Brakhage Symposium features cinema of Ken Jacobs

The Brakhage Center will host its 11th annual symposium, featuring the work of celebrated filmmaker Ken Jacobs, at the University of Colorado Boulder March 6-8.

The symposium will feature cinema from the lifework of Jacobs, a leader in the field of experimental film. Jacobs’ career in filmmaking spans more than 50 years, and is punctuated throughout by awards for his work, including the Stan Brakhage Vision Award in 2004, and the naming of his “Tom, Tom, The Piper’s Son” to the National Film Registry in 2007.

Jacobs, widely regarded as one of the founding fathers of American experimental film, engages the audience to experience the avant-garde and merging of cinema and technology. He is known for his recognition of the creative potential of film projection, yet still embraces advancing digital media.

One of Jacobs’ featured pieces, “Keeping an Eye on Stan” highlights the life of Stan Brakhage, namesake of the center. The film takes an intimate look at the late Brakhage’s family life in Boulder.

Brakhage, now widely regarded as one of the most influential artists in 20th-century experimental film, was not immediately embraced by critics. However, the skill with which Brakhage created visually stunning and thought-provoking films by employing unusual methods such as manipulating the physical celluloid film strips themselves, could not be disregarded for long, scholars contend.

Jacobs, widely regarded as one of the founding fathers of American experimental film, engages the audience to experience the avant-garde and merging of cinema and technology.

Brakhage developed a diverse body of work that has influenced experimental filmmakers such as Jacobs. His influence can be seen in contemporary film as well—among his students from the University of Colorado are the creators of popular television show “South Park.”

Daniel Boord, director of the Brakhage Center, along with several colleagues in the film studies department, created the Brakhage Center Annual Symposium to celebrate the late Brakhage’s contributions to the study of cinema art. The official symposium is a tribute to informal salon gatherings at Brakhage’s home, where students and faculty would gather to view and discuss experimental film.

In 2005, two years after Brakhage’s death, the first official Brakhage Center Symposium was held, to celebrate experimental, avant-garde film, the growing popularity of which can largely be attributed to Brakhage.

Jacobs’ other films utilize a variety of visual stimuli, manipulating form, color, and sound to engage the audience. The film “Capitalism: Slavery” uses a computer-animated stereograph image in an artful blending of the antique and modern. “Day and Night” combines images of nature and technical effects to create an organic yet digital fusion of art.

Tom Gunning, a professor of cinema and media studies at the University of Chicago who has written extensively on early cinema, avant-garde film and the spectator experience (including several papers on Jacobs’ work), will introduce Jacobs.

Phil Solomon, a CU-Boulder professor of film studies and recognized experimental filmmaker, will present an audio-visual tribute to celebrate Jacobs, his mentor and colleague.

During the symposium, Gunning, Jacobs and Solomon will serve on a panel discussing the work of Jacobs.

The Brakhage Center’s mission is to encourage education and research regarding the historical, cultural and artistic significance of experimental film and media art to students, scholars and the public.

The center seeks to encourage new artistic talent, and foster broad institutional collaboration in promoting new perspectives of the avant-garde film and media art world, especially by bringing experienced and highly regarded filmmakers such as Jacobs to its annual symposium.

This year’s symposium is sponsored by Roser Visiting Artist Program, First Person Cinema, CU Film Studies Program, Center for Media Arts and Performance in ATLAS, the William H. Donner Foundation, and the Department of Art and Art History.

The symposium will be held in the ATLAS building, where it’s been hosted since 2007.

Admission to the Brakhage Center Symposium is free. Some films feature throbbing lights; be cautious if your health may be adversely affected by this. For more information, contact Taylor Dunne.

Magdalena Rost, a student majoring in classics and English, is an intern for Colorado Arts & Sciences Magazine.