Ken McMullen (born 31 August 1948,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

) is a film director, artist and since 2012 Anniversary Professor of Film Studies at Kingston University, London. McMullen's films are grounded in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...

, history,

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

. McMullen's exhibition ''Signatures of the Invisible'' brought together artists and scientists working at

CERN The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in a northwestern suburb of Gen ...

, the European

particle physics Particle physics or high energy physics is the study of fundamental particles and forces that constitute matter and radiation. The fundamental particles in the universe are classified in the Standard Model as fermions (matter particles) an ...

facility near

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

. His other work includes filming conversations with physicists at Stanford Linear Accelerator Centre, which he describes as "making a diary of the transition in human culture" because he believes physics is arriving at another shifting point. His latest work ''Arrows of Time'' is a radical new form of cinema consisting of 40 interchangeable elements that deal with literature,

, and contemporary physics, premiered at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of t ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

in April 2007. During the late 1990s and early 2000s McMullen also lectured and took tutor groups and what was then 'The London College of Printing and Distributive Trades' - now the

London College of Communication The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It specialises in media-related subjects including advertising, animation, film, graphic design, photography and sound arts. It has approximately ...

. Attached to the department of Film and Television studies at the college's Back Hill facility, McMullen was popular with students.

Selected filmography

* '' Hamlet Within'' (2022) * '' Moments with Mujica'' (2021) * '' The Ghost Within, film'' (2020) * '' OXI: An Act of Resistance'' (2014) * '' An Organization of Dreams'' (2009) * '' Arrows of Time'' (2007) * '' Art, Poetry and Particle Physics'' (2004) * '' Pioneers in Art and Science: Metzger'' (2004) * '' Lumin de Lumine'' (2001) * '' Seven Sighs'' (1995) * ''Lucky Man'' (1994), Documentary. * '' There We Are, John'' (1993) * ''

1867 Events January–March * January 1 – The Covington–Cincinnati Suspension Bridge opens between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky, in the United States, becoming the longest single-span bridge in the world. It was renamed a ...

'' (1990) * ''

1871 Events January–March * January 3 – Franco-Prussian War – Battle of Bapaume: Prussians win a strategic victory. * January 18 – Proclamation of the German Empire: The member states of the North German Confederation and the sout ...

'' (1990): a period film about the rise and fall of the Paris Commune in 1871. Screened in the

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

section at the

1990 Cannes Film Festival The 43rd Cannes Film Festival was held from 10 to 21 May 1990. The Palme d'Or went to '' Wild at Heart'' by David Lynch. The festival opened with '' Dreams'', directed by Akira Kurosawa and closed with ''The Comfort of Strangers'', directed by Pau ...

. * '' Partition'' (1987): set in the turmoil surrounding the transfer of political power in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

from

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

n hands and the partition of the subcontinent into The Dominion of Pakistan and The Republic of India in 1947. * ''

Zina ''Zināʾ'' () or ''zinā'' ( or ) is an Islamic legal term referring to unlawful sexual intercourse. According to traditional jurisprudence, ''zina'' can include adultery, fornication, prostitution, rape, sodomy, incest, and bestiality. ' ...

'' (1985): comparable to a twentieth century

Antigone In Greek mythology, Antigone ( ; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of Oedipus and either his mother Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.Roman, L., ...

, the ''titular daughter'' of

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...

discusses memories of her life and her father with the

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

ian

psychotherapist Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome prob ...

Professor Kronfeld. * '' Being and Doing'' (1984) * ''

Ghost Dance The Ghost Dance ( Caddo: Nanissáanah, also called the Ghost Dance of 1890) was a ceremony incorporated into numerous Native American belief systems. According to the teachings of the Northern Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka (renamed Jack Wil ...

'' (1983): a journey into beliefs and myths surrounding the existence of ghosts and the nature of cinema. * '' Patrick Hughes'' (1980) * '' Patrick Heron'' (1979) * '' Resistance'' (1976) * '' Lovelies and Dowdies'' (1974) * '' Joseph Beuys at the Tate and Whitechapel'' (1972)

References

External links

*
Ken McMullen
''symmetry'': a joint Fermilab/SLAC publication. Accessed August 9, 2007. 1948 births Mass media people from Manchester English film directors Living people {{UK-film-director-stub