James Herbert (born 1938) is an American painter and filmmaker known for directing a series of

music videos A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for the band

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...

He has also made over forty

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

s, including ''John Five'' (1992) and ''Jumbo Aqua'' (2001), and directed four independent features: ''Scars'' (1997), ''Speedy Boys'' (1998), ''Rabbit Pix'' (2005) and ''Abandoned House'' (2007). Some of his short films have been collected on the video compilation ''Figures'' (1990).

Biography

Herbert was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He received his BA at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

and his MFA at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

in 1962. After graduation, Herbert moved to Georgia and joined the faculty of the art department at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

. He studied with the

abstract expressionist Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...

painter

Clyfford Still Clyfford Still (November 30, 1904 – June 23, 1980) was an American painter, and one of the leading figures in the first generation of Abstract Expressionists, who developed a new, powerful approach to painting in the years immediately follo ...

and the experimental filmmaker

Stan Brakhage James Stanley Brakhage ( ; January 14, 1933 – March 9, 2003) was an American filmmaker. He is considered to be one of the most important figures in 20th-century experimental film. Over the course of five decades, Brakhage created a large ...

. He has received several awards, including an Adolph Gottlieb Foundation grant, two grants from the

John Simon Guggenheim Foundation The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Olga and Simon Guggenheim John Simon Guggenheim (December 30, 1867 – November 2, 1941) was an American businessman, politician and philanthropist. Life Born in Philadelphi ...

, a

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

senior fellowship, a Lewis Comfort Tiffany grant, and a McDowell Colony fellowship. Herbert was R.E.M. frontman

Michael Stipe John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of alternative rock band R.E.M. He is known for his vocal quality, poetic lyrics and unique stage presence. Poss ...

's art professor when he studied at the

. Stipe greatly admired Herbert's films, and in addition to having him helm R.E.M.'s earliest music videos, he later cited Herbert as a significant influence on him individually and artistically.

Music video filmography

* "Wolves, Lower" (live),

(1982) * "Carnival", Limbo District (1983; 12-minute film featuring four songs: "Those Devil Eyes", "A la maison", "Rhythm Forward", and "Daydreaming") * '' Left of Reckoning'', R.E.M. (1984; 20-minute short film) * "Pretty Persuasion", R.E.M. (1984; segment from ''Left of Reckoning'', excerpted as a standalone promo for play on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

and music programs) * "Green Grow the Rushes", R.E.M. (1985) * "

Driver 8 "Driver 8" is the second single from American musical group R.E.M.'s third album, ''Fables of the Reconstruction''. Released in September 1985, the song peaked at number 22 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It was not relea ...

", R.E.M. (1985; co-directed with

) * "Life and How to Live It", R.E.M. (1985; editor(ial advisor) Jackie Slayton is often credited as co-director) * "Feeling Gravity's Pull", R.E.M. (1985; editor(ial advisor) Jackie Slayton is often credited as co-director) * "

It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" is a song by American rock band R.E.M., which first appeared on their 1987 album, ''Document''. It was released as the album's second single in November 1987, reaching No. 69 i ...

", R.E.M. (1987) * "The First Fish to Walk on Land", dance film collaboration with Elle Udaykee Trapkin and music by Allen Welty-Green (1988) * "Turn You Inside-Out", R.E.M. (1989) * "Low", R.E.M. (1991) * "Revolution Earth",

The B-52's The B-52's, also styled as The B-52s, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, p ...

(1991) * "Fish and Boots" (1995; interstitial footage between music videos on R.E.M.'s video compilation ''

Parallel Parallel is a geometric term of location which may refer to: Computing * Parallel algorithm * Parallel computing * Parallel metaheuristic * Parallel (software), a UNIX utility for running programs in parallel * Parallel Sysplex, a cluster of ...

'', excerpted from R.E.M. 1995 tour films) * "All the Best", R.E.M. (2011)

References

Bibliography

*James Herbert: "Stills"

Santa Fe, NM Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label= Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. The name “S ...

: Twin Palms, 1992. *"Body Language" (interview conducted by Stephen Gallagher) in: "Filmmaker" (February 1999), pp. 59, 109

External links

*
James Herbert
at the Music Video DataBase {{DEFAULTSORT:Herbert, James American music video directors American film directors 1938 births Living people Artists from Boston