Centuries of June

A short black and white film which documents a decaying mansion, secluded garden, and children playing.
Centuries of June, perhaps more than any Cornell film, is a naked attempt to capture the soul of a place and the mood of a disappearing moment.

"This film comes to exist because Joseph Cornell wished, one fine summer day, to show me the old homes of his beloved Flushing. One of them had been torn down and another beside it was scheduled for demolition. In torment (similar to that which had prompted him to ask me to photograph the Third Ave. Elevated before it was destroyed) he suggested we spend the afternoon preserving 'the world of this house', its environs. It would be too strong a word to say he 'directed' my photography; and yet his presence and constant suggestions (often simply by a lift of the hand, or lifted eyebrows even) made this film entirely his. He then spent years editing it, incorporating 're-takes' into the film's natural progress, savoring and lovingly using almost every bit of the footage. And then he gave it to me, 'in memory of that afternoon.' It was originally to be called Tower House, then Bolts of Melody (in homage to Emily Dickinson) and then Portrait of June and very often simply June."
– Stan Brakhage