- Shirley Clarke
Shirley Clarke (
2 October 1919 ,New York City -23 September 1997 ,Boston ) was a major American independent filmmaker.Clarke was born Shirley Brimberg. Her father was a Polish immigrant who made his fortune in manufacturing and her mother was the daughter of a multimillionaire
Jewish manufactuer and inventor, and her sister was the writerElaine Dundy . Her interest in dance began at an early age, but met with the disapproval of her father, a violent bully.Philip Purser [http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,2278393,00.html Obituary of Clarke's sister, Elaine Dundy] , "The Guardian", 8 May 2008.]Clarke attended
Stephens College ,Johns Hopkins University ,Bennington College andUniversity of South Carolina . As a result of dance lessons at each of these schools, she trained under theMartha Graham method, theDoris Humphrey -Charles Weidman technique and theHanya Holm method of modern dance. She married Bert Clarke to escape her father's control so she could study dance under the masters in New York City. She started her artistic career as a dancer in the New York avant garde modern dance movement. She was an avid participant in dance lessons and performances at theYoung Women's Hebrew Association .hort films
Her lack of success as a choreographer led her psychiatrist to suggest a career change, so she explored her interest in film. In her first film, "Dance in the Sun" (1953) she adapted a choreography of Daniel Nagrin. The New York Dance Film Society selected it as the best dance film of the year.
Clarke studied filmmaking with Hans Richter at the
City College of New York after making "In Paris Parks" (1954). In 1955 she became a member of the Independent Filmmakers of America. She became part of a circle of independent filmmakers inGreenwich Village such asMaya Deren ,Stan Brakhage , andJonas Mekas .In "A Moment in Love", Clarke used abstract line and color to capture pure dance. Clarke's film "Bridges Go-Round" (1959) is a major example of abstract expressionism in film, with two alternative soundtracks, one with electronic music by
Louis and Bebe Barron and the other consisting of jazz created byTeo Macero . She used the camera to create a sense of motion while filming inanimate structures.She received an Academy Award nomination for "Skyscraper" (1960). Mainly shot in 1958, the short film captures the construction of
666 Fifth Avenue which began building in 1957. The 20-minute film also includes shots of the Roxy Theatre which was demolished the year "Skyscraper" was released. In 1959 it won the Golden Gate Award at the San Francisco Film Festival."A Scary Time" (1960), showing poverty and disease among children in Third World nations, was produced by UNICEF in consultation with Thorold Dickinson. It features music by Peggy Glanville-Hicks. [ [http://www.ubu.com/film/clarke.html Ubuweb] ]
In 1961, Clarke signed the manifesto 'Statement for a New American Cinema', and in 1962, she cofounded
The Film Makers Cooperative in New York.Features
Several of Clarke's films are considered to be artistic breakthroughs. She lectured frequently, speaking at theaters and museums. "The Connection" (1961) from the play by
Jack Gelber concerningheroin -addicted jazz musicians, was a landmark for the emergence of a New York independent feature film movement. It heralded a new style that employed greater cinematic realism and addressed relevant social issues in black-and-white low-budget films. It was also important because Clarke made the films the first test case in a successful fight to abolish New York State'scensorship rules. It also served as a commentary on the failures ofcinema verité . It appears to be a documentary on a way of life, but it is really a carefully scripted film.Her next feature, "
The Cool World " (1964), was the first movie to dramatize a story on black street gangs without relying uponHollywood -style moralizing. Shot on location inHarlem , it was based on a novel by Warren Miller. This was the first film to be produced byFrederick Wiseman .Clarke directed a 90-minute interview with a black homosexual, "Portrait of Jason" (1967), a selection of the fifth
New York Film Festival . Edited from 12 hours of interview footage. the film was described by Lauren Rabinovitz as an exploration of one "person's character while it simultaneously addresses the range and limitations of cinema-verité style." It was distributed by the Film-Makers Distribution Center. Co-founded by Clarke in 1966, this distributor closed in 1970 due to a lack of funds."Robert Frost: A Lover's Quarrel With the World" (1963), directed by Shirley Clarke and starring Robert Frost, won the Academy Award for Documentary Feature in 1963.
Video
In the 1970s and early 1980s Clarke experimented with live video performance, returning to her roots as a dancer. She formed the Teepee Video Space Troupe at her Chelsea Hotel penthouse. This group included video artists Andy Gurian, Bruce Ferguson, DeeDee Halleck, Vickie Polan, Shrider Bapat, Clarke's daughter Wendy Clarke and many others.
From time to time members of the pioneering video collective, Videofreex, were part of the Troupe: David Cort, Parry Teasdale, Chuck Kennedy, Skip Blumberg, Bart Freidman and Nancy Cain. The troupe worked in and around the Chelsea Hotel on 23rd St in New York City, often setting up multiple cameras and monitors on the roof or in the stairwell. The Chelsea guest participants included Viva,
Arthur C. Clarke , andAgnès Varda . The troupe went on tour to colleges and media centers, including Bucknell College in Pennsylvania where they worked with drama and dance students in a massive evening performance in the student center andSUNY Cortland where they created a video mural with art students.Clarke was an enthusiastic and supportive teacher who influenced a generation of video makers. She became a professor at
UCLA in 1975, teaching film and video until 1985. OnSeptember 23 ,1997 , Clarke died of a stroke after a struggle withAlzheimer's shortly before her 78th birthday.References
Filmography
*1954-
A Dance in the Sun andIn Paris Parks
*1955-Bullfight
*1957-A Moment in Love
*1958- Skyscraper andBrussels "Loops"
*1959-Bridges-Go-Round
*1960-A Scary Time
*1961- The Connection
*1963-The Cool World and
*1967-Portrait of Jason andMan in Polar Regions
*1978-Trans ,One Two Three andMysterium; Initiation
*1981-Savage/Love
*1982-Tongues
*1985-See also
*
Experimental Film
*Women's Cinema External links
*
* [http://seul-le-cinema.blogspot.com/2007/10/1025-portrait-of-jason-brakhage-shorts.html Review of "Portrait of Jason" by Ed Howard at Only The Cinema]
* [http://mfj-online.org/journalPages/mfj42/gurianpage.html An Article by Andy Gurian]
* [http://www.davidsonsfiles.org/shirleyclarkeinterview.html/ Interview with Shirley Clarke by DeeDee Halleck]
* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2479/is_n4_v25/ai_20418244/ Remembering Shirley Clarke by DeeDee Halleck]
* [http://www.edfilmfest.org.uk/news/view/2027/shirley-clarke-a-retrospective/?from=all/1.html/ Shirley Clarke: A Retrospective - Edinburgh Film Festival TV]
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