The Nude Pond (1985)

Poems by John Ashbery; with performances by Douglas Dunn and Susan Blankenson, Yoshiko Chuma. "A grand synthesis of the poetic free association films by Rudy Burckhardt has been perfecting for the past fifteen years. Democratic in its celebration of all contemporary art forms (dance, painting, performance art, music, and, of course, film), encyclopedic in its images (from New York City interiors to Maine brooks to Latin American villages), it is finally most unique by virtue of its emotional range. The filmmaker has achieved a style which enables him to encompass everything from the whimsical, even silly, to the deeply philosophical and grave, with all shades of curiosity and neutral observation ('Just walking around,' as the subtitle says) in-between." – Phillip Lopate