Benita Raphan

Benita Raphan (November 5, 1962, New York City – January 10, 2021, New York City)[1] was an American filmmaker and designer.[2] She was known for directing short documentary films about "eccentric and unusual minds", including John Nash, Buckminster Fuller, Edwin Land and Emily Dickinson.[1]

Raphan received her undergraduate degree from the School of Visual Arts in New York City and her Master of Fine Arts degree from the Royal College of Art in London.[1] She spent 10 years in Paris as a graphic designer for various fashion companies and came back to New York in mid-1990s.[1] She taught at the School of Visual Arts for the last 15 years of her life.

She received a MacDowell Fellowship in 2004.[3] Her films have been bought for the collections of the British Film & Video Artists' Film Study Collection and the Walker Art Center, and her design collages are in the permanent collection of the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum.[3] She was awarded a 2019 Guggenheim fellowship.[4][5]

  1. ^ a b c d Green, Penelope (2021-04-12). "Benita Raphan, Maker of Lyrical Short Films, Is Dead at 58". The New York Times. p. A17. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  2. ^ Frazer, Bryant (2011-12-09). "Five Questions: Benita Raphan". studiodaily.com. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  3. ^ a b "Benita Raphan (profile)". McDowell. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  4. ^ "John Simon Guggenheim Foundation | 2019 Fellows". gf.org. Retrieved 2020-04-12.
  5. ^ "Filmmaker and SVA Alumnus Benita Raphan Awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship". School of Visual Arts. 2019-04-10. Retrieved 2021-04-11.