🎬Stan Brakhage

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.

1
9
7
4

1
9
7
5

1
9
7
6

1
9
7
7

1
9
7
8

1
9
7
9

1
9
8
0

1
9
8
1

1
9
8
2

1
9
8
3

1
9
8
4

1
9
8
5

1
9
8
6

1
9
8
7

1
9
8
8

1
9
8
9

1
9
9
0

1
9
9
1

1
9
9
2

1
9
9
3

1
9
9
4

1
9
9
5

1
9
9
6

1
9
9
7

1
9
9
8

1
9
9
9

2
0
0
0

2
0
0
1

2
0
0
2

2
0
0
3

Recent movies

#	Name	Character	Rating
1	Chinese Series (2003)	Director / Writer		6
2	In the Mirror of Maya Deren (2002)	Himself	-	-
3	SB (2002)	Director / Writer		1
4	Persian Series #18 (2001)	Director / Writer		3
5	Lovesong (2001)	Director / Writer		2
6	Persian Series #15 (2001)	Director / Writer		3
7	Persian Series #14 (2001)	Director / Writer		2
8	Persian Series #13 (2001)	Director / Writer		3
9	Persian Series #16 (2001)	Director / Writer		3
10	Persian Series #17 (2001)	Director / Writer		3
11	Persian Series #9 (2000)	Director / Writer		3
12	Persian Series #12 (2000)	Director / Writer		3
13	As I Was Moving Ahead, Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000)	Self	-	-
14	Persian Series #8 (2000)	Director / Writer		3
15	Persian Series #7 (2000)	Director / Writer		3
16	Persian Series #10 (2000)	Director / Writer		3
17	Persian Series #11 (2000)	Director / Writer		3
18	Persian Series #6 (2000)	Director / Writer		3
19	Persian Series #4 (1999)	Director / Writer		3
20	Persian Series #5 (1999)	Director / Writer		3
21	The Dark Tower (1999)	Director / Writer		3.5
22	Persian Series #3 (1999)	Director / Writer		3
23	Persian Series #2 (1999)	Director / Writer		3
24	Persian Series #1 (1999)	Director / Writer		3
25	"..." Reel 5 (1998)	Director / Writer		2
26	Yggdrasill: Whose Roots Are Stars in the Human Mind (1997)	Director / Writer		3
27	The Cat of the Worm's Green Realm (1997)	Director / Writer		2
28	Prelude 10 (1996)	Director / Writer		2
29	Concrescence (1996)	Director / Writer		7
30	Beautiful Funerals (1996)	Director / Writer		7
31	Cannibal! The Musical (1996)	Noon Sr.		7.3
32	Prelude 14 (1996)	Director / Writer		1
33	Prelude 9 (1996)	Director / Writer		1
34	Prelude 13 (1996)	Director / Writer		1
35	Prelude 8 (1996)	Director / Writer		1
36	Comingled Containers (1996)	Director / Writer		3
37	Prelude 6 (1995)	Director / Writer		1
38	Prelude 5 (1995)	Director / Writer		3
39	I Take These Truths (1995)	Director / Writer		1
40	Prelude 2 (1995)	Director / Writer		1
41	Prelude 3 (1995)	Director / Writer		1
42	Prelude 4 (1995)	Director / Writer		1
43	Prelude 1 (1995)	Director / Writer		2
44	Earthen Aerie (1995)	Director / Writer		4
45	Chartres Series (1994)	Director / Writer		2
46	From: First Hymn to the Night – Novalis (1994)	Director / Writer		2
47	Black Ice (1994)	Director / Writer		3
48	The Mammals of Victoria (1994)	Director / Writer		1
49	Study in Color and Black and White (1993)	Director / Writer		2
50	Stellar (1993)	Director / Writer		2
51	Boulder Blues and Pearls and... (1993)	Director / Writer		2
52	Untitled (For Marilyn) (1992)	Director / Writer		2
53	Crack Glass Eulogy (1991)	Director / Writer		2
54	Delicacies of Molten Horror Synapse (1991)	Director / Writer		2
55	Glaze of Cathexis (1990)	Director / Writer		2
56	Visions in Meditation #4: D.H. Lawrence (1990)	Director / Writer		2
57	Visions in Meditation (1990)	Director / Writer		2
58	Visions in Meditation #3: Plato's Cave (1990)	Director / Writer		2
59	Visions in Meditation #2: Mesa Verde (1989)	Director / Writer		2
60	Visions in Meditation #1 (1989)	Director / Writer		2
61	Rage Net (1988)	Director / Writer		6
62	I... Dreaming (1988)	Director / Writer		2
63	Loud Visual Noises (1987)	Director / Writer		2
64	The Dante Quartet (1987)	Director / Writer		2
65	Kindering (1987)	Director / Writer		2
66	Night Music (1986)	Director / Writer		6
67	Hell Spit Flexion (1983)	Director / Writer		1
68	Unconscious London Strata (1981)	Director / Writer		1
69	The Garden of Earthly Delights (1981)	Director / Writer		2
70	Arabic Numeral Series 12 (1981)	Director / Writer		1
71	Duplicity III (1980)	Director / Writer		3
72	Murder Psalm (1980)	Director / Writer		2
73	Burial Path (1978)	Director / Writer		2
74	The Domain of the Moment (1977)	Director / Writer		2
75	Desert (1976)	Director / Writer		1
76	The Stars Are Beautiful (1974)	Director / Writer		4
77	The Text of Light (1974)	Director / Writer		1
78	Star Garden (1974)	Director / Writer		2
79	Sexual Meditation: Open Field (1973)	Director / Writer		3
80	The Wold-Shadow (1972)	Director / Writer		3
81	The Process (1972)	Director / Writer		2
82	The Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes (1972)	Director / Writer		6
83	The Riddle of Lumen (1972)	Director / Writer		2
84	Sexual Meditation: Office Suite (1972)	Director / Writer		3
85	Sexual Meditation: Faun's Room, Yale (1972)	Director / Writer		3
86	Reality's Invisible (1972)	Self		3
87	Sexual Meditation: Room with View (1971)	Director / Writer		2
88	Deus Ex (1971)	Director / Writer		1
89	The Machine of Eden (1970)	Director / Writer		3
90	Sexual Meditation #1: Motel (1970)	Director / Writer		5
91	Lovemaking (1968)	Director / Writer		1
92	Scenes from Under Childhood, Section One (1968)	Director / Writer		2
93	Diaries, Notes, and Sketches (1968)	Self		8
94	23rd Psalm Branch: Part I (1967)	Director / Writer		5
95	23rd Psalm Branch: Part II (1967)	Director / Writer		5
96	23rd Psalm Branch (1967)	Director / Writer		2
97	Eye Myth (1967)	Director / Writer		6
98	Pasht (1966)	Director / Writer		2
99	Song 14 (1965)	Director / Writer		2
100	Two: Creeley/McClure (1965)	Director / Writer		2
101	Fire of Waters (1965)	Director / Writer		2
102	Song 11 (1965)	Director / Writer		2
103	Song 9 (1965)	Director / Writer		2
104	Song 12 (1965)	Director / Writer		2
105	Song 13 (1965)	Director / Writer		2
106	Dog Star Man (1965)	Director / Writer		1
107	Song 10 (1965)	Director / Writer		2
108	The Art of Vision (1965)	Director / Writer		2
109	Dog Star Man: Part III (1964)	Director / Writer		5
110	Song 2 (1964)	Director / Writer		2
111	Song 6 (1964)	Director / Writer		2
112	Dog Star Man: Part II (1964)	Director / Writer		5
113	Song 7 (1964)	Director / Writer		2
114	Dog Star Man: Part IV (1964)	Director / Writer		6
115	Song 4 (1964)	Director / Writer		2
116	Song 3 (1964)	Director / Writer		2
117	Song 8 (1964)	Director / Writer		2
118	Song 5 (1964)	Director / Writer		2
119	Dog Star Man: Part I (1963)	Director / Writer		5
120	Mothlight (1963)	Director / Writer		4.5
121	Prelude: Dog Star Man (1962)	Director / Writer		4
122	Blue Moses (1962)	Director / Writer		3
123	Thigh Line Lyre Triangular (1961)	Director / Writer		3
124	The Dead (1960)	Director / Writer		2
125	Cat's Cradle (1959)	Director / Writer		3
126	Sirius Remembered (1959)	Director / Writer		2
127	Wedlock House: An Intercourse (1959)	Director / Writer		2
128	Window Water Baby Moving (1959)	Director / Writer		4
129	Anticipation of the Night (1958)	Director / Writer		4
130	Flesh of Morning (1956)	Director / Writer		6
131	The Wonder Ring (1955)	Director / Writer		3
132	Centuries of June (1955)	Director / Writer		3
133	Reflections on Black (1955)	Director / Writer		3
134	Desistfilm (1954)	Director / Writer		2
135	The Way to Shadow Garden (1954)	Director / Writer		6