“Marie it was who first of all of us discovered that hypnagogic envisioning need not only be done at night.” -Stan Brakhage
The influence of Marie Menken on American experimental filmmaking cannot be overstated. Stan Brakhage, Jonas Mekas, Andy Warhol, Kenneth Anger — all these better-known names owed much of their own development as filmmakers to her. Trained as a painter, she manipulated her Bolex camera like a set of brushes and palette knives. The films in this program, several of them tributes to other artists, are bold experiments with light and motion. Beyond the pyrotechnics of camerawork and editing, what inspires is the bodily connection to subject matter, held close like a partner in dance.
