Anthology Film Archives
Encyclopedia
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Anthology Film Archives is a film archive
and theater located at 32 Second Avenue
on the corner of East Second Street in the East Village
neighborhood of Manhattan
, New York City
devoted to the preservation and exhibition of experimental film
. It is the only non-profit organization of its kind in New York City, independent through self-support. In addition to preserving and exhibiting films – about 700 public screenings yearly – Anthology also publishes books and catalogs and houses a research library and art gallery.
The Archives was founded by Jonas Mekas
, Stan Brakhage
, P. Adams Sitney
and Peter Kubelka
and opened on November 30th, 1970. Today it keeps around 11,000 films and 3,000 videotapes and is one of the largest archives of avant-garde and experimental cinema in the world. The collection, which focuses on American filmmakers, also holds many commercial and industrial negatives deposited at the institution by insolvent films laboratories. Mekas' contribution to the Anthology was substantial: when grant funding was low, such as in the 1970s, Mekas single-handedly saved the collection, sometimes personally paying the rent to house the collection.
In 2005, the Archives released Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant Garde Film 1894-1941
, a DVD retrospective of early experimental film. That same year, the Archives was among 406 New York City
arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $20 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation, which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg
.
In 1998 New York University
film students began NewFilmmakers, which became a popular weekly series, which has screened many thousands of documentary, short, and feature films. From 2004 through 2006, members of the Anthology Film Archives community organized LAB HD
, an ambient televisionchannel that broadcast in high-definition nationally in the United States. During this period LAB HD produced dozens of experimental and avant-garde films in its facilities.
Anthology Film Archives is a film archive
Archive
An archive is a collection of historical records, or the physical place they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organization's lifetime, and are kept to show the function of an organization...
and theater located at 32 Second Avenue
Second Avenue (Manhattan)
Second Avenue is an avenue on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan extending from Houston Street at its south end to the Harlem River Drive at 128th Street at its north end. A one-way street, vehicular traffic runs only downtown. A bicycle lane in the left hand portion from 55th...
on the corner of East Second Street in the East Village
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
neighborhood of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
devoted to the preservation and exhibition of experimental film
Experimental film
Experimental film or experimental cinema is a type of cinema. Experimental film is an artistic practice relieving both of visual arts and cinema. Its origins can be found in European avant-garde movements of the twenties. Experimental cinema has built its history through the texts of theoreticians...
. It is the only non-profit organization of its kind in New York City, independent through self-support. In addition to preserving and exhibiting films – about 700 public screenings yearly – Anthology also publishes books and catalogs and houses a research library and art gallery.
Jonas Mekas
Jonas Mekas is a Lithuanian-born American filmmaker, writer, and curator who has often been called "the godfather of American avant-garde cinema." His work has been exhibited in museums and festivals across Europe and America.-Biography:...
, Stan Brakhage
Stan Brakhage
James Stanley Brakhage , better known as Stan Brakhage, was an American non-narrative filmmaker who is considered to be one of the most important figures in 20th century experimental film....
, P. Adams Sitney
P. Adams Sitney
P. Adams Sitney , is a historian of American avant-garde cinema.-Life:He was educated in his hometown, at Yale University...
and Peter Kubelka
Peter Kubelka
Peter Kubelka is an Austrian experimental filmmaker. His films are primarily short experiments in linking seemingly disparate sound and images...
and opened on November 30th, 1970. Today it keeps around 11,000 films and 3,000 videotapes and is one of the largest archives of avant-garde and experimental cinema in the world. The collection, which focuses on American filmmakers, also holds many commercial and industrial negatives deposited at the institution by insolvent films laboratories. Mekas' contribution to the Anthology was substantial: when grant funding was low, such as in the 1970s, Mekas single-handedly saved the collection, sometimes personally paying the rent to house the collection.
In 2005, the Archives released Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant Garde Film 1894-1941
Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant Garde Film 1894-1941
Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant Garde Film 1894-1941 is a 7-disc and 19-hour DVD retrospective released by Image Entertainment in October 2005, and which includes some of the earliest American experimental film. It includes the work of:...
, a DVD retrospective of early experimental film. That same year, the Archives was among 406 New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $20 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation, which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
.
In 1998 New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
film students began NewFilmmakers, which became a popular weekly series, which has screened many thousands of documentary, short, and feature films. From 2004 through 2006, members of the Anthology Film Archives community organized LAB HD
LAB HD
LAB HD was a three-year experiment by Voom HD Networks. It is the only channel in history devoted to video art and experimental film as a continuous flow of ambient television...
, an ambient televisionchannel that broadcast in high-definition nationally in the United States. During this period LAB HD produced dozens of experimental and avant-garde films in its facilities.
Notable films in the collection
- Geography of the Body (1943)
- Early AbstractionsEarly AbstractionsEarly Abstractions is a collection of seven short animated films created by Harry Everett Smith between 1939 and 1956. Each film is between two and six minutes long, and is named according to the chronological order in which it was made...
(1946-57) - Light Reflections (1948-52)
- Image in the Snow (1950)
- Longhorns (1951)
- Undertow (1954-56)
- The Whirled (1956-63)
- Heaven and Earth MagicHeaven and Earth MagicHeaven and Earth Magic is an American avant garde feature film made by Harry Everett Smith. Originally released in 1957, it was re-edited several times and the final version was released in 1962...
(1957-62) - Pennsylvania/Chicago/Illinois (1957-59)
- Waterlight (1957)
- A La ModeA la ModeA la Mode is the second mini-album by Fujifabric, released in 2003 under the independent Japanese record label Song-CRUX.-Track listing:#Hanaya no Musume #Otteke Otteke #Otsuki-Sama no Nopperabou...
(1958) - Highway (1958)
- The Kuchar Brothers' 8 mm Shorts (1958-63)
- Sunshine (1958)
- Three Pickup Men for Herrick (1958)
- Memories (1959-98)
- The Soccer Game (1959)
- The Flower ThiefThe Flower ThiefThe Flower Thief is an underground film directed by Ron Rice, shot in 1959 in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood, using surplus 16mm film. The film features non-professional actors like Taylor Mead and Eric "Big Daddy" Nord, and Beat poets living in North Beach such as Bob Kaufman.-External...
(1960) - Cosmic Ray (1961)
- Death and Transfiguration (1961)
- Report (1963-67)
- Fathomless (1964)
- George Dumpson's Place (1964)
- Taylor Mead Home Movies (1964-68)
- Ten Second Film (1965)
- The FlickerThe FlickerThe Flicker is an experimental film created in 1965 by Tony Conrad. The film consists of only 5 different frames, a warning frame, two title frames, a black frame, and a white frame. It is currently being re-made digitally into a compact computer program by Tony Conrad's son...
(1966) - Relativity (1966)
- Cayuga Run (1967-73)
- Guger's Landing (1967-73)
- Hudson River Diary at Gradiew (1967-73)
- River Ghost (1967-73)
- Wintergarden (1967-73)
- Adventures of the Exquisite Corpse (1968)
- N:O:T:H:I:N:G (1968)
- The Wind Is Driving Him Toward the Open Sea (1968)
- Straight and Narrow (1970)
- The Act of Seeing with One's Own EyesThe Act of Seeing with One's Own EyesThe Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes is a 1971 American experimental film by Stan Brakhage. It was filmed on 16mm without synchronized sound in a Pittsburgh morgue. The title is based on a literal translation of the term autopsy...
(1971) - Deus Ex (1971)
- Eyes (1971)
- Fantastic Dances (1971)
- Sea Rhythms (1971)
- Carriage Trade (1972)
- Film Feedback (1972)
- Hurrah for Light (1972)
- Look ParkLook ParkLook Memorial Park, commonly referred to as Look Park, is a park in Florence, Massachusetts in Hampshire Country. The park is open year round.-History:...
(1973-4) - Once Upon a Time (1974)
- Lost Lost Lost (1976)
- America Is Waiting (1981)
- Mea Culpa (1981)
In popular culture
- In the 2004 film Spider-Man 2Spider-Man 2Spider-Man 2 is a 2004 American superhero film directed by Sam Raimi, written by Alvin Sargent and developed by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, and Michael Chabon. It is the second film in the Spider-Man film franchise based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man...
, the Anthology Film Archives building was used as the exterior of Doctor Octopus' laboratory.