Jud Yalkut (;1938–2013) was an

experimental film Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, parti ...

and

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) sy ...

maker and

intermedia Intermedia is an art theory term coined in the mid-1960s by Fluxus artist Dick Higgins to describe various interdisciplinarity art activities that occur between genres, beginning in the 1960s. It was also used by John Brockman to refer to work ...

artist.

Personal life

Jud Yalkut was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1938. In 1973, he moved to

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

, Ohio, where he lived until his death at the age of 75 in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

, Ohio on July 23, 2013. He was married to Peg Rice.

Career

Yalkut attended

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Univer ...

, Montreal, where he studied poetry, before returning to his place of birth, New York, to take up film-making. While at McGill, Yalkut and

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

were fraternity brothers.

New York

In 1965 Yalkut became resident film-maker for

USCO USCO was an American media art collective in the 1960s, founded by Gerd Stern, Michael Callahan, Steve Durkee, Judi Stern, and Barbara Durkee in New York. The name USCO is an acronym for Us Company or the Company of Us. The collective was most ac ...

('The Company of Us', a media arts collective). Yalkut created the following films for USCO events in the mid-sixties, some in collaboration with USCO members: ''Turn, Turn, Turn'' (USCO did the soundtrack), ''Ghost Rev'', ''Diffraction Film'', and ''Down By the Riverside''. Yalkut became interested in psychedelics, and produced a short film in 1966 titled ''D.M.T.'' The film featured slides by artist Jackie Cassen, choreography/dancing by Mary McKay, and the voice of

Ralph Metzner Ralph Metzner (May 18, 1936 – March 14, 2019) was a German-born American psychologist, writer and researcher, who participated in psychedelic research at Harvard University in the early 1960s with Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert (later named ...

reading from

Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from bold oracle to publicity hound. He was "a her ...

's book ''Psychedelic Prayers: And Other Meditations''. In 1966 Yalkut started collaborating with

Nam June Paik Nam June Paik (; July 20, 1932 – January 29, 2006) was a Korean American artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the founder of video art. He is credited with the first use (1974) of the term "electronic super h ...

, a working partnership that would continue into the 1970s. Together, Yalkut and Paik produced hybrid film-video works that combined moving image technologies, electronic manipulations, performance and installation. These works include ''Videotape Study No. 3'' (1967–69), ''Beatles Electroniques'' (1966–72) and ''Cinema Metaphysique'' (1966–72). As well as Paik, Yalkut worked with many other New York-based visual and performance artists. For example, in 1966 Yalkut created ''Moondial Film'', an experimental film that documented an "electromedia" happening by

Aldo Tambellini Aldo Tambellini (29 April 1930 – 12 November 2020) was an Italian-American artist. He pioneered electronic intermedia, and was a painter, sculptor, and poet. He died at age 90, in November 2020. Childhood Aldo Tambellini was born in Syracus ...

. In 1967, Yalkut made a film of the Japanese artist

Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese contemporary artist who works primarily in sculpture and installation, and is also active in painting, performance, video art, fashion, poetry, fiction, and other arts. Her work is based in conceptual art and shows some attribute ...

, ''Kusama’s Self-Obliteration,'' using multiple dissolves and additional superimpositions. In 1968, Yalkut collaborated with the dancer and choreographer

Trisha Brown Trisha Brown (November 25, 1936 – March 18, 2017) was an American choreographer and dancer, and one of the founders of the Judson Dance Theater and the postmodern dance movement. Brown’s dance/movement method, with which she and her dancers ...

, contributing a film to the dance, ''Planes,'' for projection onto the performance space''.'' The film included found aerial footage of New York City, rockets launching and microscopic imagery. During his time in New York, Yalkut organized film programs for

Charlotte Moorman Madeline Charlotte Moorman (November 18, 1933 – November 8, 1991) was an American cellist, performance artist, and advocate for avant-garde music. Referred to as the "Jeanne d'Arc of new music", she was the founder of the Annual Avant Garde Fes ...

's New York Avant Garde Festivals. He also taught film-making courses at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

, and the

Millennium Film Workshop The Millennium Film Workshop is a Non-profit organization, non-profit media arts center located in New York City. It is dedicated to the exhibition, study, and practice of avant-garde and experimental cinema. It was also where the St. Mark's Poetry ...

Dayton

In 1973, Yalkut left New York and started a film and video program at

Wright State University Wright State University is a public research university in Fairborn, Ohio. Originally opened in 1964 as a branch campus of Miami University and Ohio State University, it became an independent institution in 1967 and was named in honor of aviation ...

, Dayton, Ohio. He was one of the founders of Dayton Visual Arts Center. He taught at

Sinclair Community College Sinclair Community College is a public community college in Dayton, Ohio. History Sinclair Community College is named for David A. Sinclair, a Scottish immigrant and secretary of the Dayton YMCA (1874–1902), who founded the adult training schoo ...

in Dayton and at

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati and Evanston (Cincinnati), Ohio. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier has an undergraduate enrollment of 4,860 stud ...

in Cincinnati.

Notable exhibitions

* ''Dream Reels: VideoFilms and Environments by Jud Yalkut'', Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 2000. * ''Jud Yalkut: Visions and Sur-Realities'', University of Dayton, Spring 2013 – a career retrospective.

Awards and commendations

In 1968 ''Kusama’s Self Obliteration'', Yalkut's 1967 collaborative film with Yayoi Kusama, won the Fourth International Experimental Film Competition in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

. Yalkut received six Individual Artist Fellowships and three Artist's Project Grants from the

Ohio Arts Council The Ohio Arts Council (OAC) is an agency serving the U.S. state of Ohio. History Established in 1965, its mission is to "foster and encourage the development of the arts and assist the preservation of Ohio's cultural heritage." Each year it awar ...

. The Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District honoured him with a Master Individual Artist Fellowship and a Lifetime Achievement Fellowship in 2003. Many of Yalkut's films have been preserved by

Anthology Film Archives Anthology Film Archives is an international center for the preservation, study, and exhibition of film and video, with a particular focus on independent, experimental, and avant-garde cinema.National Film Preservation Foundation The National Film Preservation Foundation (NFPF) is an independent, nonprofit organization created by the U.S. Congress to help save America's film heritage. Growing from a national planning effort led by the Library of Congress, the NFPF began o ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yalkut, Jud 1938 births 2013 deaths Artists from Dayton, Ohio Xavier University faculty