James Benning is one of the most pre-eminent American independent filmmakers in the experimental narrative vein. As a young man, living in the Milwaukee in the 1960s, he saw MESHES OF THE AFTERNOON broadcast on public television. This film made an indelible impression on him: “It was just so different to anything I’d ever seen”. This experience motivated him in part to take up an artistic career in filmmaking (following studies in mathematics), even though his developing artistic style differed markedly from that of Maya Deren’s. Between 1971 and 1977, he made an extensive series of short films in 8mm and 16mm, some in collaboration with then-partner Bette Gordon. In 1977, he shifted his practice to incorporate the making of feature length films. In 2007, Benning declared, “No more 16mm filmmaking: the lab work is too stressful, and projection is getting worse than terrible. I'm going to make small DVD works and show them to friends."
Read More