Self Song / Death Song
About
SELF SONG documents a body besieged by cancer. The amber glow of narrowly focused, minuscule, layers of flesh and skin suggests both victory and submission to death. The warm colors of the flesh and textures of the skin seemingly suggests a body which is very much alive. Yet, there is always an impending darkness. Blackness surrounds the image and, occasionally, takes it over altogether. Furthermore, the complex grooves and patterns of the flesh struggle to maintain their focus, suggesting the obscuring and dissolving effects of cancer. In DEATH SONG the response to death is certainly more positive. The film begins with a smooth palate of blue hues. The blue returns toward the end of the film as a rigid and structurally organized screen, which suggests the permanent aspect of death. But initially it serves to contrast a blinding sequence of overexposed yellow frames. Within these images are drowning microscopic organisms. Their structure and energy is laid bare for us. However, these images are constantly being 'washed out' by a 'grubby' whiteness, which seeks to dissolve the image entirely. In this respect, we might view the purity of whiteness as being 'soiled' and encompassing. The all-encompassing nature of death is modified or tainted by cancer – organs and living systems are in a frantic trauma, trying not to be 'washed out'. By the end of the film, the image has shifted to the blue screen. The gentle layers of blues and greens suggests a comfortable and smooth, despite rigid, aspect of death. It is a space in which the dirty whiteness should not pierce. Yet, this vision is too idyllic in Brakhage's mind, and thus he allows the blueness to bleed from the side of the frame, opening the 'blinds' to the cancerous light. – Andre Munoz, 1997
Films
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Other films by this artist in our catalogue
- Read MoreExperimental
Gnir Rednow
Stan Brakhage - Read MoreExperimental
Desistfilm
Stan Brakhage16mm, black and white, sound, 7 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
In Between
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, sound, 9.5 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Reflections on Black
Stan Brakhage16mm, black and white, sound, 12 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
The Way to Shadow Garden
Stan Brakhage16mm, black and white, sound, 10 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
The Wonder Ring
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 4 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Loving
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 4 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Nightcats
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 8 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Daybreak & Whiteye
Stan Brakhage16mm, black and white, sound, 8 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Anticipation of the Night
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 40 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Window Water Baby Moving
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 12 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Wedlock House: An Intercourse
Stan Brakhage16mm, black and white, silent, 11 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Sirius Remembered
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 10.5 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Cat's Cradle
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 6 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
The Dead
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 11 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Centuries of June
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 10 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Thigh Line Lyre Triangular
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 9 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Prelude: Dog Star Man
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 25 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Films by Stan Brakhage: An Avant-Garde Home Movie
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 3.5 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimentalNarrative
Blue Moses
Stan Brakhage16mm, black and white, sound, 10.5 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimentalNarrative
Dog Star Man: Part I
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 30 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Dog Star Man: Part II
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 5.5 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Mothlight
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 4 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Oh Life—A Woe Story—The A Test News
Stan Brakhage16mm, black and white, silent, 5 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Dog Star Man (Complete)
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 75 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Dog Star Man: Part III
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 7.5 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Dog Star Man: Part IV
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 6 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
3 Films: Blue White/Bloodstone/Vein
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 8 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Black Vision
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 2.5 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Fire of Waters
Stan Brakhage16mm, black and white, sound, 10 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Pasht
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 5 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Two: Creeley/McClure
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 5 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Zone Moment
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, sound, 3 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreDocumentaryExperimental
Scenes From Under Childhood: Section No. 1
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 24.5 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
My Mountain: Song 27
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 24.25 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
The Horseman, The Woman And The Moth
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 19 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
My Mountain: Song 27: Part 2: Rivers
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 32.75 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Scenes From Under Childhood: Section No. 2
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 40 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Scenes From Under Childhood: Section No. 3
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 27.5 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
The Weir-Falcon Saga
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 29 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
The Animals of Eden and After
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 35 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Eyes
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 35.5 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
The Machine of Eden
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 11 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Scenes From Under Childhood: Section No. 4
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 46 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Sexual Meditation: #1 Motel
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 7 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Door
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 3.75 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Fox Fire Child Watch
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 3 minRental format: 16mm - Read MoreExperimental
Sexual Meditation: Room with View
Stan Brakhage16mm, color, silent, 3 minRental format: 16mm