Stan Brakhage, film still Persian Series 1–5, 1999
Stan Brakhage, Persian 1–5, 1999
16 mm film, 15 min, continuous loop, silent
courtesy of the Brakhage Center at the University of Colorado Boulder
Stan Brakhage, hand-painted 16mm celluloid film strips
courtesy of the Brakhage Center at the University of Colorado Boulder
Widely regarded as a pioneer of experimental film, Stan Brakhage, who spent much of his adult life in Colorado, created nearly 400 films using such nonconventional techniques as handheld camerawork, fast cutting, in-camera editing, and multiple exposures. He would paint directly onto celluloid or scratch the surface to create a unique repertoire of non-representational shapes and forms. The films are often deliberately silent so as not to distract from the visual stimuli and inherent rhythm he believed could renew our sense of perception.
As part of the exhibition Visual Rhythm, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art is pleased to show Persians 1–5 of Brakhage’s Persian Series, which is part of a broader investigation into human thought and expression that also includes Egyptian, Babylon, and Chinese Series. The films are shown in their original 16 mm format. For Persian Series, Brakhage studied Persian miniature paintings and borders, Persian decorative rugs, and calligraphy. The result is a fusion of opulent colors and dense shapes of indefinite origin, continuously progressing in unexpected directions, resisting our urge to recognize, define, and name what we see.
Also on view are examples of original celluloid filmstrips painted by Brakhage, illustrating the minute surfaces he spent innumerable hours painstakingly manipulating.
Stan Brakhage (1933–2003) was born in Kansas City, Missouri and grew up in Denver, Colorado. He attended Dartmouth College and the San Francisco Art Institute before moving to New York City in 1954. Beginning in 1970 until shortly before his death, Brakhage taught intermittently at the Art Institute in Chicago and at the University of Colorado Boulder. He was the first recipient of the American Film Institute’s Award for independent film and video artists, the Maya Deren Award (1986).
Visual Rhythm has been made possible by Presenting Sponsor Mike’s Camera and by a partnership with the Brakhage Center at the University of Colorado Boulder.With additional support from Sue Cannon, Polly and Mark Addison, Boulder County Arts Alliance, the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Colorado Boulder, and the Hotel Boulderado.
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