jonas mekas

It’s with enormous sadness and a great sense of loss that we share the news of the passing of Anthology’s founder, Jonas Mekas. He died peacefully at home, with family at his side.

Jonas was the guiding force here at Anthology from its founding through to the present day, and even as he reached the age of 96 the idea that he might not be here in person to continue to inspire us has been inconceivable. But Jonas was nothing if not forward thinking, large spirited, and devoted in every fiber of his being to celebrating what is most vibrant in life and culture. His work as a filmmaker, artist, writer, and archivist (among many other roles) was animated precisely by a powerful, paradoxical balance between a preoccupation with the past and an inexhaustible openness to new ideas, forms, and experiences. What better model for confronting the fact of his passing, for balancing sorrow at his death with a celebration of the vitality of his legacy? His absence will be difficult to accept, but his spirit will continue to suffuse Anthology, New York City, and avant-garde culture around the world.

I literally walked past Anthology yesterday afternoon, grossed out by the ugly newer glass bldgs now dotting 2nd Ave. I'm not lying when I say I had the urge to take a photo of AFA (for posterity? who knows? ) , but didn't.
It was shocking and sad to find out today that Jonas Mekas had passed. Great man. Too much to thank him for.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/23/obituaries/jonas-mekas-dead.html

roundup

https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/6164-jonas-mekas-and-the-new-american-cinema

As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty played here about 15 years ago--I think it was just a one-off, not part of a series. Mekas was there to introduce it and take questions afterward. After that finished, I went up to him and asked about the soundtrack. (The Lightbox was still the Cinematheque then, so it was a lot easier to do something like that; everyone who speaks at the Lightbox has an entourage these days.) There's a great bit where his daughter walks for the first time with the VU's "Run Run Run" playing, but I was asking about the score, which was drony, Henry Flynt-type stuff. I don't remember who it was--maybe Tony Conrad, maybe Flynt himself--but Mekas said that if I followed up with a letter, he'd send me a tape. I'm pretty sure I did follow up, but nothing ever came. He sounded very sincere about sending something, so I'm inclined to think the letter never found him.

Really great piece.

Jonas Mekas is often remembered as a moral witness to the Holocaust. The truth is much more complicated. Michael Casper considers how a new show about the filmmaker at the Jewish Museum forgoes real reckoning in favor of a palatable story.https://t.co/q3av1wflsr

— Jewish Currents (@JewishCurrents) April 21, 2022