Stan Brakhage

After watching Stan Brakhage’s works, and watching the reference video, I think what stands out to me is how Brakhage conveys ideas through the collective visuals of his work rather than any form of narrative, unlike in the other films we have watched so far, where in one way or another there is some narrative to be understood. In the video on The Untutored Eye, Brakhage explicitly states that his work is “largely preoccupied with birth, sex, death, and the search for god,” however after viewing some of his films such as Mothlight, Cat’s Cradle, and I…Dreaming in class, these ideas are not really as apparent as one would expect. Instead, what came across to me was how Brakhage experiments with the celluloid film itself (which after watching the video later I found out is the integral aspect of his practice), such as overlaying it with moth wings, drawing / etching directly on it, and experimenting with light.

Mothlight in particular stood out to me as it really is a powerful testament to the way in which Brakhage experiments with celluloid and the extent to which he goes to push the limits of what can be accomplished with it. This arduous task of putting together the frames for this film coupled with the quality of the light that is visible in each one of them is highly reminiscent of the transience of film and consequently life itself. In reading about this film, Brakhage mentions that it stems from a place of recognising the “full horror of some kind of immolation in a way,” referencing the struggle he was facing in his career and the emotional impact it had on him. Paralleling this to moths flying into a candle, burning themselves to death, and using the images of their dead wings to “give them life again, to animate them again, to try to put them into some sort of life through the motion picture machine” is such a powerful metaphor for the kind of desperation that Brakhage must have felt – a sense that, in hindsight, definitely comes through in Mothlight. For its reflection on the transience of life and the desire to repair it, as well as the imagery itself that Brakhage uses, Mothlight reminds me of the work Attracted to Light by Doug and Mike Starn. Both these works address the act of moths approaching light as some metaphor for the self – Brakhage views this as an act of destruction and helplessness, whereas the Starn twins view it as symbolic of a spiritual quest. Both works also make use of photographs on material that is highly temporal – Brahage uses celluloid, whereas the Starn twins make use of Thai Mulberry paper – consequently underscoring the transience of life.

Cat’s Cradle on the other hand is an exemplification of Brakhage’s experimentation with light and shadow, and connects to the notion of the untutored eye referenced in the video on Brakhage’s practice. Brakhage makes use of a striking red light in this film, and rapid cuts in the footage, that reflect a sort of urgency and what Brakhage refers to as “moving visual thinking” which refers not only to his stream of consciousness but carefully edited snippets of his interior thoughts. This film evidences Brakhage’s endeavour to tap into people’s thinking process and put it up as vision, through a portrayal of what comes across as a dream of some sort, without any narrative, specific evolving character, or sound as is typical of Brakhage’s films in order to emphasise the role of the film itself (just like Maya Deren’s preoccupation with medium specificity). Furthermore, this film also highlights Brakhage’s idea of the untutored eye which refers to an eye that is unprejudiced to established conventions of seeing, or in other words “a precognitive state of vision drawing attention not only to the flaws and limits of the celluloid film but also to entoptic phenomena.” This film to me definitely rejects any form of dichotomy or categorisation as Brakhage intended, as I wouldn’t be able to describe or name what exactly is happening in it, however as we discussed in class, the eye still looks for something identifiable, it searches for something recognisable contained within the film in quite an instinctive, primitive way. In such a way, this film emphasises the clear theoretical philosophy behind Brakhage’s work.

Finally, I…Dreaming, which as pointed out in the article on sensesofcinema.com, is atypical compared to other films from Brakhage’s filmography. Firstly, unlike the other films we watched I…Dreaming seems to have a more recognisable focus on human figures and their actions and interactions. However, it still employs the typical features of Brakhage’s work such as the juxtaposition of light and shadow and the dramatism that it creates enables the development of a pervasive atmosphere. Just as in Decasia, the mundane nature of the activities being portrayed invite us to engage with the characters even more, which allows the audience to become more aware of the disconnect being conveyed by Brakhage. Moreover, the pacing of different clips in the film reflecting the variance in the progression of life between the different characters portrayed also effectively communicates the sense of distance and isolation in this film. Additionally, this work is one of very few Brakhage films that contains sound. Although, just like the clips in this film, the sound too jumps around from one “musical phrase (or even song) to another at unexpected moments, juxtaposing the quiet and loud, fast and slow, just as the images cut from light and dark, movement and stasis.” This cutting from one clip to the next, and one sound to another, are possibly both emblematic of the nature of memories and their tendency to retain only half-truths, further reinforcing the ageing that Brakhage depicts.

Overall, Brakhage’s work is quite intriguing as it has such a strong creative philosophy that underlies it making it interesting to analyse his films in context of the ideas that shape them. Moreover, the notion of the untutored eye in conjunction with the techniques that Brakhage employs in his work allow to allow for the viewer to “revisit” the act of seeing without any cognitive constraints is one that is highly intriguing and a powerful way to implicitly encourage the viewer to question how their perception of Brakhage’s work but also the world at large is constructed.

Provided References:
Stan Brakhage – The Untutored Eye
I…Dreaming

Work from:
11th Nov 2020 – Daily Vitamins Assignment
Time with Professor Mike Rader