Theory and Practice of Experimental Film

FILM AND MEDIA STUDIES 465

Filmmaker Stan Brakhage famously wrote the following: "Imagine an eye unruled by man-made laws of perspective, an eye unprejudiced by compositional logic, an eye which does not respond to the name of everything but which must know each object encountered in life through an adventure of perception." In this course, we will embark upon our own adventures of perception, examining and producing works of art that challenge our preconceptions of what cinema is or can be. From city symphonies to pop collages, portraiture to handcrafted animation, and ethnography to gender studies, we will explore the multifaceted and transformative avant-garde cinema through the work of its greatest practitioners, contextualize films in relation to aesthetic aspirations (e.g., formalism, opposition, reflexivity, transcendence) and movements in art and cultural theory (e.g., Dadaism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop, Performance Art, Minimalism), and acquire the digital production skills needed to make our own experimental videos. Each week, we will mix the classic with the contemporary to demonstrate the ongoing vitality of -- and make our own contributions to -- this often misunderstood cinematic tradition. Required screenings. Wednesdays @ 7pm
Course Attributes: EN H; BU Hum; AS HUM; FA HUM; AR HUM