Jack Smith (Director)
Jack Smith (born November 14, 1932 in Columbus , Ohio , † September 25, 1989 in New York ) was an American film director and one of the pioneers of American underground film.
Life
Smith is considered to be one of the first exponents of the aesthetic that is later referred to as camp : conscious use of simple means of production, at the same time exuberantly quoting set pieces from American popular culture . His influence can be demonstrated, for example, in the films of Andy Warhol (with whom he was friends) and John Waters , as well as in the work of visual artists such as Cindy Sherman , Mike Kelley , the brothers George and Mike Kuchar or with theater director Robert Wilson .
Smith's most famous (and infamous) production is the 1963 film Flaming Creatures . The work, a travesty of Hollywood B-films like Ali Baba and homage to actress María Montez , was confiscated at the premiere for allegedly pornographic representations and was not allowed to be shown for decades.
The Puerto Rican transvestite Mario Montez was the leading actor in his next film Normal Love (1963), with 80 minutes Smith's only production that comes close to conventional film times. The majority of his oeuvre consists of short films, including many that were shown as part of performances. Smith was filmed by Andy Warhol while filming Normal Love , the documentary was also seized by police for profanity during a performance in March 1964 .
In addition to his own cinematic work, Smith also appeared in films by other directors, in Andy Warhol's Batman Dracula , he played the lead role. He has also appeared in several Robert Wilson theater productions.
He also worked as a photographer and ran the Hyperbole Photographic Studio in New York. In 1962 he published the photo collection The Beautiful Book .
Jack Smith died in New York at the age of 56 of the immunodeficiency disease AIDS .
In 1993 he became a stage character in the solo play Roy Cohn / Jack Smith by Ron Vawter .
Filmography
Own productions (selection)
- 1961 Flaming Creatures (b / w, 46 min.)
- 1963 Normal Love (80 min.)
- 1968 No President (also: The Kidnapping of Wendell Wilkie by The Love Bandit , approx. 50 min.)
actor
- 1982 My New York , short film by Rosa von Praunheim
Fonts
- 1962 The Beautiful Book (Dead Language Press, wv. 2001 Granary Books)
literature
- J. Hoberman: On Jack Smith's 'Flaming Creatures' (And Other Secret-Flix of Cinemaroc) . Granary Books, 2001
Web links
- Biography of Jack Smith
- Jack Smith in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/22/obituaries/jack-smith-film-maker-57.html
- ↑ The undead: Jack Smith is still world famous . magazin.hiv of the German Aids Aid , November 2, 2009. Accessed June 10, 2020
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Smith, Jack |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American director |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 14, 1932 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Columbus , Ohio |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 25, 1989 |
| Place of death | new York |