Matt Mullican

An anonymous amateur filmed some extraordinary shots of New York in the 1930s. Artist Matt Mullican made his own film based on the original found footage in 16mm, which captures dozens of unknown people as they are carried along by a flow of small and apparently insignificant events.

“THE BROKEN RULE is my reaction to the American education system, where learning blocks must be acquired by the group before any individual can progress to the next level. My film pictures learning blocks as relay races conducted by male players, where the girls are scores, and the goal is to enter the working world by the end of the game. Mike Kelley, the lead player in my film, makes a ritual out of his mistakes to escape the consequences of his mistakes. In this film, one person’s work is another person’s play, and play creates competition, a component of work.” — E.B. 1979

An anonymous amateur filmed some extraordinary shots of New York in the 1930s. Artist Matt Mullican made his own film based on the original found footage in 16mm, which captures dozens of unknown people as they are carried along by a flow of small and apparently insignificant events.