Eye Myth
Encyclopedia
Eye Myth is an experimental
short film by Stan Brakhage
, produced in 1967
. The film has a running time of only nine seconds, but took about a year to produce.
Eye Myths abstract style, achieved by painting images directly onto the film cells, was inspired when Brakhage was diagnosed with a condition causing rapid eye movement. In producing the film, he hoped to achieve a nervous system feedback "through the physiology of the proximity of the eye and the brain." Eye Myth took Brakhage about a year to produce. He attributes the film's lengthy production period to his being skeptical that "you could make a myth that was just vision,” a doubt that was resolved only by actually "doing it." Brakhage described the film, despite its short length, as being "intrinsically epic." Brakhage has screened Eye Myth alongside Jan Troell's The Emigrants, and argued that "if you give it a chance, the weight of this nine-second film will balance the length of Treoll's film." Brakhage later re-edited images from Eye Myth into the 26-minute work The Horseman, the Woman and the Moth (1968), and the two-minute long Eye Myth Educational (1972).
in 1981. The film is currently available in the DVD collection By Brakhage: An Anthology, Volume 1 from Criterion.
, described Eye Myth as "a key work in which Brakhage's abstract, painted film technique comes to the fore."
Experimental film
Experimental film or experimental cinema is a type of cinema. Experimental film is an artistic practice relieving both of visual arts and cinema. Its origins can be found in European avant-garde movements of the twenties. Experimental cinema has built its history through the texts of theoreticians...
short film by Stan Brakhage
Stan Brakhage
James Stanley Brakhage , better known as Stan Brakhage, was an American non-narrative filmmaker who is considered to be one of the most important figures in 20th century experimental film....
, produced in 1967
1967 in film
The year 1967 in film involved some significant events. It is widely considered as one of the most ground-breaking years in film.-Events:* December 26 - The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour airs on British television....
. The film has a running time of only nine seconds, but took about a year to produce.
Production
Brakhage described the film's title as follows:In the eyes, constantly, the eyes are flaring with little... stories, little forms and shapes, some of which are quite disturbing, like the swastikaSwastikaThe swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
... The little myth that's made up of bits and pieces of painted things onto a piece of film that’s called an Eye Myth. In other words, it’s not a word myth; myth means mouth, actually... but an Eye Myth is kind of beautifully oxymoronic.
Eye Myths abstract style, achieved by painting images directly onto the film cells, was inspired when Brakhage was diagnosed with a condition causing rapid eye movement. In producing the film, he hoped to achieve a nervous system feedback "through the physiology of the proximity of the eye and the brain." Eye Myth took Brakhage about a year to produce. He attributes the film's lengthy production period to his being skeptical that "you could make a myth that was just vision,” a doubt that was resolved only by actually "doing it." Brakhage described the film, despite its short length, as being "intrinsically epic." Brakhage has screened Eye Myth alongside Jan Troell's The Emigrants, and argued that "if you give it a chance, the weight of this nine-second film will balance the length of Treoll's film." Brakhage later re-edited images from Eye Myth into the 26-minute work The Horseman, the Woman and the Moth (1968), and the two-minute long Eye Myth Educational (1972).
Release
Eye Myth was first released in 16mm format in 1972, but was not screened in its intended 35mm format until the Telluride Film FestivalTelluride Film Festival
The Telluride Film Festival was started in 1974 by Bill and Stella Pence, Tom Luddy and Jim Card in the town of Telluride, Colorado, United States. It is operated by the National Film Preserve....
in 1981. The film is currently available in the DVD collection By Brakhage: An Anthology, Volume 1 from Criterion.
Reception
Critic Jeremy Heilman writes that "every viewer will find their own interpretation, whether it be one that’s profound, based entirely on the film’s aesthetics, or essentially meaningless." Jake Euker, writing from PopMattersPopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
, described Eye Myth as "a key work in which Brakhage's abstract, painted film technique comes to the fore."