Join us as we collectively celebrate the life and mourn the death of Jonas Mekas, a champion of experimental cinema, who passed away on January 23rd at the age of 96. Mekas emigrated to the U.S. in 1949 after fleeing his native Lithuania during the second world war, and with the help of his brother Adolphas, began documenting his life through the lens of a Bolex 16mm camera. Mekas was an avid participant in the early avant-garde film scene in NYC not only as an artist, but also as a curator, critic and co-founder of the influential journal Film Culture. Mekas also co-founded the Filmmaker's Cooperative in 1962 and Anthology Film Archives in 1964, and made well over 50 films in his lifetime.

We will show a selection of Mekas' films found in the VSW film collection, including Notes on Circus (1966), with live readings from his writings for Film Journal and the Village Voice. Refreshments will be served as we raise a glass to the life and work of one of experimental cinemas' greatest visionaries.

[source: Visual Studies Workshop website, 2019-Jan-28]