Ken McMullen (born 31 August 1948,

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

) is a film director, artist and since 2012 Anniversary Professor of Film Studies at Kingston University, London. McMullen's films are grounded in

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, history,

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious mind, unconscious processes and their influence on conscious mind, conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on The Inte ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

. McMullen's exhibition ''Signatures of the Invisible'' brought together artists and scientists working at

CERN The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in Meyrin, western suburb of Gene ...

, the European

particle physics Particle physics or high-energy physics is the study of Elementary particle, fundamental particles and fundamental interaction, forces that constitute matter and radiation. The field also studies combinations of elementary particles up to the s ...

facility near

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. His other work includes filming conversations with physicists at Stanford Linear Accelerator Centre, which he describes as "making a diary of the transition in human culture" because he believes physics is arriving at another shifting point. His latest work ''Arrows of Time'' is a radical new form of cinema consisting of 40 interchangeable elements that deal with literature,

, and contemporary physics, premiered at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

in April 2007. During the late 1990s and early 2000s McMullen also lectured and took tutor groups and what was then 'The London College of Printing and Distributive Trades' - now the

London College of Communication The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. Its origins are in education for the printing and retail industries; it now specialises in media-related subjects including advertising, animation ...

. Attached to the department of Film and Television studies at the college's Back Hill facility, McMullen was popular with students.

Selected filmography

* '' Hamlet Within'' (2022) * '' Moments with Mujica'' (2021) * ''

The Ghost Within, film ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' (2020) * '' OXI: An Act of Resistance'' (2014) * '' An Organization of Dreams'' (2009) * '' Arrows of Time'' (2007) * '' Art, Poetry and Particle Physics'' (2004) * '' Pioneers in Art and Science: Metzger'' (2004) * '' Lumin de Lumine'' (2001) * '' Seven Sighs'' (1995) * ''Lucky Man'' (1994), Documentary. * '' There We Are, John'' (1993) * ''

1867 There were only 354 days this year in the newly purchased territory of Alaska. When the territory transferred from the Russian Empire to the United States, the calendric transition from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar was made with only 1 ...

'' (1990) * ''

1871 Events January–March * January 3 – Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Bapaume – Prussians win a strategic victory. * January 18 – Proclamation of the German Empire: The member states of the North German Confederation and the sout ...

'' (1990): a period film about the rise and fall of the Paris Commune in 1871. Produced by

Stewart Richards Stewart Richards (born 1956) is an English film producer, television executive, publisher and writer. He is notable for producing award-winning British arthouse films in the 1980s and 1990s, including the 1991 Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-nominated ...

and screened in the

Un Certain Regard (; 'A Certain Glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films with unusua ...

section at the

1990 Cannes Film Festival The 43rd Cannes Film Festival took place from 10 to 21 May 1990. Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci served as jury president for the main competition. American filmmaker David Lynch won the ''Palme d'Or'', for the drama film '' Wild at Heart' ...

. * '' Partition'' (1987): set in the turmoil surrounding the transfer of political power in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

from

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n hands and the partition of the subcontinent into The Dominion of Pakistan and

The Republic of India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area; the most populous country since 2023; and, since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by ...

in 1947. * ''

Zina ''Zināʾ'' () or ''zinā'' ( or ) is an Islamic legal term referring to unlawful sexual intercourse. According to traditional jurisprudence, ''zina'' can include adultery, fornication, prostitution, sodomy, incest, and bestiality. ''Zi ...

'' (1985): comparable to a twentieth century

Antigone ANTIGONE (Algorithms for coNTinuous / Integer Global Optimization of Nonlinear Equations), is a deterministic global optimization solver for general Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Programs (MINLP). History ANTIGONE is an evolution of GloMIQO, a global ...

, the ''titular daughter'' of

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...

discusses memories of her life and her father with the

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

ian

psychotherapist Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...

Professor Kronfeld. * '' Being and Doing'' (1984) * ''

Ghost Dance The Ghost Dance (, also called the Ghost Dance of 1890) is a ceremony incorporated into numerous Native American belief systems. According to the millenarian teachings of the Northern Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka (renamed Jack Wilson), pro ...

'' (1983): a journey into beliefs and myths surrounding the existence of ghosts and the nature of cinema. * '' Patrick Hughes'' (1980) * ''

Patrick Heron Patrick Heron (30 January 1920 – 20 March 1999) was a British abstract and figurative artist, critic, writer, and polemicist, who lived in Zennor, Cornwall. Heron was recognised as one of the leading painters of his generation. Influenced ...

'' (1979) * '' Resistance'' (1976) * '' Lovelies and Dowdies'' (1974) * '' Joseph Beuys at the Tate and Whitechapel'' (1972)

References

External links

Ken McMullen Archive
*
Ken McMullen
''symmetry'': a joint Fermilab/SLAC publication. Accessed August 9, 2007.
Ken McMullen Wordpress
1948 births Living people Alumni of the London College of Printing Mass media people from Manchester English film directors {{UK-film-director-stub