Stan Brakhage - "Eye Myth" (1972)

[skawtaa]

What? Why? I feel as if I have walked into the middle of a party I'm not invited to, and there are a lot of people I don't know standing around looking at a dead bird, but it's a very significant dead bird if I knew what I don't know about it. Y'know?

[classics4life]

@skawtaa Well, Brakhage did not make the film for YOU.

[skawtaa]

@classics4life Sure he did - otherwise he would have kept it to himself rather than posting it on youtube. It's pretty. Not meaningful. To me. At least 50% of art is viewer interpretation, and 100% once the artist is dead unless some explanation remains. The point of what I posted is that it seems like there is a fanbase for this guy's work, and I would like to be let in on the secret of his genius, if it exists. Do you know the secret?

[dasbakon]

@skawtaa Do you honestly think Brakhage himself posted this film on Youtube?!?! Ha Ha! He died in 2003. Up until Criterion released their DVD set of his remarkable work, his films were virtually impossible to purchase for home viewing.

[skawtaa]

@dasbakon It doesn't matter to me who posted it - if you read my comments I'm asking for someone to tell me why this guy is noteworthy. Apparently it's a well kept secret, because you and the other person who responded are more interested in riduculing me. I will go on my merry way, having gained nothing...except maybe the idea that fans of Brackhage are stereotypical modern art morons who will look at a child's fingerpainting and call it genius if it has the right signature on it. Bleh.

[dasbakon]

@skawtaa What makes Brakhage's work so noteworthy? Maybe because of the great lengths he went to to create something beautiful and interesting. The amount of effort put into this 9 second film is almost unfathomable when compared to today's easy access to digital this-and -that. Each frame painstakingly hand-painted directly onto the celluloid, while still maintaining his esthetic of human eye motion. Why would you need somebody else to tell you why something is beautiful? Continued...

[dasbakon]

@skawtaa Why can't you decide that for yourself? If you like it, great. If you don't like it, that's fine too. I personally find his work extremely beautiful, engaging, and much like a great writer, his work becomes enveloping if you give it the time and attention it deserves. Brakhage's art was purely visual (Most of his films were silent), so it all comes down to what YOU SEE when you view his work. Nobody can tell you what you see, only you can decide whether or not it is noteworthy.

[skawtaa]

@dasbakon Thanks for giving me an answer to my question! Yes, it is up to me to decide, and I decide that I am not interested. Before I dismissed the work, however, I did want to know what was attractive about it according to his fans. You have told me your opinion, and I appreciate that. Adios.

[skawtaa]

@skawtaa Oh, and I never asked if this was beautiful. I compared it to a dead bird.  I said it was pretty, but not meaningful (as a stand alone work). Yep.

[universallogin1290]

The coolest seizure I ever had!

[fleming1972]

This is basically what dreams look like. The rational part of our brains try to make sense of it by making up a story.

[ifnord]

And to think this took a year to make.

[apple0zebra]

@ifnord well im sure he took breaks... sleeping, eating, etc

[aura113]

im glad i can still see. thanks vision