The Beauty Is Relentless: The Short Movies of Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby

"[Here] exists a kind of nakedness, a peeling away of propriety, a questioning of behavioral and social systems—and yet I find their work refreshingly playful and deeply generous."—Deborah Stratman, University of Illinois at Chicago
The literary post-punk short movies of Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby have been tearing up the festival/gallery circuit for the past fifteen years with their blend of bedroom pop, perverse animations, and hopes for fame. In this collection of award-winning scripts, creative writings, and critical missives, scholars, video legends, and animal experts—including Steve Reinke, Sarah Hollenberg, Akira Lippit, and Tom Sherman—weigh in on why these movies matter.
Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby have been collaborating since 1994. Their work has won the top prize at festivals in Ann Arbor and Chicago, and awards in New York, Zurich, and Hamburg. They teach at Syracuse University.
Mike Hoolboom is an internationally renowned experimental moviemaker and critic.