A vigorous advocate for the avant-garde, the filmmaker often neglected to promote himself.
Jonas Mekas
Posted inFilm
The Velvet Underground Brings the New York of the ’60s Back to Life
With dense split-screen use of period artifacts and a killer Velvets soundtrack, Todd Haynes’s documentary is a loving tribute to his favorite band.
Posted inBooks
Jonas Mekas’s Diary Reveals His Uncertain Sense of Self
This first volume of the filmmaker’s journals charts his progress from immigrant life in Williamsburg to the center of the American avant-garde.
Posted inNews
Jonas Mekas, a Guiding Spirit of Indie Cinema, Dies at 96
Simple descriptors can’t do justice to his monumental life.
Posted inSponsored
Fall Open Studios at the International Studio & Curatorial Program with Guest Speaker Jonas Mekas
ISCP presents contemporary art by 35 international artists, November 9 and 10.
Posted inFilm
An Anti-Cinematic Portrait of Jonas Mekas
Is a film that is almost devoid of its main component still a film?
Posted inArt
Jonas Mekas on the Poetry of Filmmaking and Living
“All of my past is in me. And whatever I do is determined and tinted by it. But there are also things in me that were inherited or given to me by angels, which are completely out of my control.”
Posted inOpinion
Curb Dance with Harmony Korine
Dedicated to legendary filmmaker Jonas Mekas, Korine’s “Curb Dancing” (2011) video feels like opening a trunk in a strange attic to discover an unfinished short story and a dusty music box.
Posted inArt
The Empire Tweets Back
Tomorrow, Hyperallergic will join WNYC, ARTnews Magazine and architecture and literary experts Mark Lamster and Bryan Waterman to live-tweet MoMA’s screening of the 485-minute duration classic, Empire (1964).
For a complete list of tweeps to follow for the exercise in duration art reporting, discussion, and good ol’ fashioned art geek fun, visit WNYC for the lowdown.
Posted inNews
Short Films by Jonas Mekas Surface Online [UPDATED]
In light of yesterday’s shocking news that avant-garde filmmaker Jonas Mekas is suing art dealer Harry Stendhal for a supposed swindle, I wanted to share one positive highlight of the business relationship between Stendhal and Mekas that just surfaced online … 14 short films, which include three episodes of his 365 web project from 2007 and 11 from the 40 Short Films release in 2006. UPDATE: Thanks to an anonymous commenter, I learned that ALL the 365 web videos are on an newer Jonas Mekas site that doesn’t seem to show up on individual video searches. ENJOY ALL 40 SHORT FILMS AND ALL 365 VIDEOS AT jonasmekasfilms.com. THANK YOU, ANONYMOUS COMMENTER!
Posted inOpinion
Stendhal Gallery Owner Accused of Swindling Artists Jonas Mekas & Paula Scher
Sure, we know that art dealers can be shady (very shady, in fact) but this recent story about a lawsuit that has been filed against the owner of Chelsea’s Stendhal Gallery swindling two artists to pay off a $90,000 bill at Cipriani Downtown, is unbelievable — even by New York standards.
Posted inArt
The Brucennial: Piece By Piece (Part 3 of 5)
And the review marches on with art reviews a plenty in the seemingly impossible task of reviewing the whole Brucennial. Today’s installment reaches #175: 111. Kathe Burkhart – FUCK THE UNDERGROUND. Exactly.; 112. Dolores Haydon – The horror of porn. The porn of horror. Cool the way the scissors and cutting echo the nearby Man Bartlett piece …