Edward Owens (filmmaker)

Edward Owens (1949-2009)[1] was a queer African-American filmmaker, active within the New American Cinema of the 1960s. A native Chicagoan, known for his experimental films Remembrance: A Portrait Study (1967) and Private Imaginings and Narrative Facts (1968-70), Owens' films were not only a leap for underground queer filmmaking, but for African Americans as well.

Early life

Owens, son of Mildered Owens[2] and a resident of Chicago's South Side, studied painting and sculpture at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). Prior to studying at SAIC, Owens spent his free time experimenting with 8mm film.[1] At SAIC, Owens studied with the experimental filmmaker Gregory Markopoulos, who had founded the school's film program. Markopoulos was impressed with Owens' film work and urged him to move to New York City, which he did in 1966.[1] In New York, Markpoulous became a mentor for Owens, introducing him to influential figures in filmmaking and art such as Andy Warhol, Gerard Malanga, Marie Menken, Gregory Battcock and Charles Boultenhouse.[1]

Career

Film

Until the mid 2000s, Owens' 16mm films were largely unknown to the public, sitting in storage at the Film-Makers Cooperative in New York City. In 2006, Ronald Gregg included Owens' films into a screening series at the University of Chicago titled "Beyond Warhol, Smith, and Anger: Recovering the Significance of Postwar Queer Underground Cinema, 1950-1968".[3]

Style

Owens' films can characterized by their painterly approach and personal feel.[4] His films from 1966-1970 displayed growth within mastering a form. Originally inspired by Markopoulous' own style, Owens was able to create something within his own right. Owens' film are recognizable for their dramatic lighting and the use of superimposition and layering of images.[5] His featurette Tomorrow's Promise (1967) tells a story of emptiness.[1] Created when Owens was only 18 years old, it references Markopoulos’s Twice a Man (1963).[1] Owens' approach to lighting and layered images, as well as changes in orientation and color, convey Owens' version of his personal life.[5] Owens' film Remembrance: A Portrait Study (1967) is a portrait of Owens' mother Mildered, and her friends Irene Collins and Nettie Thomas.[1] Within the film, each person is personified through song. "Running Wild" by Marilyn Monroe accompanies Nettie, while "All Cried Out" by Dusty Springfield accompanies Mildred.[1] Private Imaginings and Narrative Facts (1968-70) focuses more directly on Owens' mother, layering her image with those from magazines and other pop cultural sources.[1]

Filmography

  • Autrefois J'ai aime une femme (1966)[6]
  • Tomorrow's Promise (1967)[6]
  • Remembrance: A Portrait Study (1967)[6]
  • Private Imaginings and Narrative Facts (1968-70)[6]

Death

In 1971, Owens left New York due to personal reasons and returned to his home state of Illinois. He died, without completing another film at the age of 60.[1]

Legacy

Owens' film Remembrance: A Portrait Study graces Parker Tyler's list of the most significant avant-garde films of 1968 in his Underground Film: A Critical History (1969).[7] Curators Mark Godfrey and Zoé Whitley included Owens' films in the exhibition Soul of a Nation: Art In the Age of Black Power, calling them "not only early examples of an experimental filmmaker turning to Black life for their subject, but an even rare case of a queer Black aesthetic on celluloid."[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Halter, Ed (March 31, 2015). "Edward Owens: Private Imaginings and Narrative Facts". Light Industry. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Cineinfinito #18: Edward Owens". Experimental Cinema (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-03-01.
  3. ↑ Carnig, Jennifer (January 19, 2006). "Scholars to examine queer aesthetic in films". University of Chicago Chronicle. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  4. ↑ "How It Feels To Be Free: A Portrait Study". Tate. July 22, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  5. 1 2 "Edward Owens | Navegando hacia Moonfleet". navegandohaciamoonfleet.wordpress.com (in Spanish). 2017-08-04. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Hoberman, J. (Summer 2015). "Life Interrupted: J.Hoberman on Edward Owens". ArtForum: 119 – via ArtForum.
  7. ↑ Tyler, Parker (1969). Underground Film: A Critical History. New York: Grove Press. p. 248. ISBN 0306806320.
  8. ↑ Godfrey, Mark (2017). Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power. London: D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers Inc. p. 118. ISBN 1942884176.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.