Peter Barrington Hutton (August 24, 1944 – June 25, 2016) was an American

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

filmmaker, known primarily for his silent cinematic portraits of cities and landscapes around the world. He also worked as a professional

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

, most notably for his former student

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle American history and culture. His work is often produced in association with WETA-TV or the Nati ...

, as well as cinematography for

Lizzie Borden Lizzie Andrew Borden (July 19, 1860 – June 1, 1927) was an American woman who was Trial, tried and Acquittal, acquitted of the August 4, 1892 axe murders of her Patricide, father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts. No one else was c ...

's ''

Born in Flames ''Born in Flames'' is a 1983 American utopian/dystopian docufiction drama film directed, produced and co-written by radical intersectional feminist Lizzie Borden. The film explores racism, classism, sexism and heterosexism in an alternate soci ...

'', Sheila McLaughlin and Lynne Tillman's ''Committed'', assorted films by artist Red Grooms and

Albert Maysles Albert Maysles (November 26, 1926 – March 5, 2015) and his brother David Maysles (January 10, 1931 – January 3, 1987; ) were an American documentary filmmaking team known for their work in the Direct Cinema style. Their best-known films in ...

' ''The Gates''.

Early life and education

Hutton was born August 24, 1944 in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

to Donald and Dorothy Hutton. He had a twin sister Wendy and a brother William. Hutton studied painting at an art school in Hawaii, working as a Merchant Marine to pay his way. He studied filmmaking at the

San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a Private college, private art school, college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mis ...

, where he was a student of Robert Nelson. He earned a master's degrees in fine arts.

Career

In 1987, Hutton was awarded Best Cinematography for his work on Phil Hartman's feature film ''No Picnic'' at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2011, the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress selected '' Study of a River'' as one of 25 films annually chosen. He taught filmmaking at

CalArts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both the ...

Hampshire College Hampshire College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was opened in 1970 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

SUNY Purchase The State University of New York at Purchase, commonly referred to as Purchase College or SUNY Purchase, is a Public college, public Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. Established in 1967 by G ...

, and

Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains within the Hudson River Historic District ...

, where he served as the director of the Film and Electronic Arts Program since 1989. Much of Hutton's career was influenced by his time in the merchant marines. Hutton's films are distributed by

Canyon Cinema Canyon Cinema is an American nonprofit organization for distributing independent, avant-garde, and artist-made films. After starting in the 1960s as an exhibition program, it grew to include a nationwide newsletter and a distribution cooperative. ...

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 ...

and Arsenal – Institut für Film und Videokunst in Berlin. In May 2008 the Museum of Modern Art in New York held a full retrospective of Hutton's films. His most recent work, ''Three Landscapes'', premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2013. Hutton died of cancer at the age of 71 on June 25, 2016. Director

Kelly Reichardt Kelly Reichardt (; born March 3, 1964) is an American film director and screenwriter. She is known for her minimalism, minimalist films closely associated with slow cinema, many of which deal with working class, working-class characters in small ...

dedicated her 2019 film ''

First Cow ''First Cow'' is a 2019 American drama film directed by Kelly Reichardt, from a screenplay by Reichardt and Jonathan Raymond based on Raymond's 2004 novel ''The Half-Life''. It stars John Magaro, Orion Lee, Toby Jones, Ewen Bremner, Scott Shepherd ...

'' to him, paying homage through a long static shot of a barge moving down the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

Selected filmography

*''In Marin County'' (1970) *''July '71 in San Francisco, Living at Beach Street, Working at Canyon Cinema, Swimming in the Valley of the Moon'' (1971) *''New York Near Sleep for Saskia'' (1972) *''Images of Asian Music (A Diary from Life 1973–1974)'' (1973–1974) *''Florence'' (1975) *''Boston Fire'' (1979) *''New York Portrait: Chapter One'' (1978–1979) *''New York Portrait: Chapter Two'' (1980–1981) *''Budapest Portrait (Memories of a City)'' (1984–1986) *''Landscape for Manon'' (1986) *''New York Portrait: Chapter Three'' (1990) *''In Titan's Goblet'' (1991) *''Lodz Symphony'' (1991–1993) *'' Study of a River'' (1996–1997) *''Time and Tide'' (2000) *''Looking at the Sea'' (2001) *''Two Rivers'' (2001–2002) *''Skagafjordur'' (2002–2004) *''At Sea'' (2007) *''Three Landscapes'' (2013)

Exhibitions

* 2010: Les Rencontres d'Arles, France.

References

External links

Peter Hutton
at

Peter Hutton
at Arsenal – Institut für Film und Videokunst *
Interview with Peter Hutton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutton, Peter 1944 births 2016 deaths American experimental filmmakers Hampshire College faculty Harvard University faculty Bard College faculty Artists from Detroit