R. Bruce Elder
R. Bruce Elder, born June 12, 1947, is a Canadian filmmaker and critic.
Described by New York filmmaker and critic Jonas Mekas as “the most important North American avant-garde filmmaker to emerge during the 1980′s,” Elder combines images, music and text to create works that reflect his interest in philosophy, technology, science, spirituality and the human body.
His first major film cycle (20 films), “The Book of All the Dead”, inspired by Dante Alighieri’s “Commedia” and Ezra Pound’s “Cantos”, grew out of his preoccupation with the horrors of modernity, its faith in progress and the loss of a sense of what is good and evil. His current film cycle, “The Book of Praise” makes extensive use of computer-image generation, highlighting his fascination with mathematics and digital technology.
Elder received the 2007 Governor General Award in Visual and Media Arts. The jury described him as “highly innovative”, “influential” and “acutely intelligent” noting the enormous span of his practice and the demanding nature of his films.
Film
Elder's works include:
- Breath/Light/Birth (1975)
- She Is Away (1976)
- Barbara Is A Vision of Loveliness (1976)
- Permutations and Combinations (1976)
- Look! We Have Come Through! (1978)
- The Art of Worldly Wisdom (1979)
- 1857(Fool’s Gold) (1981)
- The Book of All the Dead cycle (1975–1994)
- Illuminated Texts (1982)
- Lamentations: A Monument to the Dead World (1985)
- Consolations (Love is an Art of Time) (1988)
- Exaltations (In Light of the Great Giving) (1990–1994)
- The Book Of Praise cycle (1997 – )
- A Man Whose Life Was Full Of Woe Has Been Surprised By Joy (1997)
- Crack, Brutal Grief (2000)
- Eros and Wonder (2003)
- Infunde Lumen Cordibus (2004)
- The Young Prince (2007)
- What Troubles The Peace At Brandenberg? (2011)
Criticism
Elder's writings include:
- Image and Identity: Reflections on Canadian Film and Culture (1989)
- The Body in Film (1989)
- A Body of Vision: Representations of the Body in Recent Film and Poetry (1997) [1]
- The Films of Stan Brakhage in the American Tradition of Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein and Charles Olson (1999)
- Harmony and Dissent: Film and Avant-garde Art Movements in the Early Twentieth Century (2009)
- Dada, Surrealism, and the Cinematic Effect (2013)
References
- ↑ Body of vision: representations of the body in recent film and poetry by R. Bruce Elder. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press (1997). Retrieved 21 October 2011.
External links
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