2014-04-05

Magnets & Miracles

Sydge @ Atagong Mansion
Anthony Stern's Sydge (Syd magnet).

You might or might not know that Iggy Rose was once Anthony Stern's muse, she posed before his camera and featured in one of his avant-garde movies, that – unforgivably – has only been shown about a dozen of times for the past 47 years. The situation didn't really sky-rocket when Chimera Arts took over the publishing rights, they were sitting harder on it than the CIA does on a torture report. Nothing new, as a matter of fact, as we already wrote this a couple of years ago (2009) in one of our magnificent articles. It is rumoured that the last festival Eskimo Girl was billed on was held in a staircase closet somewhere in the Philippines, but we might be slightly exaggerating.

But all this is soon to change. Anthony Stern started a brand new blog Anthony Stern Films that is promising us a book and a DVD.

Update 2016: in October 2016 the movie was premiered during the Cambridge Syd Barrett movie festival. A couple of weeks earlier a shortened version was shown at the BBC. No news from a book or DVD though. More information:
Lost Weekends 
Memory Marbles (2016): new Iggy pictures found! 

Update 13 February 2022: RIP Ant, 1944-2022.

Iggy in the green
Iggy the Eskimo (still from Anthony Stern movie).

Auntie Stern

Get all from that ant? (as the movie will be named, it appears) will be an 80 minutes portrait of London 1963-1970, in still pictures, film and video, by Anthony Stern who lived, loved and worked at the core of the pop culture genesis. Countless reels of 16mm film and thousands of photographic negatives from his archives have been viewed and digitalised. Sophia Satchell-Baeza had a look at an early cut:

Although at the moment unfinished, it’s an incredible, semi-autobiographical portrait of Cambridge / London / San Francisco in the 1960s, shot by the artist and film-maker who was there to see it all unfold. Some major highlights include lost (and recently found) archive footage of Syd Barrett performing with Pink Floyd, and unseen footage of Eric Clapton, but the film is full of beautiful moments. (Taken from: A subterranean afterworld of future dreams.)

There will be footage from Syd Barrett with Pink Floyd, the UFO club and their liquid light projections, footage of The Rolling Stones, the voice of John Lennon. But something that makes the Reverend infinitely happy is that the picture highlighting this release depicts none other than Iggy, dancing in a park. So there might be a pretty cool chance that her movie, or at least a part of it, will be on the DVD as well.

Magnetism

The project consists of a DVD and a book that will not only show the past. Anthony Stern had the idea to 'unite all Barrett heads'. He took a movie still of Syd playing at UFO and turned it into a magnet, the Sydge. You can get one or free, as long as there are copies left and provided you sent him back a picture of your fridge door (or wherever you have stuck the magnet):

The fridge door can be a platform and a message board for images of yourself, family, your favourite icons, pin-ups, newspaper cuttings, poems, memoranda, shopping lists, favourite witticisms, jokes, puns, tickets and the detritus of day-to-day life, and of course any form of homage to Syd Barrett. (Taken from: The Sydge magnet, well he was a very magnetic chap.)
Sydge
Anthony Stern's Sydge (Syd magnet).

Some of the results that have been sent in can already be seen here and here. One Birdie Hop member made it her vocation to distribute several of these magnets over the States, turning the Sydge into a symbol that will unite fans all over the globe.

And who knows, if enough people put some imagination and madcappery into the photos it may grow into a completely different project than it was intended for, so someone has whispered in our ears. Of course the Church has already send in its pictures and you can watch these at the Church's presence on Facebook.

Iggy by Anthony Stern
Iggy the Eskimo (still from Anthony Stern movie).
Iggy & Syd Lookalike Audition

Anthony's book will also have a chapter called: Syd & Iggy: A Psychedelic Love Story, yes there is our girl again!, and for this purpose he is looking for Syd and Iggy lookalikes who can send in their pictures... Those who want to face fame and glory can have a look at Audition.

To immortalise this demand the blog adds something that can be considered as being the purest, clearest and biggest movie still we have seen from the Iggy, the Eskimo Girl movie ever. Here she is, holding that weird device that inconspicuously looks like a smartphone, but only... the picture dates from 1968. Was Iggy really a time traveller? Click to see the picture in full resolution: Iggy.

Anthony Qui?

In June 2008 Anthony Stern gave an introduction to several of his movies at the Cinemathèque Française in Paris. A video was shot of the event by Lionel Soukaz. We took the liberty of removing the French translations and to upload it again. Antony does mention Syd Barrett and Iggy Rose, but not to spoil the fun we don't tell you where exactly.

And for those who don't know what Iggy, the Eskimo Girl is all about. Here is the only known 'free-floating' version on the web, an audience recording taken from that same lecture in Paris.

We just can't wait for that DVD to appear, but for the moment we (and you) have to be content with our image gallery that has some (old) stills of the movie. It will be (silently) updated when new pictures will appear on the Anthony Stern Film blog, so be sure to check it out once and a while.

For our other articles about Stern's magic, please check: Anthony Stern. Now if only that Storm Thorgerson movie would see the light of day.


Many thanks to: Lisa Newman, Anthony Stern.
♥ Iggy ♥ Libby ♥ Birdie Hop