Opening paragraph of Stan Brakhage's first book, Metaphors on Vision:
"Imagine an eye unruled by man-made laws of perspective, an eye unprejudiced by compositional logic, and eye which does not respond to the name of everything but which must know each object encountered in life through an adventure of perception. How many colors are there in a field of grass to the crawling baby unaware of 'Green'? How many rainbows can light create for the untutored eye? How aware of variations in heat waves can that eye be? Imagine a world alive with incomprehensible objects and shimmering with an endless variety of movement and innumerable gradations of color. Imagine a world before the 'beginning was the word."
- Stan Brakhage
Books and DVDs on Brakhage in the Library:
By Brakhage an Anthology
PN1997.B735 B9 2003 DVD
Philip Taaffe : Composite Nature
ND237.T28 A4 1998 (Tweed Library)
A great website with stills from Brakhages films.
http://www.fredcamper.com/Film/BrakhageS.html
An introduction to Brakhage.
http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/272-stan-brakhage
Reading/Writing Assignment: Due Sept. 19 (You should have at least half a page typed single spaced.)
Watch: Mothlight and another film of your choice from the dvd By Brakhage an Anthology, which is on reserve in the library.
Read: Mothlight and Beyound by Fred Camper
Writing Response: After watching and reading the article on Brakhage what do you think he was trying to do with his films? How was he using film in a new way both technically and conceptually? You may reference Fred Camper's article in your response.
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