Jack Sargeant (born 1968) is a British writer specializing in
cult film
A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage ...
,
underground film
An underground film is a film that is out of the mainstream either in its style, genre or financing.
Notable examples include:
John Waters' ''Pink Flamingos'',
David Lynch's ''Eraserhead'',
Andy Warhol's ''Blue Movie'',
Rosa von Praunheim's ''Ta ...
, and
independent film
An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...
, as well as
subculture
A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, poli ...
s,
true crime
True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events.
The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 per ...
, and other aspects of the unusual. In addition he is a film programmer, curator, academic and photographer. He has appeared in underground films and performances. He currently lives in Australia.
Career
Since 1995 Sargeant has written and contributed to numerous books on
underground film
An underground film is a film that is out of the mainstream either in its style, genre or financing.
Notable examples include:
John Waters' ''Pink Flamingos'',
David Lynch's ''Eraserhead'',
Andy Warhol's ''Blue Movie'',
Rosa von Praunheim's ''Ta ...
, including: ''
Deathtripping First published as ''Deathtripping: The Cinema of Transgression'' by Creation Books in 1995 and subsequently republished as ''Deathtripping: The Extreme Underground'' by Soft Skull Press, ''Deathtripping'' is a book by Jack Sargeant which examines ...
: The Cinema of Transgression'', about
Cinema of Transgression
__notoc__
The Cinema of Transgression is a term coined by Nick Zedd in 1985 to describe a New York City-based underground film movement, consisting of a loose-knit group of artists using shock value and black humor in their films. Key players in th ...
filmmakers such as
Richard Kern
Richard Kern (born 1954) is an American underground filmmaker, writer and photographer. He first came to prominence as part of the cultural explosion in the East Village of New York City in the 1980s, with erotic and experimental films like ...
and
Nick Zedd
Nick may refer to:
* Nick (given name)
* A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat
* British slang for being arrested
* British slang for a police station
* British slang for stealing
* Short for nickname
Place ...
, ''Naked Lens: Beat Cinema'', and ''Cinema Contra Cinema'', a collection of essays on alternative film. In 2007 ''Deathtripping'' was republished by
Soft Skull
Counterpoint LLC was a publishing company distributed by Perseus Books Group launched in 2007. It was formed from the consolidation of three presses: Perseus' Counterpoint Press, Avalon Publishing Group's Shoemaker & Hoard and the independent So ...
Press, this was followed by a re-printing of ''Naked Lens: Beat Cinema'' in 2008.
Sargeant is the editor of the journal ''Suture'', and has co-edited the books ''Lost Highways: An Illustrated History of the Road Movie'' (with Stephanie Watson) and ''No Focus: Punk on Film'' (with Chris Barber). In 2014 his collection of essays on the world of
William Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultu ...
and associated artists such as
Brion Gysin
Brion Gysin (19 January 1916 – 13 July 1986) was a British-Canadian painter, writer, sound poet, performance artist and inventor of experimental devices.
He is best known for his use of the cut-up technique, alongside his close friend, the ...
was published as ''Against Control'' by Swedish publisher Eight Millimetre.
In 2016 Amok Books published ''Flesh and Excess: On Underground Film''.
Sargeant has contributed to numerous books on subjects ranging from
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...
movies to
road rage
Road rage is aggressive or angry behavior exhibited by motorists. These behaviors include rude and verbal insults, yelling, physical threats or dangerous driving methods targeted at other drivers, pedestrians or cyclists in an effort to intimid ...
and
car crash songs. His work has been included in collections such as
Mikita Brottman
Mikita Brottman, née Mikita Hoy, (born 1966) is a British American non-fiction author, scholar, and psychologist known for her interest in true crime. Her writing blends a number of genres, often incorporating elements of autobiography, psych ...
's ''Car Crash Culture'', Mendick & Harper's ''Underground USA'', Wollen & Kerr's ''Autopia,'' among others.
He has also authored and edited
true crime
True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events.
The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 per ...
books including ''Born Bad,'' ''Death Cults,'', ''Bad Cop Bad Cop,'' and ''Guns, Death Terror''. These books have featured contributions from
Monte Cazazza
Monte Cazazza is an American artist and composer best known for his seminal role in helping shape industrial music through recordings with the London-based Industrial Records in the mid-1970s.
Career
Cazazza, based primarily in San Francisco du ...
, Michael Spann, Andrew Leavold, John Harrison, Simon Whitechapel, Chris Barber, and others.
Sargeant has written introductions for
Joe Coleman's ''Book of Joe'' and photographer Romain Slocombe's ''Tokyo Sex Underground''.
He has contributed to publications such as Headpress as well as Panik,
Electric Sheep
Electric Sheep is a volunteer computing project for animating and evolving fractal flames, which are in turn distributed to the networked computers, which display them as a screensaver.
Process
The process is transparent to the casual user, w ...
,
The Wire
''The Wire'' is an American Crime film, crime drama Television show, television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The ...
,
Fortean Times
''Fortean Times'' is a British monthly magazine devoted to the anomalous phenomena popularised by Charles Fort. Previously published by John Brown Publishing (from 1991 to 2001), I Feel Good Publishing (2001 to 2005), Dennis Publishing (2005 to 2 ...
and
Bizarre magazine, as well as academic journals such as ''Senses of Cinema'' and ''M/C''. Since 2008 he has written film reviews and a regular column for the Australian film magazine
FilmInk focusing on unusual areas of film culture. He has also appeared as an occasional guest on ABC Radio National's MovieTime.
Between 2001–2003 he was film editor at large for
Sleazenation
''Sleazenation'' was a monthly London based fashion, lifestyle and “'post-drug culture' magazine according to founding editor Steve Beale in 1999". The publication was co-founded by Jon Swinstead and Adam Dewhurst and published by Swinstead Publ ...
. He has written cover notes for DVDs by various underground and independent filmmakers, including the
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
's DVD release of
Kirby Dick
Kirby Bryan Dick (born August 23, 1952) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best known for directing documentary films. He received Academy Award nominations for Best Documentary Feature for directing ''Twist of Fait ...
's film ''
Sick: The Life and Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist'' and their ''Jeff Keen'' DVD box set. In addition he has contributed liner notes to the
Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle were an English music and visual arts group formed in 1975 in Kingston upon Hull by Genesis P-Orridge, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Peter Christopherson, and Chris Carter (British musician), Chris Carter. They are widely regarded as pi ...
''TGV'' DVD box set.
As a public speaker Jack Sargeant has given numerous talks on a variety of subjects including the work of JG Ballard, William Burroughs, and many other subjects often related to subjects he has written about.
Sargeant has appeared in numerous film and TV documentaries on culture and film, as well as having cameos in underground films. He has also appeared on a recording by the experimental group I/O.
He has promoted and organised shows for filmmakers and artists at the
Horse Hospital
The Horse Hospital is a listed building, Grade II listed Nonprofit organization, not for profit, independent arts venue at Colonnade, Bloomsbury, central London. It has a curatorial focus on counter-cultural histories, sub-cultures and outsider ...
in London and Cinematheque in Brighton, UK, and has also toured film festivals in America, Europe, and Australia, including the
New York Underground Film Festival The New York Underground Film Festival was an annual event that occurred each March at Anthology Film Archives in New York City from 1994 through 2008 founded by filmmakers Todd Phillips ('' Road Trip'', '' Old School'') and Andrew Gurland. After P ...
, the
Chicago Underground Film Festival
Chicago Underground Film Festival (CUFF), founded in 1993, is the longest running underground film festival in the world. It's an internationally recognized program providing a venue for documentary, experimental and avant-garde narrative film and ...
,
Melbourne Underground Film Festival
The Melbourne Underground Film Festival (MUFF) is an Austalian independent film festival featuring mostly genre, controversial, transgressive and avant garde material.
History
The Melbourne Underground Film Festival was formed out of disagreeme ...
,
Brisbane International Film Festival
The Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) is an annual film festival held in Brisbane, Australia. Organised by the Screen Culture unit at Screen Queensland, the festival has taken place since 1992, with the program including features, doc ...
, and Sydney Underground Film Festival. In 2002 and 2003 he collaborated with Simon Kane on The Salon, an annual event that has featured performances by
David Tibet
David Tibet (born David Michael Bunting; 5 March 1960) is a British poet and artist who founded the music group Current 93, of which he is the only full-time member.
He was given the name "Tibet" by Genesis P-Orridge, and in January 2005 he a ...
,
Cosey Fanni Tutti
Cosey Fanni Tutti (born Christine Carol Newby; 4 November 1951) is an English performance artist, musician and writer, best known for her time in the avant-garde groups Throbbing Gristle and Chris & Cosey.
Tutti first performed under the name ...
, and Cotton Ferox.
Since 2008 he has been Program Director for the
Revelation Perth International Film Festival
Revelation Perth International Film Festival began in 1997. Founded by Richard Sowada to showcase a large range of independent feature films, documentaries, short films, and experimental works, it runs every July in Perth, Western Australia and ...
, and in 2010 he curated the film program for
Sydney Biennale
The Biennale of Sydney is an international festival of contemporary art, held every two years in Sydney, Australia. It is a large and well-attended contemporary visual arts event in the country. Alongside the Venice and São Paulo biennales and ...
.
![Jack Sargeant and Johannes Grenzfurthner 2018](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Jack_Sargeant_and_Johannes_Grenzfurthner_2018.jpg)
Sargeant has been a frequent collaborator of art and theory group
monochrom
Monochrom (stylised as monochrom) is an international art-technology-philosophy group, publishing house and film production company. It was founded in 1993, and defines itself as "an unpeculiar mixture of proto-aesthetic fringe work, pop att ...
and founder
Johannes Grenzfurthner
Johannes Grenzfurthner (; born 1975 in Vienna) is an Austrian artist, filmmaker, writer, actor, curator, theatre director, performer and lecturer. Grenzfurthner is the founder, conceiver and artistic director of ''monochrom'', an international art ...
. He got invited to
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
as
Q21/MQ artist in residence by monochrom in winter 2018.
Bibliography
Books
*
* ''Born Bad'', London: Creation Books, 1996.
* ''The Naked Lens: Beat Cinema'', London: Creation Books, 1997.
* ''Suture 1'', London: Creation Books, 1998.
* ''Cinema Contra Cinema'', Berchem: Fringecore, 1999.
* ''Lost Highways: A History of the Road Movie'', (co-edited with Stephanie Watson) London: Creation Books, 2000.
* ''Deathtripping: The Cinema of Transgression'' Revised second edition, London: Creation Books, 2000.
* ''Guns, Death, Terror'', (as editor), London: Creation Books, 2002.
* ''Death Cults'', (as editor), London: Virgin Books, 2002.
* ''Bad Cop / Bad Cop'', (as editor), London: Virgin Books, 2003.
* ''No Focus: Punk On Film'', (co-edited with Chris Barber), Headpress, 2006.
*''Deathtripping: the Extreme Underground'', revised third edition NYC,
Soft Skull
Counterpoint LLC was a publishing company distributed by Perseus Books Group launched in 2007. It was formed from the consolidation of three presses: Perseus' Counterpoint Press, Avalon Publishing Group's Shoemaker & Hoard and the independent So ...
, 2007.
* ''
Naked Lens: Beat Cinema'', revised third edition NYC,
Soft Skull
Counterpoint LLC was a publishing company distributed by Perseus Books Group launched in 2007. It was formed from the consolidation of three presses: Perseus' Counterpoint Press, Avalon Publishing Group's Shoemaker & Hoard and the independent So ...
, 2008.
* ''Against Control'', Eight Millimetres, 2014.
* ''Flesh and Excess: On Underground Film'', Amok Books, 2016.
Essays, chapters and other contributions
* "Rope of Flesh:
Mudhoney
Mudhoney is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1988, following the demise of Green River. Its members are singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner, bassist Guy Maddison and drummer Dan Peters. Orig ...
Deconstructed", ''Necronomicon Book Two'', ed. Andy Black, London: Creation Books, 1998.
* "Towards The Medical", ''Body Probe'', ed. David Wood, London: Velvet Books, 1999.
* "Bringing Out The Dead", ''Addicted: The Myth and Menace of Drugs in Film'', ed.
Jack Stevenson
Jack Stevenson (born 14 September 1955) is an author and film showman, who lives in Copenhagen, Denmark.
His books illuminate aspects of cinema and history that have been largely neglected by mainstream media. Also, of value to future historian ...
, London: Creation Books, 2000.
* Introduction to ''Butchershop in the Sky'', James Havoc, London: Creation Books, 2000.
* Introduction to ''Tokyo Sex Underground'', Romain Slocombe, London: Creation Books, 2001.
* "Violence and Vinyl: Car Crashes in 1960s Pop", ''Car Crash Culture'', ed. Mikita Brottman, New York: Palgrave / St Martins Press, 2001.
* Introduction to ''William S Burroughs' Unforgettable Characters:
Lola la Chata and Bernabe Jurado'', Brisbane: Xochi Press, 2001.
* "Voyeurism, Sadism and Transgression: Screen Notes and Observation on Warhol's Blow Job and I, A Man", ''Underground USA: Filmmaking Beyond the Hollywood Canon'', ed. Xavier Mendick & Steven Jay Schneider, London: Wallflower, 2002.
* "Squealing Wheels and Flying Fists", ''Autopia'', eds. Peter Wollen and Joe Kerr, London: ReAktion Books, 2002.
* "Knee Deep in the Mud, Blood and Tears", ''The Book of Joe, Joe Coleman'', San Francisco: Last Gasp / Los Angeles: La Luz de Jesus Gallery, 2003.
* "Sticks & Bones: Weapons Training", ''Search & Destroy: the Vietnam War & Film'', ed. Jack Hunter, London: Creation Books, 2003.
* "Harry Crosby", ''Straight to Hell: 20th Century Suicides'', ed. Namida King, London: Creation Books, 2004.
* ''The Headpress Guide to Modern Culture'', ed. David Kerekes, Stockport: Critical Vision, 2004.
* Introduction to ''The Gun Is Loaded'',
Lydia Lunch
Lydia Lunch (born Lydia Anne Koch; June 2, 1959)Martin Charles Strong. ''The Great Indie Discography''. 2003, page 85 is an American singer, poet, writer, actress and self-empowerment speaker. Her career began during the 1970s New York City no ...
, Black Dog, London, 2008.
* "Revealing and Concealing: Notes and Observations on Eroticism and Female Pubic Hair", in ''Hair Styling, Culture and Fashion'', eds Geraldine Biddle-Perry & Sarah Cheang, Berg, 2008.
* "This Is Hardcore"' in ''Cinematic Folds: The Furling and Unfurling of Images'', ed Firoza Elavia, Pleasure Dome, 2008.
* "In Celebration of Going Too Far: Waterpower" in ''From the Arthouse to the Grindhouse'', eds Rob Weiner & John Cline, Scarecrow, 2010
*
* "Hot, Hard Cocks and Tight, Tight Unlubricated Assholes: Transgression, Sexual Ambiguity and “Perverse” Pleasures in Serge Gainsbourg's Je t’aime moi non plus", in:
monochrom
Monochrom (stylised as monochrom) is an international art-technology-philosophy group, publishing house and film production company. It was founded in 1993, and defines itself as "an unpeculiar mixture of proto-aesthetic fringe work, pop att ...
#16-24, 2010.
Film and TV appearances
*''X'', featured stripclub extra, Jon Hewitt, Australia, 2011.
*''The Advocate of Fagdom'', documentary interviewee, France, 2011.
*''Blank City'', documentary interviewee, USA, 2009.
*''Llik Your Idols'', documentary interviewee, France 2007.
*''Russ Meyer: King of Sexploitation'', documentary interviewee, Ireland / UK, Channel 5, 2004.
*''100 Sexiest Moments'', documentary interviewee, Channel 4, UK, 2003.
*''Love & Anarchy: The Wild World of Jaimie Leonarder'', documentary interviewee, Pagan Films, SBS, Australia, 2002.
*''Debbie Does Damnation'', cameo, Eric Brummer, 2001.
*''Fear, Panic And Censorship'', documentary interviewee, Channel 4, October 2000.
*''New Apocalyptic Literature'' Jack Sargeant & Stuart Swezey as documentary subject, Denmark, 1999.
*''X-Tripping'', interviewee and research advisor on documentary on underground film and culture, Channel 4, 1998.
Notes
References
External links
*
Official Myspace pagefor "Llik your idols", a documentary about the Cinema of Transgression featuring Jack Sargeant
www.jacktext.netJack Sargeant's official website
Jack Sargeant at Rotten Tomatoes
Interview for Sydney Underground Film Festival
Outside Left Interview
Alterati Interview
ABC TV interview
Real Time article on Revelation Film Festival 2009
FilmInk interview with Jack Sargeant
Real Time interview with Jack Sargeant
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sargeant, Jack
1968 births
Living people
Australian film critics
British curators
British male journalists
British writers
Film theorists
FilmInk people
Place of birth missing (living people)
Australian actors
British actors
Australian artists
British artists
British performance artists