Stan Brakhage (1933-2003) is widely regarded as the most important American avant-garde filmmaker. He referred to his films as "visual music," and in them he pushed the boundaries of experimental cinema, from observational films with fresh approaches to seeing the world, to innovative use of such techniques as scratching and painting directly onto the film stock. Brakhage regarded life as an "adventure of perception," and this attitude is at the heart of all his unpredictable and visually stunning work. He was the first filmmaker to receive the prestigious MacDowell Medal in the creative arts, and he was the recipient of many other awards and retrospectives throughout the world. He was always an articulate writer and spokesman for independent cinema, taught for many years at the University of Colorado, and inspired and aided many younger artists.
Stan Brakhage first appeared on Screening Room in May, 1973 to screen and discuss the films Eye Myth, Desist Film, Wonder Ring, Window Water Baby Moving, Moth Light, Blue Moses, Machine of Eden and The Wold Shadow.
Screening Room was a 1970s Boston television series that for almost ten years offered independent filmmakers a chance to show and discuss their work on a commercial (ABC-TV) affiliate station. The series was developed and hosted by filmmaker Robert Gardner (Dead Birds, Forest of Bliss), who was Chairman of the Department of Visual and Environmental Studies and Director of the Carpenter Center for Visual Arts at Harvard for many years.
This unique program dealt even-handedly with animation, documentary, and experimental film, welcoming such artists as Jan Lenica, John and Faith Hubley, Emile DeAntonio, Jean Rouch, Ricky Leacock, Jonas Mekas, Bruce Baillie, Yvonne Rainer and Michael Snow. Frequently, guests such as Octavio Paz, Stanley Cavell, and Rudolph Arnheim appeared as well.
Nearly 100 programs were produced during the years Screening Room was broadcast. Recently, The Museum of TV and Radio in New York City offered to copy the two-inch master tapes that had been given to the Film Study Center.