Maya Deren - Écrits sur l'art et le cinéma

A mythical figure and pioneer of American avant-garde cinema of the forties, Maya Deren (1917-1962) talks in her writings of the uniqueness of cinema as an art form, in the tradition of the greatest theoreticians of cinema ( Eisenstein, Dulac and Epstein ) .

Two key theoretical texts are translated in this book : An anagram of ideas on art, form and film, 1946 The creative use of Cinematography as the reality of 1960.

Written in the context of postwar, this book exists as an anagram of ideas on art, form and film and is an aesthetic test in multiple entries. The general framework of the text positions the film as an essential meeting of art and science. For Maya Deren, the work of the artist is to enter into communion with the culture, the artwork faces of ritual and reflects the myth, hence the rejection of the "unconscious" in favor of a surreal privileged relationship between the artist and civilization and nature. Meanwhile, Maya Deren compares film to other forms of art. Building on his film practice, it means "freeing" cinema from its shackles, including literature and theater that imprison it in old patterns. In addition, she develops the concept for the film in a temporal sense (time form), closer to music and dance as art, which are more arts of space.

Maya Deren texts are an important source of inspiration for the avant-garde in general, for women filmmakers and contemporary feminists.

Texts translated from English by Eric and Julie Beaulieu Alloi collaboration with Sébastien Côté.

Forward by Julie Beaulieu