Freude (Florence) Bartlett (1942 – November 9, 2009) also known as Freude Solomon-Bartlett, was an American

experimental film Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that does not apply standard cinematic conventions, instead adopting Non-narrative film, non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many e ...

director and founder of the Serious Business Company, a San Francisco-based film sales and film distribution company known for its collection of avant-garde, animation and women's films.

Early years

Born in New York, Bartlett attended

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is ...

and earned a degree in Information Sciences at

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

Career

Bartlett started the company in 1972. She felt strongly about making experimental and women-made films more accessible and would often travel with curated film programs to educate the public about film and earn money for the artists she represented. The Serious Business Company distributed work made by Tom DeWitt, Gunvor Nelson,

Chick Strand Mildred "Chick" Strand (December 3, 1931 – July 11, 2009) was an American experimental filmmaker, "a pioneer in blending avant-garde techniques with documentary".Diana Burgess Fuller, Daniela Salvioni, ''Art/Women/California 1950-2000: Paralle ...

Robert Breer Robert Carlton Breer (September 30, 1926 – August 11, 2011) was an American experimental filmmaker, painter, and sculptor. Life and career Born in 1926, Breer began his artistic career as a painter after studying at Stanford University an ...

Suzan Pitt Suzan Pitt Kraning (born Suzan Lee Pitt; July 11, 1943 – June 16, 2019), known professionally as Suzan Pitt, was an American film director, animator, painter, and fashion designer best known for her surrealist animated shorts, including ''Aspa ...

, George Griffin,

Shirley Clarke Shirley Clarke (née Brimberg; October 2, 1919 – September 23, 1997) was an American filmmaker. Life Born Shirley Brimberg in New York City, she was the daughter of a Polish-immigrant father who made his fortune in manufacturing. Her mother w ...

, Kathy Rose and Robert Nelson, as well as many other artists. The company closed in 1983. In 1985 she founded Metropolis Media, a communications firm.

Personal life

She married filmmaker

Scott Bartlett Scott Bartlett (1943 – September 29, 1990 in San Francisco, CA) was one of the premiere abstract/experimental cinematic artists of the late 1960s and the 1970s. His acclaimed works, such as ''Off/On'' and ''Moon 1969'', were greatly admir ...

in 1969. She had a daughter, Stevias Solomon and a son Elon Bartlett. She died in Oakland, California.

Films

Prior to starting the Serious Business Company, Bartlett made lyrical autobiographical films that explored the connection between animals and humans and employed formal devises like superimposition and dissolves. Her films screened at

Film Forum The Film Forum is a nonprofit movie theater at 209 West Houston Street in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City. It is a four-screen cinema open 365 days a year, with up to 250,000 annual admissions, nearly 500 seats, 60 employees, over ...

, Toronto International Women & Film Festival,

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is a Modern art, modern and Contemporary art, contemporary American art museum located in the Meatpacking District, Manhattan, Meatpacking District and West Village neighbor ...

, and several International Women's Film Festivals. *''Folly'' (1972) color; 3 min. *''One & The Same'' (with Gunvor Nelson) (1972–73) color; 4 min. *''My Life In Art'' (1968–74) color; 36 min. *''Promise Her Anything But Give Her The Kitchen Sink'' (1968) color; 3 min. *''Shooting Star'' (1970) color; 5 min. *''Standup And Be Counted'' (with Scott Bartlett) (1969) color; 3 min. *''Sweet Dreams'' (1970) color; 3 min. *''Women and Children At Large'' (1972) color; 7 min. *''Red Heads on Parade'' (1974)

References

External links

Finding Aid to the Serious Business Company Records, 1965-1983, bulk 1972-1983, Bancroft Library University of California, Berkeley
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartlett, Freude 1942 births 2009 deaths American women film directors University of California, Berkeley School of Information alumni San Francisco State University alumni 20th-century American women 20th-century American people 21st-century American women