest in Pieces/R.I.P. (1970/74/03)
King David (1970/2003)
Deep Western (1974)
Special Warning (1974/99)
Suite California: Stops and Passes (Parts 1 & 2) (1976/78)
Hamlet Act (1982)
Limitations (1988)
