Ken Jacobs
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A pioneer of the American film avant-garde of the 1960s and '70s, Ken Jacobs is a central figure in post-war experimental cinema. From his first films of the late 1950s to his recent experiments with digital video, his investigations and innovations have influenced countless artists. A New Yorker by birth, Jacobs graduated from City University to find himself in the midst of the downtown art scene of the 1960s, which included artists Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol, beat writers Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac; and the experimental theater troupes of Trisha Brown and Yvonne Rainer. Although Jacobs had studied painting with Hans Hoffman, he quickly gravitated to film, finding kindred spirits in radical filmmakers such as Jonas Mekas and Hollis Frampton. An early friendship with Jack Smith yielded several collaborations, including the seminal underground films Blonde Cobra (which Jonas Mekas dubbed "the masterpiece of Baudelairean cinema") and Little Stabs at Happiness, as well as a Provincetown beach-based live show, The Human Wreckage Review.
Known for
Credits
60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero (2011)
Director
For Life, Against the War (1967)
Director
20 Little Films (2012)
Director
From Introduction to Orson Welles’s Falstaff: Chimes at Midnight (2023)
Director
Cyclopean 3D: Life with a Beautiful Woman (2011)
Director
Up the Illusion (2023)
Director
Blonde Cobra (1963)
Director
Little Stabs at Happiness (1963)
Director
The Death of P'town (1961)
Director
Jonas Mekas in Kodachrome Days (2009)
Director
Flo Rounds a Corner (1999)
Director
New York Ghetto Fishmarket 1903 (2007)
Director
Book of Eternalisms 1-6 (2023)
Director
"Slow is Beauty"-Rodin (2009)
Director
Movie That Invites Pausing (2020)
Director
Seeking the Monkey King (2011)
Director
Baud'larian Capers (1962)
Director
Return to the Scene of the Crime (2008)
Director
Shelley Duvall is Olive Oyl (2017)
Director
Tourists of the Familiar 20 (2023)
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Celestial Subway Lines/Salvaging Noise (2005)
Director
Sebastian and Jonas Leaving the Party (2019)
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New York Street Trolleys 1900 (1999)
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Star Spangled to Death (2004)
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Titles (2007)
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Amorous Interludes: His Favorite Wife Improved (or The Virtue Of Bad Reception) (2008)
Director
The Lackadaisical Speed of Light (2015)
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The Moments: Evening Boat Ride (2018)
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Ontic Antics Starring Laurel and Hardy: Bye Molly (2005)
Director
1st Window (1964)
Director
Popeye Sees 3-D, TOO (2007)
Director
Artie and Marty Rosenblatt’s Baby Pictures (1964)
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Berkeley To San Francisco (2009)
Director
Saturday Afternoon Blood Sacrifice (1956)
Director
What Happened on 23rd Street in 1901 (2009)
Director
Sensoriums at Sea: Dr. Toothy's New Entranceway (2010)
Director
The Sky Socialist (1966)
Director
Swee’pea’s Favorite Eternalisms (2017)
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Snow in Headlights II (2016)
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Zazie Learns About Money (2015)
Director
The Signing (2009)
Director
In Front of Anthology (2021)
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Ken Jacobs / JG Thirlwell @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival (2016)
Director
CRUSH (2019)
Director
Popeye Sees 3-D (2014)
Director
Tourists of the Familiar 1 (2023)
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Bitemporal Vision: The Sea (1994)
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Ken Jacobs / Tom Chiu of Flux Quartet @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival (2016)
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The Alps and The Jews (1986)
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Keeping an Eye on Stan (2003)
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The Pushcarts Leave Eternity Street (2011)
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Two Wrenching Departures (2006)
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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (2023)
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Gift of Fire: Nineteen (Obscure) Frames That Changed The World (2007)
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Book of Splendors, Part Two, Book of Levers: Action at a Distance (1977)
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A Spin Through Night City (2017)
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Lisa and Joey in Connecticut (1965)
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Ken Jacobs / Rick Reed & Tara Bhattacharya @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival (2016)
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Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son (1969)
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Bob Fleischner Dying (2009)
Director
Once Upon a Planet (2019)
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Airshaft (1967)
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Ulysses in the Subway (2017)
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A Date with Shirley (2026)
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Hot Dogs At The Met (2009)
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Manhattan is an Island (2023)
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Tourists of the Familiar 5 (2023)
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Details of Pollock's White Light (2019)
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Hydroelectric Dam (2016)
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America Lets Her Hair Down 1905 (2022)
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Window (1964)
Director
Sensoriums at Sea: Toothy Two (2010)
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The Doctor's Dream (1977)
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Circling Zero: Part One, We See Absence (2002)
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Hanky Panky January 1902 (2007)
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Jerry Takes A Back Seat, Then Passes Out Of The Picture (1975)
Director
Anaglyph Tom (Tom with Puffy Cheeks) (2008)
Director
Perfect Film (1985)
Director
Ken Jacobs / diNMachine @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival (2016)
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Cartoon (2019)
Director
Fair And White: Parts I, II, III and Extra (2010)
Director
Get Up and Go (2017)
Director
Book of Eternalisms 8 (2023)
Director
Razzle Dazzle: The Lost World (2007)
Director
Cyclops Observes the Celestial Bodies (2015)
Director
Tourists of the Familiar 15 (2023)
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Make Light On Film (1995)
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Ken Jacobs / Robert Poss @The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival (2016)
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Batchellor’s Dog and Beach (2015)
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THE WHOLE SHEBANG (2019)
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The Georgetown Loop (1996)
Director
Ken Jacobs / Ghosts Of The Holy Ghost Spermic Brotherhood @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival (2016)
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Capitalism Defeats Life on Earth, Cab in Rain (2017)
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Foliage in Moving Car Window (2020)
Director
When Timofeev Moves Everything Moves (2022)
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Le Prince: Leeds Bridge 1888 (2005)
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Whims of Twenty Twenty-Three (2023)
Director
The Surging Sea of Humanity (2006)
Director
Tourists of the Familiar 10 (2023)
Director
RECIPROCAL (2020)
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A Tom Tom Chaser (2002)
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Working Girls (short) (2020)
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Joan Mitchell: Departures (2019)
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PAPPY SEES 3D, TOO (2019)
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Opening the Nineteenth Century: 1896 (1991)
Director
Revolving Door (2011)
Director
Street Commerce II (2020)
Director
Urban Peasants (1975)
Director
Buster Keaton Embossed (2022)
Director
Ken Jacobs / Victoria Keddie @ The Nervous Magic Lantern Festival (2016)
Director
Dimsum and Dragons (2019)
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Brain Operations (2009)
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Nervous Lantern at Kill Your Timid Notion Festival (2007)
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The Sky Socialist: Flight (2002)
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Brick Building with Red and Green Windows (2020)
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Looting For Rodney (1995)
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Elbow Dance (2008)
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Spasm (2023)
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Orchard Street (1955)
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Joys of Waiting for the Broadway Bus #1 (2013)
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The Guests (2014)
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Broadway Buildings III (2020)
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Tourists of the Familiar 70 (2024)
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A Loft (2010)
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Nissan Ariana Window (1969)
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Eat the Rich: Aligning Perspectives and Other Challenges to Viewers (2022)
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A Primer in Sky Socialism (2013)
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Chaos Is Order Misunderstood (2019)
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Naomi Is A Dream of Loveliness (1965)
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Celestial Bodies (2014)
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Double Wow (2021)
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Red Green (2020)
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Reading Society (2020)
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I'm Telling You (2016)
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The Day Was a Scorcher (2009)
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Book of Eternalisms 39 (2025)
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BOOK OF ETERNALISMS 43 (2026)
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Chrysalis (2015)
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Chronometer (1990)
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DR. TOOTHY (2020)
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Sleeping American (2020)
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Another Day in Days of Yore (2020)
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Joys of Waiting for the Broadway Bus #2 (2013)
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DAY AND NIGHT (2011)
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Keaton's Cops (1991)
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Spiral Nebula (2005)
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Downtown Loft with Skylights (2026)
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Empty Seats (2015)
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Waiting Room Window (2020)
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Granular (2015)
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Blankets for Indians (2012)
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Globe (1969)
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The Sky Socialist: The Environs (2019)
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Windbreaker (2017)
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Street Commerce (2020)
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OCCUPY WALL STREET, THE 99% JOIN IN (2011)
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Spaghetti Aza (1976)
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Halley’s Comet (2020)
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Flowers and Bike (2020)
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Reichstag 9/11 (2016)
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BOOK OF ETERNALISMS 41 (2026)
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Changing Azazel (1973)
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Little Cobra Dance (1956)
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Above the Rain (2019)
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The Roses (2011)
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Natural Collage (2020)
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Book of Eternalisms 7 (2023)
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Another Occupation (2011)
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Garage Wall (2020)
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Other Urban Lives (2023)
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Pushcarts of Eternity Street (2006)
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Let There Be Whistle Blowers (2005)
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The Green Wave (2011)
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Alone at Last (2008)
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Turbulent Waters (2011)
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Period Piece (2020)
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Joys of Waiting for the Broadway Bus #3 (2013)
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Mosco Street 2 (2016)
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Love Story (2008)
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Whirlpool (2020)
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Nervous Magic Lantern: 3D for One or Two Naked Eyes (2019)
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Rubble (2020)
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Depth for One Eye or Two (—)
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Walkway (2009)
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Gravity Is Tops (2009)
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Broadway Building (2020)
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Hubble II (2020)
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Fire Escape (2020)
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Municipal Building Passage (2020)
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The Scenic Route (2008)
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Storefront (2020)
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Soft Rain (1968)
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City Foliage (2020)
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MOVING ROAD (2019)
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Chinese New Years II (2020)
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Excerpt From THE SKY SOCIALIST Stratified (2009)
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Mosco Street 3: Attack of The Perfect Camera (Fuji W3) (2016)
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Krypton Is Doomed (2005)
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Mosco Street Rapture (2007)
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Afternoon Tide (2015)
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The Near-Collision (2010)
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BOOK OF ETERNALISMS 40 (2025)
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Sky Dive (—)
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Disorient Express (1996)
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Water Balloon (2020)
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Hobgoblin Ball (2023)
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TV Plug (1963)
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Brook (2009)
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Street Vendor (2012)
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Friendly Building (2020)
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Central Park (2016)
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BOOK OF ETERNALISMS 42 (2026)
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Floral (2015)
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A Small Misunderstanding (2021)
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Molten Landscape (2016)
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Capitalism: Slavery (2007)
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Riverbed (2024)
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Real Action Figures (2022)
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The Discovery (2008)
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DeKooning Passed (2020)
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Rain Clouds (2020)
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The Whirled (2003)
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Joys of Waiting for the Broadway Bus #4 (2013)
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PAINTED POSTER (2020)
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Doyer Street (2020)
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Winter Sky (1964)
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America at War, The Home Front: Film Opening (2011)
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Spiky (2020)
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Barber (2020)
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Duck (2020)
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Clouds and Trees (2020)
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Capitalism: Child Labor (2007)
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Facade with Face (2020)
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Sergei Eisenstein Embossed (2022)
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Bargains (2020)
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Adventures of Cookie Truck (2021)
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Nymph (2007)
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Failure (2019)
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Along the Elevated (2017)
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Ronald Gonzales, Sculptor (2009)
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Chinese New Years (2020)
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For James Otis (2023)
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Eternal Beach (2021)
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Writhing City (2023)
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Bison (2020)
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Transparent Apartments (2020)
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Resting Merchant (2020)
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Pygmalion Cubed (2014)
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Hoffman Student (2021)
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BMT (2025)
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Neon Sign (2020)
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Insistent Clamor (2005)
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Lurking (2016)
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Spaceworks (2020)
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Tree Stump (2018)
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Aspiring To Music (2021)
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One Dozen Roses (2022)
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Figures I - V (2019)
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Abstract Eternalism (2021)
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We Are Charming (2007)
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The Winter Footage (1964)
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Things to Come (2019)
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Mountaineer Spinning (2004)
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Roots of Manhattan (2020)
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Ken and Flo (2020)
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ABSTRACT (2019)
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XCXHXEXRXRXIXEXSX (2021)
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We Stole Away (1964)
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Lazy City (2020)
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Cartoonish 1-10 (2021)
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Aimless Sightseeing, Seoul (2015)
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Binghamton, My India (1970)
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Broadway Buildings II (2020)
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Spotted Fever (—)
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Canopy (2014)
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Beautiful Dreamer (2017)
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Bandit (2020)
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BMT Canal Street (2016)
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Wire Fence (2014)
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