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Stan Brakhage‌

Gender

Male

Birthday

calendar1933-01-14

Popularity

star3.2

Stan Brakhage

Kansas City, Missouri, USA

Stan Brakhage

Kansas City, Missouri, USA

Gender

Male

Birthday

calendar1933-01-14

Popularity

star3.2

Biography

Stan Brakhage is one of the most influential filmmakers in American avant-garde cinema, noted for his unflinching social commentaries and technical innovations. Over his nearly 40-year career, he has made over 200 films of varying length. He made his first film, Interim (1952) at age 18 after dropping out of college. Brakhage films seek to change the way we see. They encourage viewers to eschew traditional narrative structure in favor of pure visual perception that is not reliant on naming what is seen; rather his goal is to create a more visceral visual experience, for he believes that a "stream-of visual-consciousness could be nothing less than the pathway of the soul." To this end, his films are shot in highly sensual colors and utilize minimal soundtracks. His work can be divided into distinct periods. His first short films explored the properties and possibilities of light. In many of his experimental ventures, Brakhage has forgone traditional cinematography in favor of working directly with the film stock itself. He has occasionally painted, inked, scratched and dyed images onto it; he has also tried pasting organic objects on the film. His most famous example is the 1963 short Mothlight in which he glued moth wings onto the stock. Some of his early films were based on his most intimate experiences that included making love to his new bride--depicted on negative film--in Wedlock House: An Intercourse (1959), and an attempt to bring his dead dog back to life with a camera in Sirius Remembered (1959). During the 1960s, Brakhage's iconoclastic views were celebrated for their poetry, but during the '70s, his focus changed to social issues and he alienated many supporters with such disturbing film series as the "Pittsburgh documents" in which he presented many gruesome views of inner city life with films such as Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes (1971) which was shot in a morgue. He also continued with autobiographical material with the "Sincerity/Duplicity series. During the 1980s, Brakhage's focus again changed--this time he became intrigued with creating truly "abstract" films such as Arabics (1982) which consists of brilliant bursts of colored light which he claims, represent "envisioned music." In addition to filmmaking, Brakhage also wrote books about films and filmmaking and also served as a teacher.

Movie Credits

A Visit to Stan Brakhage

A Visit to Stan Brakhage‌
star0.0
calendar 2003

Sonic Youth: Koncertas Stan Brakhage Prisiminimui (April 12, 2003)

Sonic Youth: Koncertas Stan Brakhage Prisiminimui (April 12, 2003)‌
star0.0
calendar 2003

Encomium

Encomium‌
star0.0
calendar 2003

In the Mirror of Maya Deren

In the Mirror of Maya Deren‌
star7.4
calendar 2002

Stan & Jane Brakhage

Stan & Jane Brakhage‌
star6.0
calendar 1981

Brakhage Crosses Central Park

Brakhage Crosses Central Park‌
star4.0
calendar 2006

Cat's Cradle

Cat's Cradle‌
star5.8
calendar 1959

Window Water Baby Moving

Window Water Baby Moving‌
star6.9
calendar 1959

Dog Star Man: Part IV

Dog Star Man: Part IV‌
star6.2
calendar 1964

Doodlin': Impressions Of Len Lye

Doodlin': Impressions Of Len Lye‌
star0.0
calendar 1987

Flesh of Morning

Flesh of Morning‌
star4.3
calendar 1956

Brakhage

Brakhage‌
star7.0
calendar 1998

Reflecting Thought: Stan Brakhage

Reflecting Thought: Stan Brakhage‌
star0.0
calendar 1985

Please Leave a Message: Anthology Film Archives Voicemails Through the Ages

Please Leave a Message: Anthology Film Archives Voicemails Through the Ages‌
star0.0
calendar 2022

Trumpit

Trumpit‌
star4.4
calendar 1956

I Met Stan Brakhage (At Moma, N.Y.C)

I Met Stan Brakhage (At Moma, N.Y.C)‌
star0.0
calendar 1998

Vakvagany

Vakvagany‌
star10.0
calendar 2002

A Visit to Stan Brakhage

A Visit to Stan Brakhage‌
star0.0
calendar 2006

Garden Path

Garden Path‌
star5.3
calendar 2001

Cannibal! The Musical

Cannibal! The Musical‌
star6.3
calendar 1996

Z (Zee Not Zed)

Z (Zee Not Zed)‌
star0.0
calendar 1993

Joseph Cornell: Worlds in a Box

Joseph Cornell: Worlds in a Box‌
star0.0
calendar 1991

The One Romantic Venture of Edward

The One Romantic Venture of Edward‌
star6.0
calendar 1956

The Extraordinary Child

The Extraordinary Child‌
star5.4
calendar 1954

I... Dreaming

I... Dreaming‌
star5.8
calendar 1988

As I Was Moving Ahead, Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty

As I Was Moving Ahead, Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty‌
star7.8
calendar 2000

Song 1

Song 1‌
star4.4
calendar 1964

The Stars Are Beautiful

The Stars Are Beautiful‌
star5.2
calendar 1974

Faust's Other: An Idyll

Faust's Other: An Idyll‌
star5.0
calendar 1988

Wedlock House: An Intercourse

Wedlock House: An Intercourse‌
star5.6
calendar 1959

Birth of a Nation

Birth of a Nation‌
star6.3
calendar 1997

Dog Star Man: Part I

Dog Star Man: Part I‌
star6.2
calendar 1963

Dog Star Man

Dog Star Man‌
star6.6
calendar 1965

Dog Star Man: Part II

Dog Star Man: Part II‌
star6.5
calendar 1963

Prelude: Dog Star Man

Prelude: Dog Star Man‌
star6.2
calendar 1962

Dog Star Man: Part III

Dog Star Man: Part III‌
star6.2
calendar 1964

As Is Was

As Is Was‌
star0.0
calendar 1995

The Art of Vision

The Art of Vision‌
star7.0
calendar 1965

Free Radicals: A History of Experimental Film

Free Radicals: A History of Experimental Film‌
star6.7
calendar 2011

For Stan

For Stan‌
star7.0
calendar 2009

Grand Opera: An Historical Romance

Grand Opera: An Historical Romance‌
star8.0
calendar 1978

Filmmakers

Filmmakers‌
star0.0
calendar 1969

Invocation: Maya Deren

Invocation: Maya Deren‌
star5.0
calendar 1986

Watunna

Watunna‌
star0.0
calendar 1989

Tortured Dust

Tortured Dust‌
star7.0
calendar 1984

Looking at Forest of Bliss

Looking at Forest of Bliss‌
star0.0
calendar 2000

Stan Brakhage Exits the Cinema and Enters the Light of Day

Stan Brakhage Exits the Cinema and Enters the Light of Day‌
star7.6
calendar 2002

Reality's Invisible

Reality's Invisible‌
star5.9
calendar 1972

Jonas in the Desert

Jonas in the Desert‌
star5.5
calendar 1994

Notes on Marie Menken

Notes on Marie Menken‌
star5.4
calendar 2006

Keepers of the Frame

Keepers of the Frame‌
star10.0
calendar 1999

Keeping an Eye on Stan

Keeping an Eye on Stan‌
star0.0
calendar 2003

Stan Brakhage on Jim Davis

Stan Brakhage on Jim Davis‌
star0.0
calendar 1997

Stan Brakhage on Gregory Markopoulos

Stan Brakhage on Gregory Markopoulos‌
star0.0
calendar 1997

Abstract Cinema

Abstract Cinema‌
star8.0
calendar 1993

Diaries, Notes, and Sketches

Diaries, Notes, and Sketches‌
star7.4
calendar 1968

Tv Credits

Screening Room

Screening Room‌
star0.0
calendar 1972