Shirley Clarke (née Brimberg; October 2, 1919 – September 23, 1997) was an American filmmaker.

Life

Born Shirley Brimberg 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 ...

, she was the daughter of a Polish-immigrant father who made his fortune in manufacturing. Her mother was the daughter of a multimillionaire Jewish manufacturer and inventor. The eldest of three daughters, her sister was the writer Elaine Dundy. Her interest in dance began at an early age, but met with the disapproval of her father, a violent bully.Philip Purse
Obituary of Clarke's sister, Elaine Dundy
''The Guardian'', 8 May 2008. Clarke attended

Stephens College Stephens College is a private women's college in Columbia, Missouri. It is the second-oldest women's educational establishment that is still a women's college in the United States. It was founded on August 24, 1833, as the Columbia Female Acad ...

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

, Bennington College, and

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC S ...

. As a result of dance lessons at each of these schools, she trained under the Martha Graham technique, the Humphrey-Weidman technique, and the

Hanya Holm Hanya Holm (born Johanna Eckert; 3 March 1893 – 3 November 1992) is known as one of the "Big Four" founders of American modern dance. She was a dancer, choreographer, and above all, a dance educator. Early life, connection with Mary Wigman B ...

method of

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance which included dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th ...

. She married Bert Clarke to escape her father's control, so she could study dance under the masters in New York City. Their daughter Wendy was born in 1944. Her marriage to Bert ended in divorce in 1963. She began her career as a dancer in the New York avant garde modern dance movement. She was an avid participant in dance lessons and performances at the

Young Women's Hebrew Association A Jewish Community Center or a Jewish Community Centre (JCC) is a general recreational, social, and fraternal organization serving the Jewish community in a number of cities. JCCs promote Jewish culture and heritage through holiday celebrations ...

. In 1972, Clarke was a signatory to a campaign of '' Ms'' magazine, “We Have Had Abortions”, which called for an end to "archaic laws" limiting reproductive freedom; the participants encouraged women to share their stories and take action.

Short films

In her first film, ''Dance in the Sun'' (1953), she adapted a choreography of

Daniel Nagrin Daniel Nagrin (May 22, 1917 – December 29, 2008) was an American modern dancer, choreographer, teacher, and author. He was born in New York City. Nagrin studied with Martha Graham, Anna Sokolow, Hanya Holm, Bill Matons and Helen Tamiris whom ...

. The New York Dance Film Society selected it as the best dance film of the year. In ''Dance in the Sun'' (1953), Clarke made use of rhythmic shots, shooting a dance on stage and then cutting from the stage to the beach and back and forth throughout the film. She crossed over from being a dancer, to being a filmmaker and expressing her art through a new medium. Clarke studied filmmaking with Hans Richter at the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

after making ''In Paris Parks'' (1954). In 1955, she became a member of the Independent Filmmakers of America and was part of a circle of independent filmmakers in

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such as Maya Deren,

Stan Brakhage James Stanley Brakhage ( ; January 14, 1933 – March 9, 2003) was an American filmmaker. He is considered to be one of the most important figures in 20th-century experimental film. Over the course of five decades, Brakhage created a larg ...

, Jonas Mekas, and Lionel Rogosin. In ''A Moment in Love'', Clarke used abstract line and color to capture pure dance. Clarke's film ''Bridges Go-Round'' (1958) is a major example of

abstract expressionism Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...

in film, with two alternative soundtracks, one with electronic music by Louis and Bebe Barron and the other is jazz orientated and was created by

Teo Macero Attilio Joseph "Teo" Macero (October 30, 1925 – February 19, 2008) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer. He was a producer at Columbia Records for twenty years. Macero produced Miles Davis' ''Bitches Brew'', and ...

. She used the camera to create a sense of motion while filming inanimate structures. She received an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nomination for ''

Skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ri ...

'' (1959) with two other documentary filmmakers. Mainly shot in 1958, the short film captures the construction of

666 Fifth Avenue 660 Fifth Avenue (formerly 666 Fifth Avenue and the Tishman Building) is a 41-story office building on the west side of Fifth Avenue between 52nd and 53rd Streets in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The office tower was d ...

that began in 1957. The 20-minute film includes shots of the Roxy Theatre which was demolished the year ''Skyscraper'' was released. In 1959, it won the Golden Gate Award at the

San Francisco International Film Festival The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by the San Francisco Film Society, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in i ...

. ''A Scary Time'' (1960), showing poverty and disease among children in Third World nations, was produced by

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to c ...

in consultation with Thorold Dickinson. It features music by Peggy Glanville-Hicks.

Features released in the 1960s

Clarke described the impact her experience as a woman had on her filmmaking: In 1962, she described, her objectives: "I'm revolting against the conventions of movies. Who says a film has to cost a million dollars and be safe and innocuous enough to satisfy every 12-year-old in America?"

''The Connection''

Her first feature film '' The Connection'' (1961), from the play by

Jack Gelber Jack Gelber (April 12, 1932 – May 9, 2003) was an American playwright best known for his 1959 drama '' The Connection'', depicting the life of drug-addicted jazz musicians. The first great success of the Living Theatre, the play was transl ...

, concerns heroin-addicted jazz musicians, was part of the emergence of a New York independent feature film movement. The film heralded a new style addressing relevant social issues in black-and-white low-budget films. Clarke intended the film to be used as a test case in a successful fight to abolish New York State's

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

rules. It also served as a commentary on the failures of

cinema verité Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking * ...

. It is meant to appear to document the spontaneous interactions of a contemporary, specific lifestyle (Bohemian New York of the early 1960s). ''The Connection'' generated controversy and discussion in the downtown New York City arts community. The original play by Jack Gelber had been condemned by mainstream critics during its performances off-Broadway, but had still drawn an audience that included "

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

, Anita Loos,

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...

and Lillian Hellman, who likened it to 'a fine time at the circus'". Clarke was determined to film the play, and once completed, it received favorable reviews. It was screened out of competition at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

in 1961, where again it was received positively. American

Beat generation The Beat Generation was a literary subculture movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-war era. The bulk of their work was published and popularized by Silent Genera ...

celebrities who were in Europe at the time traveled to Cannes to show support for Clarke's film. Screenings of ''The Connection'' in

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. sta ...

were subsequently banned following complaints alleging indecency, based on a shot that included a pornographic magazine and a word deemed obscene. At the time, New York State only permitted films to be publicly screened if they had received a license from the State's board of censors. Another attempt was made to publicly screen the film a year later, only for the police to intervene, as the filmmakers still did not have a license from the State's board of censors. Following these incidents, critical reviews of ''The Connection'' became predominantly negative. The situation made it difficult for Clarke to organize funding and distribution for her film projects. While filming ''The Connection'', she fell in love with actor Carl Lee. Following her divorce from Bert Clarke, she began a relationship with Lee that lasted until his death in 1986 from

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

, which he had contracted from his use of a dirty hypodermic needle.

Later in the decade

In 1961, Clarke signed the manifesto "Statement for a New American Cinema", and in 1962, she co-founded The Film-Makers' Cooperative in New York with Jonas Mekas. '' Robert Frost: A Lover's Quarrel With the World'' (1963), directed by Clarke and starring the poet

Robert Frost Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in the United States. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American collo ...

, won the

Academy Award for Documentary Feature The Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film is an award for documentary films. In 1941, the first awards for feature-length documentaries were bestowed as Special Awards to '' Kukan'' and ''Target for Tonight''. They have since been best ...

. Based on a novel by Warren Miller, Clarke's feature, '' The Cool World'' (1964), followed the life of a young man who rose to be the leader of a juvenile gang. The first movie to dramatize a story on black street gangs without relying upon Hollywood-style moralizing, it was shot on location in Harlem and produced by

Frederick Wiseman Frederick Wiseman (born January 1, 1930) is an American filmmaker, documentarian, and theater director. His work is "devoted primarily to exploring American institutions". He has been called "one of the most important and original filmmakers wor ...

. ''The Cool World'' was the first independently made film to be screened at the

Venice International Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

. Clarke directed a feature-length interview with a gay black male prostitute, ''

Portrait of Jason ''Portrait of Jason'' is a 1967 documentary film directed, produced and edited by Shirley Clarke and starring Jason Holliday (né Aaron Payne, 1924-1998). In 2015, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the ...

'' (1967) which was selected for the

New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center (FLC). Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, i ...

. Edited from 12 hours of interview footage, the film was described by Lauren Rabinovitz as an exploration of one "person's character while it simultaneously addresses the range and limitations of cinema-verité style". ''Portrait of Jason'' (1967) had a mixed response from American critics. With the exception of non-mainstream publications, reviewers were generally negative focusing on Clarke's supposed "morbid viewpoint and the lack of production polish". ''Portrait of Jason'' had a better reception in Europe. The film was distributed by the Film-Makers Distribution Center. Co-founded by Clarke in 1966, the distributor closed in 1970 after encountering financial difficulties.

Video works and other projects

In the 1970s and early 1980s, Clarke experimented with live video performance, returning to her roots as a dancer. She formed The TeePee Video Space Troupe at her Hotel Chelsea penthouse. This group included video artists Andy Gurian, Bruce Ferguson, Stephanie Palewski, DeeDee Halleck, Vickie Polan, Shrider Bapat, Clarke's daughter Wendy Clarke, and many others. The Troupe were also early experimenters with taped video performance, installation and documentation. After working on video films for several years at the Hotel Chelsea, Clarke was approached by

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

to work on his next film ''

Crazy Mama ''Crazy Mama'' is a 1975 American action comedy film directed by Jonathan Demme, produced by Julie Corman and starring Cloris Leachman. It marked the film debut of Bill Paxton and Dennis Quaid. Plot In 1958 Long Beach, California, Melba Stok ...

'' (1975). This sparked disagreements over creative approaches. Clarke realized that Corman was expecting a protègé without film experience. In a 1985 interview, Clarke stated that she did not believe the situation would have occurred had she been a male filmmaker: From time to time, members of the pioneering video collective Videofreex were part of the Troupe: David Cort, Parry Teasdale, Chuck Kennedy, Skip Blumberg, Bart Freidman, and Nancy Cain. The troupe worked in and around the Hotel Chelsea on West 23rd St in New York City, often setting up multiple cameras and monitors on the roof or in the stairwell. The Chelsea guest participants included

Viva Viva may refer to: Companies and organisations * Viva (network operator), a Dominican mobile network operator * Viva Air, a Spanish airline taken over by flag carrier Iberia * Viva Air Dominicana * VIVA Bahrain, a telecommunication company * V ...

Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science-fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A Spac ...

(no relation), Severn Darden, and

Agnès Varda Agnès Varda (; born Arlette Varda; 30 May 1928 – 29 March 2019) was a Belgian-born French film director, screenwriter, photographer, and artist. Her pioneering work was central to the development of the widely influential French New Wave film ...

. The troupe went on tour to colleges and media centers, including Bucknell College in Pennsylvania, where they worked with drama and dance students in a massive evening performance in the student center, and SUNY Cortland, where they created a video mural with art students. Clarke's final film was '' Ornette: Made in America'' (1985), a documentary profile of the jazz saxophonist and composer

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Coll ...

Other activities

In addition to directing her own films, Clarke played an independent filmmaker in the cinéma vérité-style comedy ''

Lions Love ''Lions Love'' is a 1969 American drama film directed by Agnès Varda. Cast * Viva - Viva * Gerome Ragni - Jim * James Rado - Jerry * Shirley Clarke - Herself * Carlos Clarens - Himself * Eddie Constantine - Eddie Trivia Both Ragni and Rado, ...

'' (1969) by

. Clarke also appears briefly in the documentary ''He Stands in a Desert Counting the Seconds of His Life'' (1986) by Jonas Mekas. Clarke's legs appeared in

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

and

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

's 1971 film ''

Up Your Legs Forever ''Up Your Legs Forever'' is a 1971 film by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. The film was made on 14 December 1970 on West 61st Street in Manhattan, New York City, though the couple did not have permits to work in the United States at that time. The fi ...

''. Clarke lectured regularly, speaking at theaters and museums. During the period between 1971 and 1974, Clarke led number of Teepee touring workshops in a variety of venues and institutions including the Kitchen, the Museum of Modern art ('Open Circuits'), Antioch College, Baltimore, Wesleyan College, Bucknell University, Film Study Center, Hampshire College and the University of Buffalo. Clarke became a professor at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

in 1975, teaching film and video until 1983.

Death and legacy

Clarke died of a stroke in Boston, Massachusetts after a struggle with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As ...

, shortly before her 78th birthday. The only full-length feature to receive wide media coverage during Clarke's lifetime was ''The Connection''. It was not her only film to subject to bans by New York State censors, or distribution challenges posed by the lack of infrastructure for independent filmmakers. Clarke's reputation languished for many years, during a period when she was "marginalized, written out of histories and dismissed as a dilettante". There has been renewed interest in her filmmaking, however. The first Shirley Clarke Avant-Garde Filmmaker Award was presented to

Barbara Hammer Barbara Jean Hammer (May 15, 1939 – March 16, 2019) was an American feminist film director, producer, writer, and cinematographer. She is known for being one of the pioneers of the lesbian film genre, and her career spanned over 50 years. Hamm ...

in October 2006.Barbara Hammer
Faculty page at European Graduate School (Accessed June 2, 2010) Thomas Cohen, in a 2012 book discussing her career, described her features as "films considered essential works of New American Cinema". From 2012 onwards,

Milestone Films Milestone Film and Video is an independent film distribution company, founded in 1990 in the United States by Dennis Doros and Amy Heller. The company researches and distributes cinematographic material from around the world, including silent film, ...

undertook "Project Shirley", an in-depth, eight-year project to release restored versions of many of Clarke's films on DVD and Blu-ray, preceded by limited theatrical runs. This encompassed ''Ornette: Made in America'' (Volume 1, November 11, 2014), ''Portrait of Jason'' (Volume 2, November 11, 2014), ''The Connection'' (Volume 3, February 24, 2015) and ''The Magic Box: The Films of Shirley Clarke. 1927-1986'' (Volume 4, November 15, 2016).

Filmography

*''A Dance in the Sun'' (1953) *''In Paris Parks'' (1954) *''Bullfight'' (1955) *''A Moment in Love'' (1957) *''Brussels "Loops'' (1958) *''Bridges-Go-Round'' (1958) *''

'' (1959) with

Willard Van Dyke Willard Van Dyke (December 5, 1906 – January 23, 1986) was an American filmmaker, photographer, arts administrator, teacher, and former director of the film department at the Museum of Modern Art.http://www.moma.org/docs/press_archives/6278/rel ...

and Irving Jacoby *''A Scary Time'' (1960) *'' The Connection'' (1961) *'' Robert Frost: A Lover's Quarrel with the World'' (1963) *'' The Cool World'' (1963) *''

'' (1967) *''Man in Polar Regions'' (1967) *''Trans'' (1978) *''One Two Three'' (1978) *''Mysterium; Initiation'' (1978) *'' Savage/Love'' (1981) *''Tongues'' (1982) *'' Ornette: Made in America'' (1985)

References

External links

* *
Shirley Clarke Papers
at the

Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research The Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research (WCFTR) is a major archive of motion picture, television, radio, and theater research materials. Located in the headquarters building of the Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison, Wisconsin, the ...

.
Shirley Clarke datebook, 1955-1956
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Article by Andy GurianA profile of Shirley Clarke by Sophia Satchell Baeza
for ''Sight & Sound'' ctober 2019br>''Village Voice'' articleRemembering Shirley Clarke by DeeDee Halleck
* ttp://making-light-of-it.blogspot.com/2011/12/shirleystorm.html "A Conversation" Shirley Clarke and Storm de Hirsch, ''Film Culture'' Issue 46 (Autumn 1967) {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Shirley 1919 births 1997 deaths American experimental filmmakers 20th-century American Jews American people of Polish descent Stephens College alumni American documentary filmmakers American women documentary filmmakers Women experimental filmmakers 20th-century American women Directors of Best Documentary Feature Academy Award winners