Jeff Keen

Born: 1923-11-26

Jeff Keen (1923–2012) was a pioneer of experimental film whose rapid-fire animations, multiple screen projections and raucous performances redefined multimedia art in Britain. Keen was a veteran of the Second World War, and his work powerfully evokes the violence, colour, speed and noise of the 20th century. He transformed cinema into a riotous collage of comics, drawings, B-movie posters, plastic toys, burning props and extravagant costumes. His early 8 mm and 16 mm films are built for speed, combining footage of Beat-era motifs – jazz, motorbikes and car culture – with experimental animations in which the achievements and atrocities of the 20th century seem to flash by within a few short, cacophonous seconds. A single frame could not contain the frenzied energy of Keen’s imagination, and by the mid-1960s he began to use multiple screens and live action in presentations of his work.


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Blatzom

as uncredited
Released: 1986-01-02

Jeff Keen dons paper masks and his knitted Artwar jacket, after avoiding bombs and pacing a...

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Return of Silver Head

as Silver Head
Released: 1980-01-02

The Keen family go on holiday in the jungles of the English countryside while the mysterious...

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The Pink Auto

as uncredited
Released: 1964-01-01

The Pink Auto, screened using two projectors, is one of the very first examples of expanded...

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Like the Time Is Now

as uncredited
Released: 1961-01-02

America comes to Brighton as three beatniks hang out, listen to records and smoke before strange...

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Art Flies Free

as Self
Released: 2000-01-01

A Super-8 portrait of Jeff Keen. This short but evocative experimental portrait melds Keen's...

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