"Mongoloid" (1978) by Bruce Conner, for Devo

(Original version not available.)

A collection of found footage from industrial and educational films accompanies the demo version of "Mongoloid" by Ohio's finest export. This demonstrates Bruce Conner's continuing interest in pairing film with music that adopts an outsider perspective. 

You can watch a short documentary on this film. 

"Breakaway" (1966) by Bruce Conner, for Antonia Christina Basilotta

You can't watch this film online. But you can watch this documentary, featuring Dennis Hopper and Toni Basil (AKA Antonia Christina Basilotta), which includes clips from the original. 

Music video, as a form, was born out of experimental film and video. This example from 1966 demonstrates this clearly. Conner also worked with Devo on a film for "Mongoloid", which I will post separately. 

“Mea Culpa” (1981) by Bruce Conner, for Brian Eno / David Byrne

(Video no longer available.)

“Mea Culpa” (dir. Bruce Conner, 1981) for Brian Eno / David Byrne's album My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. Connor also made a video for “America is Waiting” (1982) but this is not available online.

Bruce Conner (1933–2008) was known for his work across media, including assemblage, film, painting, and photography. His experimental films integrated found footage with an interest in music, and may be considered precursors to the music video. The first was the twelve-minute A Movie (1958), which was originally planned to be part of an installation. Among others, Christian Marclay was influenced by this film for his own work. Dennis Hopper used the aesthetic for the acid trip scene in Easy Rider.

You can watch a short documentary on this video.