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Jonas Mekas | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Mekas in 1971 | |
| Born | December 24, 1922 Semeniškiai, Lithuania |
| Died | January 23, 2019 (aged 96) New York City, U.S. |
| Nationality | Lithuanian-American |
| Alma mater | University of Mainz |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1954–2019 |
| Movement | Avant-garde cinema |
| Spouse |
Hollis Melton (m. 1974) |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards | Lithuanian National Prize (1995) |
| Signature | |
 | |
Jonas Mekas (/ˈmiːkɑːs/;[1] Lithuanian: [ˈjonɐs ˈmækɐs]; 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".[2] Mekas's work has been exhibited in museums and at festivals worldwide.[3] Mekas was active in New York City, where he co-founded Anthology Film Archives, The Film-Makers' Cooperative, and the journal Film Culture. He was also the first film critic for The Village Voice.[4][5]
In the 1960s, Mekas launched anti-censorship campaigns in defense of the LGBTQ-themed films of Jean Genet and Jack Smith, garnering support from cultural figures including Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Norman Mailer, and Susan Sontag. Mekas mentored and supported many prominent artists and filmmakers, including Ken Jacobs, Peter Bogdanovich, Chantal Akerman, Richard Foreman, John Waters, Barbara Rubin, Yoko Ono, and Martin Scorsese. He helped launch the writing careers of the critics Andrew Sarris, Amy Taubin, and J. Hoberman.
During World War II, Mekas edited and contributed to two far-right, collaborationist newspapers under the Nazi occupation of Lithuania, the significance of which has been debated by historians.[6][7][8][9]
His major films include The Brig (1964), Walden: Diaries Notes and Sketches (1968), and Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania (1972). His early poetry collection, Idylls of Semeniskiai (1948), is a celebrated work in his native Lithuania.
- ^ "Jim Jarmusch Interview: How Jonas Mekas Expanded the Possibilities of Film"
- ^ Needham, Alex (January 23, 2019). "Jonas Mekas, titan of underground filmmaking, dies aged 96". The Guardian. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
- ^ "Interview: Jonas Mekas by Modestas Mankus". Our Culture Mag. April 18, 2017.
- ^ "Lectures on Avant-Garde Art, Films Planned During Artist's Visit". Iowa City Press-Citizen. Iowa City, IA. November 1, 1995. p. 21. Retrieved May 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ ""I'm Like the Last Leaf of A Big Tree": A Conversation with Jonas Mekas | Village Voice". September 21, 2017. Archived from the original on September 21, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Casper, Michael. "I Was There | Michael Casper". The New York Review of Books 2022. ISSN 0028-7504. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
- ^ "World War II Revisionism at the Jewish Museum". Jewish Currents. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
- ^ Vyšniauskas, Karolis. "Correcting the Record: Michael Casper on Jonas Mekas | NARA". nara.lt. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
- ^ "Portrait of a Poet as a Young Man: Jonas Mekas in War and Exile - Journal #129". www.e-flux.com. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
