Review

VIDEO

by Craig Turner

 

Caught Clean. A Laban Pheidias Production for Invisible Films. 1996. Running Time: 40 mins.

 

The information on the back of the box was accurate: this video is "the only one of its kind." And if you're looking for a grunge / garage rock, visual overload, hyper-tempo of skateboarding and juggling images, then maybe this is a video for you. Then again, maybe not.

 

With no particular introduction or setting the stage, the tape simply jumps into a barrage of jump-cut edits of skateboarders, skateboarders who juggle, skateboarders who attempt to juggle, skateboarders who make no attempt to juggle, skateboarders who get frustrated with their juggling and assault the camera, skateboarders who demonstrate some wonderful skateboarding skills, and, oh yes, some jugglers who appear trapped in a skateboarding video.

 

Somehow Steve Mills, Dan Menendez, Dan Holzman and a few others are time-warped into this production. None of them is presented in a theatrical way, but only through practice or workshop demos caught by someone who was videotaping. I kept asking myself, "Do these guys know they were taped for this production?"

 

This video is really about guys dressed in the obligatory t-shirt, gimme-cap worn backwards, jeans or much-too-big shorts, havin' a rad time skateboarding down steps, up steps, backwards, upside down, over culverts, negotiating constructed tubular and looping contraptions, terrorizing walking pedestrians on sidewalks, and occasionally crashing and burning as they try to slide on handrails or do one too many spins. The maximum overload of loud music and guys literally hurling themselves through space in extremely dangerous situations is an adrenaline rush.

 

As a demonstration of skateboarding prowess, this video is very impressive.

However, there is no attempt to teach either skateboarding or juggling. But "Match this!" seems to be how skateboarding evolves out there in the streets and maybe that is all the producers wanted. There are a couple of attempts to combine the skateboard and juggling skills, but they are hidden and brief. The video techniques are impressive when we actually move alongside a skateboarder careening down a hill at 20 miles per hour, but the attempts at skits involving crashes, fake blood, and awful acting are just embarrassing and sophomoric.

 

Maybe I'm taking a much too serious approach to all this. However, I would strongly urge parents not to buy this tape for their kids. Attempts to juggle a burning boom-box, gross­out blood-and-guts skits, and not one rider who used knee or elbow pads or helmets make this material inappropriate for young kids. The skateboarders look to be at least late high school or much later.

 

Perhaps some jugglers would want to investigate the balance and equilibristics shown here for development and adaptation in their own acts. Otherwise, I'd say "No way, dude!" and head home to work on my cascade.

 

 

IN MEMORIAM ALBERT S. BARNARD

We received more information on longtime IJA member Albert Barnard,

whose death on February 5 at age 81 was announced in the Spring issue of the magazine. Barnard was an only child who began life in a covered wagon traveling around the country while his father, Buster, did promotion work for a horse and pony show.

 

The family settled in Wichita, Kansas, so Al could get an education. He attended Wichita State University, but said he preferred "general clowning and juggling."

 

Al worked for a number of circuses, but spent the most time with Clyde Beatty & Cole Brothers, and he entertained U.S. troops overseas with the USO during World War II. Following the war he took a career job with the postal service in Wichita, but maintained his juggling and clowning activities as a sideline for the rest of his life. Barnard and his father attended the IJA's first convention in 1948 in Jamestown, N.Y., and were mentioned in the convention report as part of a "traffic stopping, club-passing foursome..."

 

Following his retirement from the postal service, he and his wife, Burryene, bought a plane and a recreational vehicle, and flew and traveled throughout the US and Mexico attending circuses and juggling events. They were married for 25 years before her death in 1995.

 

He was widely known and much beloved in the circus community. When circuses came to Wichita, performers were made welcome in the Barnard home for lodging and food, and mini­festivals that thrilled neighbors frequently sprung up in their front yard. Al was eager to teach juggling to others, and was known for his generosity with both his personal props and his time.

 

The last time the Shrine Circus came to Wichita, the manager personally invited Barnard to attend, and escorted him and his family friend, Julie Brokes, to front and center seats. The ringmaster then stopped the show and introduced "Barnie" to the crowd. It was a fitting final tribute to a special friend of live entertainment.