Ed Emshwiller

Born: 1925-02-16

Born in 1925, Ed Emshwiller studied graphic design at the University of Michigan and L'Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. By the late '60s Emshwiller was working as a science fiction illustrator, and had established his place in the American avant-garde cinema with such works as Relativity (1966) and Image, Flesh and Voice (1969). His early films featured collaborations with dancers and choreographers—a theme he carried over into his videoworks. As both an artist and a teacher, Emshwiller’s pioneering efforts to develop an alternative technological language in video were enormously influential. His early experiments with synthesizers and computers included the electronic rendering of three-dimensional space, the interplay of illusion and reality, and manipulations of time, movement, and scale that explore the relationship between "external reality and subjective feelings." Emshwiller was among the first artists-in-residence at the TV Lab at WNET, where he produced the groundbreaking Scape-mates (1972). Sunstone (1979) was made over a period of eight months at the New York Institute of Technology. Emshwiller passed away in 1990 and an extensive collection of his work is housed by Anthology Film Archives.


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Diaries, Notes, and Sketches

as Self
Released: 1968-03-01

An epic portrait of the New York avant-garde art scene of the 60s.

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Hallelujah the Hills

as Gideon
Released: 1963-12-16

Jack and Leo vie for the affections of Vera – who appears a little differently to each man –...

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Lost, Lost, Lost

as Self
Released: 1976-09-14

Jonas Mekas adjusts to a life in exile in New York in his autobiographical film, shot between...

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Birth of a Nation

as uncredited
Released: 1997-08-06

Filmmaker Jonas Mekas films 160 underground film people over four decades.

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Home Movies 1971-81

as uncredited
Released: 1985-01-01

Home movies shot on Super 8mm by W+B Hein over 10 years.

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Painters Painting

as uncredited
Released: 1973-03-19

Painters Painting: The New York Art Scene 1940-1970 is a 1972 documentary directed by Emile de...

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Galaxie

as Himself
Released: 1966-09-03

In March and April of 1966, Markopoulos created this filmic portrait of writers and artists from...

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Family Focus

as Himself
Released: 1976-05-05

Emshwiller terms Family Focus a "family self-portrait, a stylized autobiography," which takes...

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