Storm de Hirsch was a very important player in the New York Avant-Garde film scene of the 1960s, though her biography and work are generally left out of the history.

Biography

Like many experimental filmmakers at the time, she did not begin her artistic career as a filmmaker. She had been a poet and published a number of works in the early 60’s. She wanted to find a new mode of expression for her thoughts that went beyond words on the page, which is when she turned to filmmaking. Despite lack of recognition, she was very present in the underground film movement and socialized with every big name on the scene, filmmakers such as 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....

, Jonas Mekas

Jonas Mekas

Jonas Mekas is a Lithuanian-born American filmmaker, writer, and curator who has often been called "the godfather of American avant-garde cinema." His work has been exhibited in museums and festivals across Europe and America.-Biography:...

, Shirley Clarke

Shirley Clarke

Shirley Clarke was an American independent filmmaker.-Early life:Born Shirley Brimberg in New York City, Shirley Clarke was the daughter of a Polish-immigrant father who made his fortune in manufacturing. Her mother was the daughter of a multimillionaire Jewish manufacturer and inventor. Her...

 and others. She mentions Jack Smith

Jack Smith

-In sport:*Jack Smith , 19th century footballer in 1892–1895*Jack Smith , English player with Wolverhampton Wanderers and others* Jack Smith , English international footballer...

, Ingmar Bergman

Ingmar Bergman

Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and...

, Gregory Markopoulos

Gregory Markopoulos

Gregory J. Markopoulos was a Greek-American experimental filmmaker. Born in Toledo, Ohio to Greek immigrant parents, Markopoulos began making 8 mm films at an early age. He attended USC Film School in the late 1940s, and went on to become a co-founder — with Jonas Mekas, Shirley Clarke, Stan...

, Michelangelo Antonioni

Michelangelo Antonioni

Michelangelo Antonioni, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian modernist film director, screenwriter, editor and short story writer.- Personal life :...

, Vittorio De Seta

Vittorio De Seta

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, Ken Jacobs

Ken Jacobs

Ken Jacobs is an American experimental filmmaker. He is the director of Tom, Tom, The Piper's Son , which was admitted to the National Film Registry in 2007, and Star Spangled to Death , a nearly seven hour film consisting largely of found footage.He coined the term paracinema in the early 1970s,...

, Federico Fellini

Federico Fellini

Federico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century...

" and Jonas and Adolphus Mekas as her favorite film-makers.

Work

Much of her work is abstract and employs a number of experimental techniques.
In an interview with Jonas Mekas on the making of Divinations she says "I wanted badly to make an animated short and had no camera available. I did have some old, unused film stock and several roles of 16mm. sound tape. So I used that - plus a variety of discarded surgical instruments and the sharp edge of a screwdriver - by cutting, etching, and painting directly on both film and tape." Sometimes these animations are superimposed over live-action footage. Her films are clearly influenced by her poetic background, and continued publishing books of poetry throughout her life. Her films also reveal an interest in eastern religious practices and rituals. Her work explores the possibilities of light and is concerned with spatial elements. In one film, Third Eye Butterfly, she uses a two-screen projection with split-screen frames to create a kaleidoscopic effect.

Filmography

Journey Around A Zero (1963)

Goodbye In The Mirror (1964)

The Color of Ritual, The Color Of Thought (1964–1967)

Divinations (1964)

Peyote Queen (1965)

Shaman, A Tapestry For Sorcerers (1967)

Newsreel: Jonas In The Brig

Sing Lotus (1968)

Third Eye Butterfly (1968)

The Tattooed Man (1969)

An Experiment In Meditation (1971)

Quotes

On Peyote Queen:

"A further exploration into the color of ritual, the color of thought; a journey through the underworld of sensory derangement." - Canyon Cinema

"Soon the technicolor tiger claw scratches melt into dancing, human-like lines, and this is intercut with the progressive symbolism of the glyphs — breasts, fish, water, stars, the moon, female lips, seemingly a sailboat — De Hirsch represents these prehistoric glyphs by painting directly on the film stock. Unique, psychedelic motifs such as these certify Peyote Queen as an avant-garde gem." - DINCA BLOG

"A very beautiful work! The abstractions drawn directly on film are like the paintings of Miró moving at full speed to the rhythm of an African beat." - D. Noguez, La Nouvelle Revue Française

"Among my favorites ... beauty and excitement." - Jonas Mekas, The Village Voice

On The Tattooed Man:

"A major work in terms of style, structure, graphic invention, image manipulation and symbolic ritual. Short abbreviated dream-like moments, fused together by the tension and the dynamic of motion-picture time." - Stan Vanderbeek

"A death-haunted dream of sensuous color and sensual imagery." - Richard Whitehall, LA Free Press