As part of a pilot program for documentary film makers,
Dr. Kurt Johnson participated yesterday (March 11) in the shooting of a
pilot short subject documentary at New York's New School: "Nabokov's
Blues". At present this project is being done by a group of graduate
students submitting it as their "qualifying materials" and is not a
public document. They chose the book as their short subject. If they
are accepted into the program, there may be something more substantial
that could evolve. Kurt worked with the graduate students to re-create
Nabokov's AMNH office of the pre-1940's etc. (5th Floor Room 82) in an
old NY loft building, with old furniture, desks, specimens, books,
microscope etc, allowing one to move from shots of the actual outside
of the real AMNH into the re-enacted "old office". What was once
Office 82 at the AMNH is today so remodelled it bears no resemblance to
the original (which were originally modified in the 1970's when Kurt
was there and then again in the 1990's). On this set Kurt welcomed
the audience and spoke about many aspects of the Nabokov butterfly
saga.
Dr. Kurt Johnson