Stan Brakhage

Stan Brakhage
Close-up black-and-white portrait photograph of a man with wavy medium-length hair and a Walrus moustache
Photo of Brakhage by Friedl Kubelka, c. 1976
Born
Robert Sanders

(1933-01-14)January 14, 1933[1]
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
DiedMarch 9, 2003(2003-03-09) (aged 70)
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
OccupationFilm director
Years active1954–2003
Notable workDog Star Man, Mothlight, Window Water Baby Moving
MovementAvant-garde cinema

James Stanley Brakhage (/ˈbrækɪdʒ/ BRAK-ij;[2] January 14, 1933 – March 9, 2003) was an American experimental 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 and diverse body of work, exploring a variety of formats, approaches and techniques that included handheld camerawork, painting directly onto celluloid, fast cutting, in-camera editing, scratching on film, collage film and the use of multiple exposures. Interested in mythology and inspired by music, poetry and visual phenomena, Brakhage sought to reveal the universal, in particular exploring themes of birth, mortality,[3] sexuality,[4] and innocence.[4] His films are for the most part silent.

Brakhage's films are often noted for their expressiveness[4][5] and lyricism.[4][6] While they were for many years obscure and hard to find, many are now archived and readily available on modern home media.[7]

  1. ^ "Stan Brakhage: The Art of Seeing". Legacy. January 14, 2011. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  2. ^ "Stan Brakhage interview 1969". YouTube. March 27, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  3. ^ Rosenbaum, Jonathan. "The Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes". Chicago Reader. Archived from the original on April 16, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
  4. ^ a b c d Senses of Cinema: Stan Brakhage Archived December 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Before the Beginning Was the Word: Stan Brakhage's". criterion.com. Archived from the original on July 22, 2013. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  6. ^ James, David E. (July 13, 2005). Stan Brakhage: Filmmaker (Hardcover ed.). New York, NY: Temple UP. ISBN 978-1-59213-271-3.
  7. ^ Lanthier, Joseph Jon (May 24, 2010). "Blu-ray Review: By Brakhage: An Anthology on the Criterion Collection". Slant Magazine. Retrieved October 21, 2023.