Love is a Grasshopper Nearby1987

Shot in slow motion, Love is a Grasshopper Nearby captures the glimmering beauty and authenticity of the circus. Acrobats (with no safety net), an aerialist in the Roman Rings (highly unusual that this is performed while swinging), dancers, clowns, and the famed, highly intelligent elephant Anna May. The unedited film was shot in New York City, 1987, two years prior to my birth. Several years ago I discovered in my father’s storage a mislabeled canister of Kodak Eastman Double-X Negative film; a digital transfer revealed the circus. My father (“Manonymous” is his preferred name) has no memory of shooting it. He most likely received special permission to film, as the camera is in such an intimate position with the performers. In this sense, the film is an intergenerational collaboration. The utopia of the circus, with its international ensemble, is counterbalanced with its drama—the possibility of failure or injury. It recalls Jonas Mekas’ “Notes on the circus” chapter of Walden (1968). The music is by Vertical Foliage, my performance duo with Heloise Tunstall-Behrens. The title: my little brother was asked, “What is love?” His response: “Love is a grasshopper nearby.”