• Marie Menken: Go! Go! Go!, 1962–64

  • Ute Aurand, Ulrike Pfeiffer: OH! The Four Seasons, 1988

  • Mako Idemitsu: Whispering Light, 1985

  • Jonas Mekas: Walden: Reel 1, 1969

  • Jonas Mekas: Walden: Reel 1, 1969

  • Marie Menken: Arabesque for Kenneth Anger, 1961



16mm Notebooks and Diaries



Marie Menken documented the world around her with generosity, humor, and grace, the intimacy and exuberance of her films encouraging artists like Kenneth Anger, Stan Brakhage, and Jonas Mekas to create their own radically independent movies. Mekas began shooting films shortly after his arrival in the United States and continued to make films and videos until his death in 2019, crafting a distinctive diaristic style, shooting single and short bursts of frames while documenting daily life and the community of artists, filmmakers, and patrons that he helped foster. Inspired by these films, subsequent generations of artists like Mako Idemitsu and Ute Aurand also used 16mm cameras to create their own first-person cinemas. 

Films in this Screening

Go! Go! Go! 

Marie Menken, United States, 1962-64

FILM DETAILS 
Print Info
  • Color
  • 16mm
  • Silent
  • 12 mins
source
  • Canyon Cinema

Arabesque for Kenneth Anger

Marie Menken, United States, 1961

FILM DETAILS 
Print Info
  • Color
  • 16mm
  • 5 mins
source
  • The Film-Makers’ Cooperative

Walden: Reel 1

Jonas Mekas, United States, 1969

FILM DETAILS 
Print Info
  • Color
  • 16mm
  • 43 mins
source
  • Light Cone

Whispering Light

Mako Idemitsu, Japan, 1985

FILM DETAILS 
Language
  • Japanese
  • with English subtitles
Print Info
  • Color
  • Digital
  • 11 mins
source
  • Electronic Arts Intermix

OH! The Four Seasons

Ute Aurand, Ulrike Pfeiffer, West Germany, 1988

FILM DETAILS 
Print Info
  • Color
  • 16mm
  • 20 mins
source
  • Arsenal - Institute for Film and Video Art

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