John Latham Films : 1960 - 1971

John Latham (1921 - 2006) was one of the most important British artists of the post-war period, best remembered for his painting and sculptural works which incorporated materials such as glass, canvas and books. Less well-known, but now restored after several decades out of circulation, are the six films which Latham made during the 1960s and early 1970s. These films developed Latham's concepts of "time-base" and "structure in events" through playful and varied use of stop-frame animation, from the stroboscopic collage Speak (1960) to the cosmological meditation Erth (1971).

The DVD John Latham: Films 1960 - 1971 makes all of John Latham's films from the 1960s and 1970s available for the first time, along with extras including new audio commentaries and film documentation of other Latham projects and performances from the period. Also included is a booklet with a specially commissioned essay on Latham's films by curator Mark Webber and further information on Latham's life, work and films. Contents of the DVD Unclassified Material (1960) Unedited Material from the Star (1960) Talk Mr Bard (1961) Speak (1962) Encyclopedia Britannica (1971) Erth (1971)

Extras: Three short films made as part of Latham's 1970 exhibition at Lisson Gallery Footage shot and edited by Latham of the events Book Plumbing (1967) and Big Breather (1973) Audio commentaries by Latham's sons Noa Latham and John-Paul Latham, Lisson Gallery director Nicholas Logsdail, multimedia artist Jeffrey Shaw and sound artist David Toop.