Stan Brakhage
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James Stanley Brakhage ( ; January 14, 1933 – March 9, 2003) was an American
filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...
. He is considered to be one of the most important figures in 20th-century
experimental film Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, parti ...
. Over the course of five decades, Brakhage created a large and diverse body of work, exploring a variety of formats, approaches and techniques that included
handheld camera Hand-held camera or hand-held shooting is a filmmaking and video production technique in which a camera is held in the camera operator's hands as opposed to being mounted on a tripod or other base. Hand-held cameras are used because they are conve ...
work, painting directly onto celluloid,
fast cutting Fast cutting is a film editing technique which refers to several consecutive shots of a brief duration (e.g. 3 seconds or less). It can be used to quickly convey much information, or to imply either energy or chaos. Fast cutting is also frequent ...
,
in-camera editing In-camera editing is a technique where, instead of Film editing, editing the shots in a film into sequence after shooting, the Film director, director or cinematographer instead shoots the sequences in strict order. The resulting "edit" is therefor ...
, scratching on film,
collage film Collage film is a style of film created by juxtaposing found footage from disparate sources. The term has also been applied to the physical collaging of materials onto film stock. Surrealist roots The surrealist movement played a critical role i ...
and the use of
multiple exposure In photography and cinematography, a multiple exposure is the superimposition of two or more exposures to create a single image, and double exposure has a corresponding meaning in respect of two images. The exposure values may or may not be id ...
s. Interested in
mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...
and inspired by music, poetry, and visual phenomena, Brakhage sought to reveal the universal, in particular exploring themes of birth, mortality, sexuality,Senses of Cinema: Stan Brakhage
and innocence. His films are for the most part silent. Brakhage's films are often noted for their expressiveness and lyricism.James, David E. (July 13, 2005). ''Stan Brakhage: Filmmaker'' (Hardcover ed.). New York, NY: Temple UP. . While they were for many years obscure and hard to find, many are now readily available on DVD as well as other media. __TOC__


Biography

Born Robert Sanders in
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
on January 14, 1933, Brakhage was adopted and renamed three weeks after his birth by Ludwig and Clara Brakhage. As a child Brakhage was featured on radio as a boy
soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261  Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
, and sang in church choirs and as a soloist at other events. He was raised in
Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, where he attended South High School with the filmmakers Larry Jordan and Stan Phillips, and the composers Jim Tenney, and Ramiro Cortes. At South he and other friends (Larry Hackstaff, Walt Newcomb, Gordon Rosenblum, Tom O'Brien, Stan Phillips, and others) formed a social and intellectual group, calling themselves "the Gadflies", after
Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...
. Brakhage briefly attended
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 ...
on a scholarship before dropping out to make films. He completed his first film, ''
Interim An interim is a period of temporary pause or change in a sequence of events, or a temporary state, and is often applied to transitional political entities. Interim may also refer to: Temporary organizational arrangements (general concept) *Provis ...
'', at the age of 19; the music for the film was composed by his school friend
James Tenney James Tenney (August 10, 1934 – August 24, 2006) was an American composer and music theorist. He made significant early musical contributions to plunderphonics, sound synthesis, algorithmic composition, process music, spectral music, microto ...
. In 1953, Brakhage moved to
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, 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 List of Ca ...
to attend the San Francisco Art Institute, then called the California School of Fine Arts. He found the atmosphere in San Francisco more rewarding, associating with poets Robert Duncan and Kenneth Rexroth, but did not complete his education, instead moving to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
in 1954. There he met a number of notable artists, including
Maya Deren Maya Deren (born Eleonora Derenkowska, uk, Елеоно́ра Деренко́вська, links=no;
(in whose apartment he briefly lived),
Willard Maas Willard Maas (June 24, 1906 – January 2, 1971) was an American experimental filmmaker and poet. Personal life and career Maas was born in Lindsay, California and graduated from State Teachers College at San Jose. He came to New York in the 193 ...
,
Jonas Mekas Jonas Mekas (; December 24, 1922 – January 23, 2019) was a Lithuanian-American filmmaker, poet, and artist who has been called "the godfather of American avant-garde cinema". Mekas' work has been exhibited in museums and at festivals worldwi ...
,
Marie Menken Marie Menken (born Marie Menkevicius; May 25, 1909 – December 29, 1970) was an American experimental filmmaker, painter, and socialite. She was noted for her unique filming style that incorporated collage. She was one of the first New York fil ...
,
Joseph Cornell Joseph Cornell (December 24, 1903 – December 29, 1972) was an American visual artist and film-maker, one of the pioneers and most celebrated exponents of assemblage. Influenced by the Surrealists, he was also an avant-garde experimental filmm ...
, and John Cage. Brakhage would collaborate with the latter two, making two films with Cornell (''Gnir Rednow'' and ''Centuries of June'') and using Cage's music for the soundtrack of his first
color film Color photography is photography that uses media capable of capturing and reproducing colors. By contrast, black-and-white or gray- monochrome photography records only a single channel of luminance (brightness) and uses media capable only of ...
, ''In Between''. Brakhage is recorded to have said "If there is one single filmmaker that I owe the most to for the crucial development of my own film making it would be Marie Menken." Brakhage spent the next few years living in near poverty, depressed about what he saw as the failure of his work. He briefly considered suicide. While living in Denver, Brakhage met Mary Jane Collom (see Jane Wodening), whom he married in late 1957. Brakhage tried to make money on his films, but had to take a job making industrial shorts to support his family. In 1958, Jane gave birth to the first of the five children they would have together, a daughter called Myrrena, an event Brakhage recorded for his 1959 film '' Window Water Baby Moving''.


The 1960s and beginning of recognition

When Brakhage's early films had been exhibited in the 1950s, they had often been met with derision, but in the early 1960s Brakhage began to receive recognition in exhibitions and film publications, including ''Film Culture'', which gave awards to several of his films, including ''The Dead'', in 1962. The award statement, written by Jonas Mekas, a critic who would later become an influential experimental filmmaker in his own right, cited Brakhage for bringing to cinema "an intelligence and subtlety that is usually the province of the older arts." Writer/critic
Guy Davenport Guy Mattison Davenport (November 23, 1927 – January 4, 2005) was an American writer, translator, illustrator, painter, intellectual, and teacher. Life Guy Davenport was born in Anderson, South Carolina, in the foothills of Appalachia on Novem ...
, an ardent admirer of Brakhage, invited him to the University of Kentucky in March 1964 and tried to get him a residency there. From 1961 to 1964, Brakhage worked on a series of five films known as the ''
Dog Star Man ''Dog Star Man'' is a series of short experimental films, all directed by Stan Brakhage, featuring Jane Wodening. It was released in instalments between 1961 and 1964 and comprises a prelude and four parts. In 1992, ''Dog Star Man'' was includ ...
'' cycle. The Brakhages moved to Lump Gulch, Colorado, in 1964, though Brakhage continued to make regular visits to New York. During one of those visits, the 16mm film equipment he had been using was stolen. Brakhage couldn't afford to replace it, instead opting to buy cheaper 8mm film equipment. He soon began working in the format, producing a 30-part cycle of 8mm films known as the ''
Songs A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...
'' from 1964 to 1969. The ''Songs'' include one of Brakhage's most acclaimed films, '' 23rd Psalm Branch'', a response to the Vietnam War and its presentation in the mass media. Brakhage began teaching film history and aesthetics at the
School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which grew into the museum and ...
in 1969, commuting from his home in Colorado.


1970s and 1980s

Brakhage explored new approaches to filmmaking in the 1970s. In 1971, he completed a set of three films inspired by public institutions in the city of
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
. These three films--''Eyes'', about the city police, ''Deus Ex'', filmed in a hospital, and '' The Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes'', depicting autopsy—are collectively known as "The Pittsburgh Trilogy". In 1974, Brakhage made the feature-length '' The Text of Light'', consisting entirely of images of light refracted in a glass
ashtray An ashtray is a receptacle for ash from cigarettes and cigars. Ashtrays are typically made of fire-retardant material such as glass, heat-resistant plastic, pottery, metal, or stone. It differs from a cigarette receptacle, which is used speci ...
. In 1979, he experimented with
Polavision Polavision was an "instant" color home movie system launched by Polaroid in 1977. Unlike other motion picture film stock of the time, Polavision film reproduces color by the additive method, like the much earlier Dufaycolor film. In essence, it ...
, a format marketed by
Polaroid Polaroid may refer to: * Polaroid Corporation, an American company known for its instant film and cameras * Polaroid camera, a brand of instant camera formerly produced by Polaroid Corporation * Polaroid film, instant film, and photographs * Polar ...
, making about five  minute films. The whereabouts of these films are now unknown. He continued his visual explorations of landscape and the nature of light and thought process, and through the late 1970s and early 1980s produced filmic equivalents of what he termed "moving visual thinking" in several series of photographic abstractions known as the Roman, Arabic, and Egyptian series. Stan Brakhage taught 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 o ...
in
Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In c ...
off and on, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He separated from Jane in 1986, and in 1989 married his second wife, Marilyn; the two went on to have two children together. In the late 1980s, Brakhage returned to making
sound film A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...
s, with the four-part ''Faustfilm'' cycle, and also completed the hand-painted film, '' The Dante Quartet''. Brakhage was awarded the
Edward MacDowell Medal The Edward MacDowell Medal is an award which has been given since 1960 to one person annually who has made an outstanding contribution to American culture and the arts. It is given by MacDowell, the first artist residency program in the United Sta ...
in 1989.


1990s – 2000s and death

Brakhage remained extremely productive through the last two decades of his life, sometimes working in collaboration with other filmmakers, including his University of Colorado colleague Phil Solomon. Several more sound films were completed, including ''Passage Through: A Ritual'', edited to the music of
Philip Corner Philip Lionel Corner (born April 10, 1933; name sometimes given as Phil Corner) is an American composer, trombonist, alphornist, vocalist, pianist, music theorist, music educator, and visual artist. Biography After The High School of Music & Ar ...
, and ''Christ Mass Sex Dance'' and ''Ellipses Reel 5'', both with music by James Tenney. He also produced the major meditations on childhood, adolescence, aging and mortality collectively known as the "Vancouver Island Quartet," as well as numerous hand-painted works. Brakhage was diagnosed with
bladder cancer Bladder cancer is any of several types of cancer arising from the tissues of the urinary bladder. Symptoms include blood in the urine, pain with urination, and low back pain. It is caused when epithelial cells that line the bladder become mali ...
in 1996, and his bladder was removed. The surgery seemed successful, but the cancer eventually returned. In a video interview in 2002, he explained that his cancer was caused by the toxicity of the
aniline Aniline is an organic compound with the formula C6 H5 NH2. Consisting of a phenyl group attached to an amino group, aniline is the simplest aromatic amine In organic chemistry, an aromatic amine is an organic compound consisting of an aroma ...
dyes he had used to paint directly onto film. Brakhage retired from teaching and moved to
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
in 2002, settling with his second wife Marilyn and their two sons in
Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...
. Brakhage died there on March 9, 2003, aged 70. The last footage Brakhage shot has been made available under the title ''Work in Progress''. At the time of his death, Brakhage was also working on the ''Chinese Series'', a work that was achieved by scratching directly on to film, a technique that was employed by the French artist
Isidore Isou Isidore Isou (; 29 January 1925 – 28 July 2007), born Isidor Goldstein, was a Romanian-born French poet, dramaturge, novelist, film director, economist, and visual artist who lived in the 20th century. He was the founder of Lettrism, an art ...
in 1950. Though not a practicing
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
during his adulthood, Brakhage requested a traditional
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
service. The funeral was attended largely by family members, as well as a few friends from the filmmaking world, and included a performance of
Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...
's
Toccata and Fugue in D Minor The Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, is a piece of organ music written, according to its oldest extant sources, by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). The piece opens with a toccata section, followed by a fugue that ends in a coda. Schol ...
.


Influence

In 1961, Jonas Mekas wrote that Brakhage is "one of the four or five most authentic film artists working in cinema anywhere, and perhaps the most original filmmaker in America today". Among Brakhage's students were
Eric Darnell Eric Darnell (born August 21, 1961) is an American animator, storyboard artist, director, screenwriter, songwriter and occasional voice actor best known for co-directing ''Antz'' with Tim Johnson, as well as co-directing and co-writing ''Madagas ...
, the director of ''
Antz ''Antz'' is a 1998 American computer-animated adventure comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation (in its debut film) and Pacific Data Images and released by DreamWorks Pictures. It was directed by Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson (in their fe ...
'', as well as the creators of ''
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...
'',
Matt Stone Matthew Richard Stone (born May 26, 1971) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, and composer. He is known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and ''The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative partner Trey Parker. Stone was interes ...
and
Trey Parker Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, and composer. He is known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and '' The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative partner Matt Stone. ...
, and he is featured in their student film ''
Cannibal! The Musical ''Cannibal! The Musical'' (originally known as ''Alferd Packer: The Musical'') is a 1993 American black comedy musical film directed, written, produced, co-scored by and starring Trey Parker in his directorial debut while studying at the Univer ...
''.
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...
's '' The Last Temptation of Christ'' uses Brakhage's painted film style to depict the death of Jesus on the cross. Scorsese has framed samples of Brakhage's films on his office wall. The work of contemporary film and video artist
Raymond Salvatore Harmon Raymond Salvatore Harmon (born April 7, 1974) is an American artist who works primarily as a painter. Biography Born in Jackson, Michigan in 1974, Raymond Salvatore Harmon has lived widely throughout the US (New York City; Savannah, Georgia; An ...
(1974- ) has been compared to Brakhage's abstract films. The credits of the film ''
Seven 7 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 7 or seven may also refer to: * AD 7, the seventh year of the AD era * 7 BC, the seventh year before the AD era * The month of July Music Artists * Seven (Swiss singer) (born 1978), a Swiss recording artist ...
'' (1995), with their scratched emulsion, rapid cutaways and bursts of light are in Brakhage's style. The opening track of
Stereolab Stereolab are an Anglo- French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's music combines influences from krautrock, lounge and 1960s pop music, often incorporating a repetit ...
's album ''
Dots and Loops ''Dots and Loops'' is the fifth studio album by English-French rock band Stereolab. It was released on 22 September 1997 and was issued by Duophonic Records and Elektra Records. The band co-produced the album with John McEntire and Andi Toma, an ...
'' (1997), "Brakhage", is named after him.
Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...
, joined by percussionist Tim Barnes, played along with silent Stan Brakhage films at a 2003 benefit show for
Anthology Film Archives Anthology Film Archives is an international center for the preservation, study, and exhibition of film and video, with a particular focus on independent, experimental, and avant-garde cinema.SYR6: Koncertas Stan Brakhage Prisiminimui. The concluding credits to ''
The Jacket ''The Jacket'' is a 2005 American science-fiction psychological thriller film directed by John Maybury and starring Adrien Brody, Keira Knightley, Kris Kristofferson and Jennifer Jason Leigh. It is partly based on the 1915 Jack London novel '' T ...
'' (2005) are an homage to Brakhage's 1963 film ''
Mothlight ''Mothlight'' is an experimental film, experimental short film by Stan Brakhage, released in 1963. The film was created without the use of a camera. Description ''Mothlight'' is a silent film, silent "collage film" that incorporates "real world e ...
''. The opening titles to the BBC television series ''The Living and the Dead'' (2016) use an excerpt from ''
Mothlight ''Mothlight'' is an experimental film, experimental short film by Stan Brakhage, released in 1963. The film was created without the use of a camera. Description ''Mothlight'' is a silent film, silent "collage film" that incorporates "real world e ...
''. The 2011 film ''
The Tree of Life ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' and Part 8 of '' Twin Peaks: The Return'' (2017) include sequences reminiscent of Brakhage's work.


Filmography


Writings

Brakhage wrote a number of books about films, including ''Metaphors on Vision'' (1963), ''A Moving Picture Giving and Taking Book'' (1971), ''Film Biographies'' (1977, Turtle Island Books) and the posthumously published ''Telling Time: Essays of a Visionary Filmmaker'' (2003).


Archives

Brakhage's archival material, including correspondence, manuscripts, and audio recordings, are held by the University of Colorado as part of the collection of the Brakhage Center. Brakhage's films, including original elements and prints, are held by the
Academy Film Archive The Academy Film Archive is part of the Academy Foundation, established in 1944 with the purpose of organizing and overseeing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ educational and cultural activities, including the preservation of m ...
in the Stan Brakhage Collection. The Academy Film Archive has preserved and restored many Brakhage films and continues to do so; films preserved include ''Window Water Baby Moving'', ''The Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes'', ''Anticipation of the Night'', and ''Interim''.


References


External links


Filmography
by Fred Camper. *










Rental of Brakhage's films in 16mm and other formats

Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database



Magic & Images/ Images & Magic
by David Levi Strauss —an opening paper for a conference at Princeton University, "Magic and the American Avant-Garde Cinema", March 11, 2006.
The Flame is Ours The Letters of Stan Brakhage and Michael McClure1961-1978 Edited by Christopher Luna
a


The act of seeing with Stan's eyes, by Doris Peternel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brakhage, Stan 1933 births 2003 deaths People from Kansas City, Missouri American experimental filmmakers American adoptees Deaths from cancer in British Columbia Dartmouth College alumni Film theorists People from Boulder, Colorado People from Denver Visual music artists Drawn-on-film animators Collage filmmakers