Gerard Malanga
Encyclopedia
Gerard Joseph Malanga (born March 20, 1943) is an American poet
, photographer, filmmaker, curator and archivist.
, New York
, Malanga graduated from the School of Industrial Art in Manhattan and attended Wagner College
on Staten Island
. At Wagner, he befriended one of his English professors, Willard Maas
and his wife, Marie Menken
.
, Warhol's multimedia presentation of the Velvet Underground.
Malanga claims to have created some of the works attributed to Warhol. In 1970, Malanga left Warhol's studio to work on his own.
His poetry has been published in The New Yorker
, Poetry
, and Unmuzzled OX
.
Malanga created a series of deeply romantic films of his own, in which Malanga’s on-screen persona of "the young poet" is foregrounded in each frame.
Other early Malanga films also put the performer center stage within the filmmaker's lens. Mary for Mary (1966) is a portrait of the actor Mary Woronov
. Donovan Meets Gerard (1966) documents a meeting between Malanga and the folk singer Donovan
at Warhol’s studio. Pre-Raphaelite Dream (1968), documents the filmmaker’s friends and extended family in Cambridge
, Massachusetts
. In The Recording Zone Operator (1968), shot on location in Rome
in 35 mm Techniscope
/Technicolor
, Malanga worked with Tony Kinna, Anita Pallenberg
and members of the Living Theatre.
In 1981, Malanga photographed the last farmer on Staten Island, Herbert Gericke.
Malanga maintains an archive of his still- and motion-picture records of life at Warhol's Factory
, and continues his work as a poet. He is the author of some twenty volumes of poetry, including the collection This Will Kill That, and a collaboration with Warhol, Screen Tests: A Diary.
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, photographer, filmmaker, curator and archivist.
Early life
Born in the BronxThe Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Malanga graduated from the School of Industrial Art in Manhattan and attended Wagner College
Wagner College
Wagner College is a private, co-educational, national liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 total students located atop Grymes Hill in New York City's borough of Staten Island...
on Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
. At Wagner, he befriended one of his English professors, Willard Maas
Willard Maas
Willard Maas was an American experimental filmmaker and poet.-Personal life and career:He was the husband of filmmaker Marie Menken...
and his wife, Marie Menken
Marie Menken
Marie Menkevicius was an American experimental filmmaker and socialite.-Early life:The daughter of Catholic-Lithuanian immigrants, she grew up in Brooklyn.-Personal life:...
.
Andy Warhol and The Factory
Gerard Malanga was Warhol's assistant from 1963 to 1970 and as an actor, had lead parts in many of his early films. He danced with the Exploding Plastic InevitableExploding Plastic Inevitable
The Exploding Plastic Inevitable, sometimes simply called Plastic Inevitable or EPI, was a series of multimedia events organized by Andy Warhol between 1966 and 1967, featuring musical performances by The Velvet Underground and Nico, screenings of Warhol's films, and dancing and performances by...
, Warhol's multimedia presentation of the Velvet Underground.
Malanga claims to have created some of the works attributed to Warhol. In 1970, Malanga left Warhol's studio to work on his own.
Creative practice
Malanga is also known for his photography of 60's celebrities, including poets, rock stars, and actors.His poetry has been published in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, Poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, and Unmuzzled OX
Unmuzzled OX
Unmuzzled OX, started by poet Michael Andre, edited in New York City and Kingston, Ontario, was a late-twentieth-century quarterly of poetry, art and politics. Aided by artist Erika Rothenberg, the best-known issue was The Poets' Encyclopedia, the world's basic knowledge transformed by 225 poets,...
.
Malanga created a series of deeply romantic films of his own, in which Malanga’s on-screen persona of "the young poet" is foregrounded in each frame.
Other early Malanga films also put the performer center stage within the filmmaker's lens. Mary for Mary (1966) is a portrait of the actor Mary Woronov
Mary Woronov
Mary Woronov is an American actress and writer. She is primarily known for her roles in independent and cult films. Woronov has appeared in over 80 movies, as well as numerous appearances in mainstream television series, such as Charlie's Angels and Knight Rider.-Early life:Woronov was born in the...
. Donovan Meets Gerard (1966) documents a meeting between Malanga and the folk singer Donovan
Donovan
Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
at Warhol’s studio. Pre-Raphaelite Dream (1968), documents the filmmaker’s friends and extended family in Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. In The Recording Zone Operator (1968), shot on location in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in 35 mm Techniscope
Techniscope
Techniscope or 2-Perf is a 35mm motion picture camera film format introduced by Technicolor Italia in 1963. The Techniscope format uses a two film-perforation negative pulldown per frame, instead of the standard four-perforation frame usually exposed in 35mm film photography...
/Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
, Malanga worked with Tony Kinna, Anita Pallenberg
Anita Pallenberg
Anita Pallenberg is an Italian-born actress, model, and fashion designer. She was the romantic partner of Rolling Stones multi-instrumentalist and guitarist Brian Jones and later the partner of the guitarist of the same band Keith Richards, from 1967 to 1979, by whom she has two surviving...
and members of the Living Theatre.
In 1981, Malanga photographed the last farmer on Staten Island, Herbert Gericke.
Malanga maintains an archive of his still- and motion-picture records of life at Warhol's Factory
The Factory
The Factory was Andy Warhol's original New York City studio from 1962 to 1968, although his later studios were known as The Factory as well. The Factory was located on the fifth floor at 231 East 47th Street, in Midtown Manhattan. The rent was "only about one hundred dollars a year"...
, and continues his work as a poet. He is the author of some twenty volumes of poetry, including the collection This Will Kill That, and a collaboration with Warhol, Screen Tests: A Diary.
Poetry
- Screen Tests: A Diary (with photos by Andy Warhol) (1966)
- 3 Poems for Benedetta Barzini (1967)
- Prelude to International Velvet Debutante (1967)
- The Last Benedetta Poems (1969)
- Gerard Malanga Selbsportrait eines Dichters (1970)
- 10 Poems for 10 Poets (1970)
- chic death (1971)
- Wheels of Light (1972)
- The Poetry Of Night, Dawn And Dream/Nine Poems For Cesar Vallejo (1972)
- Licht/Light (1973, bilingual)
- Incarnations: Poems 1965-1971 (1974)
- Rosebud (1975)
- Leaping Over Gravestones (1976)
- Ten Years After: The Selected Benedetta Poems (1977)
- 100 years have passed (1978)
- This Will Kill That (1978)
- Three Diamonds (1991)
- Mythologies Of The Heart (1996)
- No Respect: New & Selected Poems 1964 - 2000 (2001)
Photography
- Screen Tests/A Diary, in collaboration with Andy Warhol (1967)
- Six Portraits (1975)
- Good Girls (1994)
- Seizing The Moment (1997)
- Resistance to Memory (1998)
- Screen Tests Portraits Nudes 1964 - 1996 (2000)
Films
- Kiss (1963) first film made by Andy WarholAndy WarholAndrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
at The FactoryThe FactoryThe Factory was Andy Warhol's original New York City studio from 1962 to 1968, although his later studios were known as The Factory as well. The Factory was located on the fifth floor at 231 East 47th Street, in Midtown Manhattan. The rent was "only about one hundred dollars a year"... - VinylVinyl (1965 film)Vinyl is a black-and-white experimental film directed by Andy Warhol at The Factory. It is an early adaptation of the novel A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, starring Gerard Malanga, Edie Sedgwick, Ondine, and Tosh Carillo, and featuring such songs as "Nowhere to Run" by Martha and the...
(1965) actor only with the leading role of VictorAlex (A Clockwork Orange)Alex is a fictional character in Anthony Burgess' novel A Clockwork Orange and the film adaptation, in which he is played by Malcolm McDowell. In this film adaption, Alex's surname is DeLarge, in relation to Alex's reference to himself as "Alexander the Large" in the novel. This, in itself, is an...
, known as Alex in the original novelA Clockwork OrangeA Clockwork Orange is a 1962 dystopian novella by Anthony Burgess. The novel contains an experiment in language: the characters often use an argot called "Nadsat", derived from Russian.... - Mary for Mary
- Donovan Meets Gerald
- In Search of the Miraculous
- Pre-Raphaelite Dream (1968)
- The Recording Zone Operator