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Ken Jacobs

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Ken Jacobs
Ken Jacobs in 2021
Born(1933-05-25)May 25, 1933(age 91)
New York City, US[1]
OccupationFilmmaker
Notable workTom, Tom, the Piper's Son
SpouseFlo
Children2, includingAzazel Jacobs

Ken Jacobs(born May 25, 1933 inBrooklyn, New York)[2]is an Americanexperimental filmmaker.[3][4]His style often involves the use of found footage which he edits and manipulates. He has also directed films using his own footage.

Ken Jacobs directedBlonde Cobrain 1963. This short film starsJack Smithwho directed his ownFlaming Creaturesthe same year. In 1969 he directedTom, Tom, the Piper's Son(1969, USA), in which he took the original 1905 short film and manipulated the footage to recontextualize it. This is considered an important first example of deconstruction in film. The film was admitted to theNational Film Registryin 2007. HisStar Spangled to Death(2004, USA) is a nearly seven-hour film consisting largely offound footage.[5]Jacobs began compiling the archival footage in the 1950s and the film took years to complete.

Jacobs taught at the Cinema Department at Harpur College atBinghamton Universityfrom 1969 to 2002.[6]His sonAzazel Jacobsis also a filmmaker.[7]

In the 1990s, Jacobs began working withJohn Zornand experimented with a stroboscopic effect, digital video, and 3D effects.

Selected filmography[edit]

  • Little Stabs at Happiness(1960), 14:57 min, color, sound, 16 mm film on video.[8]
  • Blonde Cobra(1963), 33 min, color and b&w, sound, 16 mm film on video.[8]
  • Window(1964)[9]
  • Lisa and Joey in Connecticut(1965), 21:59 min, color, silent, Super 8mm film on video.[8]
  • Tom, Tom, The Piper's Son(1969), 133 min, color and b&w.[8]
  • Perfect Film(1986)
  • Opening the Nineteenth Century: 1896(1991)
  • The Georgetown Loop(1996), 11 min, b&w, silent.[8]
  • Circling Zero: We See Absence(2002), 114:38 min, color, sound.[10][11]
  • Star Spangled to Death(2004), 440 min, b&w and color, sound, DVD. Clip collection began in 1956.[8]
  • Nymph(2007), 2 min, color, silent.[8]
  • Gift of Fire: Nineteen (Obscure) Frames that Changed the World(2007), 27:30 min, anaglyph 3-D color, surround sound.[8]
  • The Scenic Route(2008), 25 min, color and b&w, sound.[8]
  • Seeking the Monkey King(2011), 39:42 min, color, 5.1 surround sound, HD video.[8]
  • Joys of Waiting for the Broadway Bus(2013), 4–part series, enhanced3D filmdigital slides.[12]
  • A Primer in Sky Socialism(2013), color 3D film.[13][14]

Awards and accolades[edit]

He is a recipient of the 1994American Film Institute'sMaya Deren Award.[7]In 2012 he received aCreative CapitalMoving Image grant award.[15]In 2014 he was named aUnited States Artists(USA) Fellow.[16]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Ken Jacobs".Electronic Arts Intermix.Archived fromthe originalon December 22, 2015.RetrievedDecember 20,2015.
  2. ^"Light Cone - Ken JACOBS".
  3. ^"Conversations With History: Ken Jacobs", interview at UC Berkeley
  4. ^Review of book Optic Antics
  5. ^Knipfel, Jim (September 2006).""Movies are All People Know" An Interview With Ken Jacobs ".The Brooklyn Rail.
  6. ^Bunnell, Irene."Ken Jacobs: Educator, innovator, filmmaker".Binghamton University: Department of Cinema at Harpur College.Binghamton University. Archived fromthe originalon June 11, 2018.RetrievedSeptember 21,2015.
  7. ^ab"October 17/18 – Ken Jacobs and Azazel Jacobs – Two Different Shows".Los Angeles Film Forum. October 12, 2009.RetrievedNovember 27,2012.
  8. ^abcdefghij"Ken Jacobs-Biography".Electronic Arts Intermix.EAI.RetrievedSeptember 21,2015.
  9. ^Ken Jacobs-IFFR
  10. ^Sicinski, Michael (May 11, 2015)."3D in the 21st Century. Flash Forward: Four 3D Works by Ken Jacobs".Notebook Digital Magazine.
  11. ^Ken Jacobs’ documentary “Circling Zero: We See Absence”, 2002, VHS, USA can be found in theExperimental Television Centerandits Repositoryin theRose Goldsen Archive of New Media Art,Cornell University Library.
  12. ^"Almost 80, He Continues the Ruckus".New York Times.18 May 2013.Retrieved2 June2016.
  13. ^New Silent Cinema.Routledge. 2015.ISBN9781317819448.
  14. ^"A Primer in Sky Socialism".EMPAC.5 October 2013.Retrieved2 June2016.
  15. ^"Joys of Waiting for the Broadway Bus / A Primer In Sky Socialism".Creative Capital.Retrieved2 June2016.
  16. ^"United States Artists » Ken Jacobs".Retrieved2023-02-27.

External links[edit]