“Imagine an eye unruled by man-made laws of perspective … an eye which does not respond to the name of everything but which must know each object encountered in life through an adventure of perception. How many colors are there in a field of grass to the crawling baby unaware of ‘Green?’” So begins Stan Brakhage’s (1933–2003) classic Metaphors on Vision. Originally published in 1963 by Jonas Mekas as a special issue of Film Culture, and designed by George Maciunas, it stands as the major theoretical statement by one of avant-garde cinema’s most influential figures, a treatise on mythopoeia and the nature of visual experience written in a style as idiosyncratic as his art. Long out of print, the volume is now available in this definitive edition from Anthology Film Archives and Light Industry, featuring Brakhage’s complete text in its distinctive original layout, as well as annotations by scholar P. Adams Sitney.

Metaphors on Vision

Brakhage, Stan

Anthology Film Archives

I--Sleeping: Being a Dream Journal and Parenthetical Explication

Visual Studies Workshop Pr

"play as the beauty of your playing"

Brakhage Scrapbook: Collected Writings, 1964-1980

Humor & Entertainment

Treacle Pr

Brakhage Scrapbook: Collected Writings 1964 to 1980/Signed Editon

McPherson & Co

Of all art forms, filmmaking is the one most taken for granted: no sooner is an artistic or technical advance made than its salient features are employed in the harness of commerce. Yet, innovation is almost always the province of individual expression. Film at Wit's End presents eight artists who have electrified American independent cinema across four decades: James Broughton, Bruce Conner, Maya Deren, Jerome Hill, Ken Jacobs, Christopher MacLaine, Marie Menken, and Sidney Peterson. Each of these filmmakers' lives and work is brought into sharp focus as we enter the art scenes of New York and San Francisco during times of ferment and controversy. Film at Wit's End tells marvelous tales of serendipitous encounters, of life lived at the edge of social disapproval, and of the insistent development of an art form.

Film at wit's end: Eight avant-garde filmmakers

McPherson & Company

In these eight sparkling biographies, Stan Brakhage brings us into intimate acquaintance with some of America's most influential independent filmmakers. With insight and sharp detail, Brakhage puts the lives and works of these filmic visionaries into personal focus. We meet Jerome Hill, born to inherit railroads and banks but destined to forge his artistic vision into a lasting film statement. And Marie Menken who, against the odds of a miserable and brutal marriage, developed a film aesthetic that revolutionized the very essence of independent filmmaking. Then James Broughton, the inveterate San Franciscan, whose irrepressible sense of whimsy and profound grasp of classical symbols combined to create some of the most vital filmworks of the last four decades; Christopher MacLaine, the "Artaud of North Beach"; Maya Deren, known to independent filmmakers as "the mother of us all"; Sidney Peterson, sophisticated, erudite, shy, the gentleman of the avant-garde film world; and two of Brakhage's most prominent contemporaries, Bruce Conner and Ken Jacobs. 
 These filmmakers are members of one of the most radical of 20th-century art movements; and yet as radical and individual as they are, their films and their lives are a continuous source of inspiration, not only to young, developing film-artists, but to the makers of commercial movies and videos as well. Brakhage presents them and their work in portraits that are at once critical and anecdotal. One comes away from Film at Wit's End as one leaves an enjoyable, lively evening among friends.

Film at Wit's End: Eight Avant-Garde Filmmakers

Movies

McPherson

Published in an edition of just 2,000 copies, and housed in a splendid French-fold dustjacket designed by Philip Taaffe, Composite Nature gathers 70 full-color reproductions and six tipped-in illustrations of the artist’s most recent work. A conversation between Taaffe and film-maker Stan Brakhage rounds out the volume.

Philip Taaffe: Composite Nature

Arts & Photography

Individual Artists

Peter Blum Edition, New York

“Imagine an eye unruled by man-made laws of perspective … an eye which does not respond to the name of everything but which must know each object encountered in life through an adventure of perception. How many colors are there in a field of grass to the crawling baby unaware of ‘Green?’” So begins Stan Brakhage’s (1933–2003) classic Metaphors on Vision. Originally published in 1963 by Jonas Mekas as a special issue of Film Culture, and designed by George Maciunas, it stands as the major theoretical statement by one of avant-garde cinema’s most influential figures, a treatise on mythopoeia and the nature of visual experience written in a style as idiosyncratic as his art. Long out of print, the volume is now available in this definitive edition from Anthology Film Archives and Light Industry, featuring Brakhage’s complete text in its distinctive original layout, as well as annotations by scholar P. Adams Sitney.

Stan Brakhage: Metaphors on Vision

Anthology Film Archives/Light Industry

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. 
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. 
Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. 
We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Hassell Street Press

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Books by Brakhage, Stan

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Brakhage, Stan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Metaphors on Vision

I--Sleeping: Being a Dream Journal and Parenthetical Explication

Brakhage Scrapbook: Collected Writings, 1964-1980

Brakhage Scrapbook: Collected Writings 1964 to 1980/Signed Editon

Film at wit's end: Eight avant-garde filmmakers

Film at Wit's End: Eight Avant-Garde Filmmakers

Philip Taaffe: Composite Nature

Stan Brakhage: Metaphors on Vision

Metaphors on Vision

Metaphors on Vision