From: Marilyn Brakhage (email suppressed)
Date: Tue Mar 24 2009 - 16:19:39 PDT
As a general response to this thread: There is clearly a long
tradition of both great (for examples, Robert Breer, Bruce Conner,
Michael Snow, Jack Chambers -- see Fred's link on Chambers -- and many
more) as well as bad film work by artists originally working in other
media. If you know that a painter you admire has made a film, you'd
probably be interested to go and see it, but you may (without any bias)
be disappointed when you do -- because thinking and/or seeing
filmically isn't something every great painter can necessarily do.
What's the problem, Cari? Fred is probably the last person I would
think would be biased in this way. And, in fact, I would think it more
biased to over credit someone's film simply because you like her or his
paintings. As for Brakhage, he painted on film. And a few times he
tried to make larger, still paintings. And by his own admission, they
were nowhere close to his accomplishments as a filmmaker. He was a
filmmaker. He accepted that.
As to Brakhage FILMS, it is clearly an inexperienced or insecure viewer
who would automatically approve a film simply because it was made by
Brakhage. (If such a thing ever happens at all.) But which cat film
are we talking about here -- Nightcats? Cat's Cradle? Pasht? The Cat
of the Worm's Green Realm? (all very significant work, in my view) or
Max? (a much slighter work, in my view, though also simply of a
different sort, and lots of people 'like' it well enough).
But people told Stan quite regularly that they didn't like one film or
another of his making -- Fred isn't the only one to do so! And he --
as long as it wasn't said or done in a particularly hostile and
mean-spirited way -- usually responded graciously . . . though he
didn't necessarily agree with them. For that matter, he also disagreed
with others' senses of which of his works were most important --
thinking, for example, that a film like Murder Psalm got perhaps too
much attention at the expense of others that he felt got too little --
such as the Arabics. He was heavily criticized early on for
Anticipation of the Night -- and admitted himself that it has a "flawed
ending," but obviously pursued the aesthetic development of it. He was
often told he "made too many films," but for him it was a virtually
constant process -- somewhat like a painter making sketches -- and
obviously some were more successful than others. He also thought there
were some little films that people completely "forgot," but that be
believed would remain in their unconscious. And of course there were,
and are, a lot of people, used to Hollywood standards, who didn't and
don't appreciate Brakhage at all -- as well as people who dislike his
work for other reasons. But I think it inaccurate, Jorge, to say that
"a lot of what we appreciate from him comes basically from him saying
and writing how right he was in doing work like that." His speaking
and writing were certainly influential and inspired a lot of people.
But you still either see the work or you don't. Sometimes it's a
sudden and life-transforming experience (happens sometimes with people
with no prior knowledge), other times it's an acquired taste, other
times it never really happens. Or there are plenty of people who have
certain, specific Brakhage films that they love, and don't have much
interest in the rest. But my point is that Brakhage is not appreciated
automatically just because of name recognition. His status was earned
by fifty years of sustained quality of complex work. And I don't quite
see the point of anyone responding to a criticism with the notion that,
'Oh, if it had Brakhage's name on it they'd like it.' Nonsense. A lot
of people just make really uninteresting films -- even people who may
be accomplished in other fields.
Marilyn Brakhage
Victoria BC
On Tuesday, March 24, 2009, at 09:53 AM, Myron Ort wrote:
> On Mar 24, 2009, at 8:12 AM, Fred Camper wrote:
>>
>> Oh, and by the way, even in his mature period Brakhage made, and
>> released, a few films that I think are simply bad. I told him that
>> once or twice too, and he did not even get angry.
>>
>> Fred Camper
>> Chicago
>>
>
> Did Stan agree with you or just say that everyone is entitled to their
> opinion? Did he perhaps think maybe someday you would understand
> them? Did he defend or explain these films ?
>
> Myron Ort
>
> www.zeno-okeanos.com
>
>
> __________________________________________________________________
> For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.
>
__________________________________________________________________
For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.