Jonas Mekas
1922 - 2019
Lithuanian-American filmmaker, poet, artist
The godfather of American avant-garde cinema
For the last month of the year, we would like to draw your attention to this bright spirit who has lived his life to the fullest.
Outtakes from the Life of a Happy Man by Jonas Mekas
Excerpt from his feature-length film, 2012. Courtesy: Nowness
Mekas was active in New York City, where he co-founded Anthology Film Archives, The Film-Makers' Cooperative, and the journal Film Culture. He was also the first film critic for The Village Voice.
More than just a filmmaker, he was a pivotal figure in the New York art scene of the 60s and 70s, described by Sean O'Hagan in the Guardian as "a writer, a curator and a catalyst." He was friends with Jackie Kennedy, Allen Ginsberg and the Velvet Underground, collaborated with Yoko Ono, Andy Warhol and Salvador Dalí.
Jonas Mekas exhibition The internet saga at 56th Venice Art Biennial, 2015. Photo: Liz Wendelbo
(. . .)
MEKAS: How will this conversation be used? Internet?
NOTEBOOK: Yes, online.
MEKAS: Okay. Here. If you want a snap, I’ll give you one of my English poems. From my last reading this was still in my pocket. You can snap it and use it on the piece. It has not been published before.
Excerpt from an interview Cheese and Worms: A Conversation with Jonas Mekas by Ben Nickolson, 2018, where Jonas Mekas discusses his writing, the Inquisition, the New York art scene, and digital technology. Full interview in Mubi.
The above mentioned snap by Jonas Mekas of his unpublished poem
Cover photo: Frame No.8, Deep of Winter Walden, 1968. Jonas Mekas