For more than three years the1 four editors have been collectively working on the legend of maya deren. Maya deren april 29, 1917 october, 1961, born eleonora derenkowska. Maya deren great director profile senses of cinema. Used books may not include companion materials, may have some shelf wear, may contain highlightingnotes. The films narrative is circular and repeats several motifs, including a flower on a long driveway, a key falling, a door unlocked, a knife in a loaf of bread, a mysterious grim reaperlike cloaked figure with a mirror for a face, a. Born in kiev 100 years ago, deren is one of the most influential figures in american avantgarde cinema. The legend of maya deren is a four volume project that reexamines the life of filmmaker and ethnographer maya deren. Maya deren and the american avantgarde by bill nichols. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. Essential for anyone interested in experimental film and women artists, the legend of maya deren is also a must for those concerned with other arts, letters, and social issues of our time. Maya deren maya deren 19171961 wore many hats in her brief lifetime.
The film opens with a mysterious hand placing a rose on a driveway. Maya deren 19171961 wore many hats in her brief lifetime. The legend of maya deren is a four volume project that reexamine. In his introduction to the new book of collected essays on deren, maya deren and the american avantgarde, bill nichols sees the filmmakers preoccupation with dance, play, games and ritual as being connected to the concept of depersonalization deren describes in her essay, an anagram of ideas on art, form and film. She actively participated in voudoun rituals and became convinced of the integrity and reality of voudoun mythology. Her films are not only poetic but instructive, offering insight into the human body and pysche and demonstrating the potential of film to explore these subjects. The high priestess of experimental cinema maya deren is recognizable as the woman with the enigmatic expression at the window, silently observing from within. Anthology film archives the legend of maya deren, volume i.
Deren was a seminal figure among independent filmmakers about whom legends sprung. Meshes of the afternoon is a 1943 american short experimental film directed by and starring wifeandhusband team maya deren and alexander hammid. Her efforts to promote an independent cinema have inspired filmmakers for over fifty years. Famed for her 1943 masterpiece meshes of the afternoon, one of the most widely viewed and analyzed of all experimental films, deren was a tireless proponent of independent movie production and. Volume 1, signatures concerns deren s early and university life, involvement in socialist youth groups and early poetry and fiction. Apr 25, 2020 maya deren, influential director and performer who is often called the mother of american avantgarde filmmaking. Libraries would do well to add several copies of this book to their collections cecile starr more. Meshes of the afternoon 1943 ranks among the most widely viewed of all avantgarde films. This barcode number lets you verify that youre getting exactly the right version or edition of a book. Reading deren bisexually, maria pramaggiore maya deren and me, barbara hammer appendix. Born eleanora derenkowsky in kiev, ukraine, on april 29, 1917, the only child of marie fiedler and solomon david derenkowsky, she was named after eleanora duse, the eminent italian actor. Regarded as one of the founders of the postwar american independent cinema, the legendary maya deren was a poet, photographer, ethnographer, filmmaker and impresario. A documentary biography and collected works, volume i, part 2, chambers. The legend of maya deren will include letters and writings by maya deren, photographs, stills from her films, and interviews with people that she knew and worked with.
Clark, millicent hodson, catrina neiman, maya deren. Deren appears as a character in the long narrative poem the changing light at sandover 19761980 by her friend james merrill. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle. Maya derens last s crip t ma y a deren edited and introduced by jamie james although she never made a. The following entry presents an overview of derens career. Camera obscura collective, the, excerpts from an interview with the legend of maya deren project, in camera obscura berkeley, california, summer 1979. Oct 31, 2001 maya deren and the american avantgarde also includes one of the most significant reflections on the nature of art and the responsibilities of the filmmaker ever writtenderens influential but long outofprint book, an anagram of ideas on art, form and film, in its entirety. Born in kiev in 1917, maya deren emigrated to the united states with her parents a few years later, grew up mainly in syracuse, new york. An insightful and articulate writer, she authored the divine horseman. Excerpts from an interview with the legend of maya deren. Price 1984, paperback at the best online prices at ebay. Eleanora derenkowsky, kiev, russia, 29 april 1917, d.
Maya deren american director and actress britannica. Soussloff maya deren, jane brakhage wodening seeing doubles. Works about deren and her works have been produced in various media. The legend of maya deren, a documentary and collected works. Experimental film married, show, name, cinema, scene. Maya deren april 29, 1917 october, 1961, born eleonora derenkowska ukrainian. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Clark, millicent hodson and catrina neiman eds, the legend of maya deren, volume i, part i. Maya deren colloquium at pompidou centers cinema du musee in paris friday, march 1, 1996. Maya deren, dance, and gestural encounters in ritual in. Her influence, especially in independent film, has not only endured but also increased in the decades following her death. A documentary on her life and legacy, invocation maya deren was released in 1987.
Although she never completed her planned film on the subject, her book, divine horsemen. The makers of in the mirror of maya deren clearly profited from the extensive research that went into producing the legend of maya deren. Derens interest in dance and ritual led her to travel to haiti in 1947 to research and film voudoun culture. October, 1961, new york, new york, usa filmography bibliography articles in senses web resources maya deren. Maya deren s ethnographic representation of ritual and myth in haiti, moira sullivan 3. Signatures, 19171942 by millicent hodson, catrina neiman, veve a. Maya deren came to the usa in 1922 as eleanora derenkowsky. Maya deren, letter to james card, 19 april 1955, in essential deren. That said, there is a wealth of information in these 2 books, and finding these in first edition hardcover, is almost impossible. Alainalcide sudre professor at the university of montpellier, cofounder of the avignon archives of experimental film. The rest is fairly selfexplanatory, as the essay contains a lot of information on her life and background, and i have embedded the two short films at the end of the article for those who would. Maya derens life is the subject of a multivolume biography in progress see. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Meshes of the afternoon is an experimental 1943 14minute film directed by maya deren and her husband, alexander hammid, and written by deren.
Maya deren s life is the subject of a multivolume biography in progress see. Born in kiev in 1917, maya deren emigrated to the united states with her parents a few years later, grew up mainly in syracuse, new york, and attended syracuse university. The living god of haiti 1953, the result of a trip to haiti which was to be the basis of a film, and the seminal an anagram of ideas on art, form and film 1946. The films narrative is circular and repeats several motifs, including a flower on a long driveway, a key falling, a door unlocked, a knife in a loaf of bread, a mysterious grim reaperlike cloaked figure with a mirror for a face, a phone off the. Champion of american independent film, in film news new york, septemberoctober 1979.
A woman deren sees the flower, picks it up, and takes it. Volume 1, signatures concerns derens early and university life, involvement in socialist youth groups and early poetry and fiction. A woman deren sees the flower, picks it up, and takes it into her apartment. American cinema in the 1940s, berkley, university of california press, 1999, p. Maya deren did not launch the american film avantgarde, but more than any of her contemporaries, she galvanized, popularized, and feminized it. For a woman who was to transform film, it is fitting that maya deren was born in russia in 1917, during the birth of the revolution. The terms of her legend and legacy maya deren herself, catherine m. Her influence, especially in independent film, has not only endured but also increased in. Derens legacy and the material of her archive relative to the films discussed here are taken up in great detail in the legend of maya deren, ed. The living gods of haiti 1953a book that was made after her first trip to haiti in 1947 and which is still considered one of the most useful on haitian voudoun. The double life of maya deren, between artistic committment and wild mystic.
The legend of maya deren, a documentary and collected. Chambers, part 2 ilustrates her development as a filmmaker through her first four films with documents on their production. Take on prince chaacs mission and construct an outstanding city with many inhabitants. Meshes of the afternoon is an experimental 1943 14minute film directed by maya deren and her husband, alexander hammid, and written by deren the film opens with a mysterious hand placing a rose on a driveway. Dec 19, 2018 maya deren, letter to james card, 19 april 1955, in essential deren. Deren was also a choreographer, dancer, film theorist, poet, lecturer, writer, and. Maya deren 19171961 russianborn american filmmaker, dancer, essayist, and film critic. The subject is maya deren, my favorite avantgarde filmmaker, and in particular, her two greatest masterpieces meshes in the afternoon and at land. Regarded as one of the founders of the postwar american independent cinema, the legendary maya deren was a poet, photographer, ethnographer, filmmaker. Deren was also a choreographer, dancer, film theorist, poet, lecturer, writer, and photographer.
560 200 201 298 103 1039 1236 1258 973 286 873 800 683 944 1453 414 190 714 280 1276 499 204 646 931 231 945 297 1211 1081 519 505 344 29 740 1426