36th Telluride Film Festival announces "The Celebration of Manny Farber" |
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| Written by Shannon Goodwin Mitchell |
| Friday, 10 July 2009 03:06 |
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Manny Farber (1917-2008) began his career in the 1940s writing art and film criticism for The New Republic and The Nation. His first group exhibition as an artist was in 1945 followed by his first solo exhibition in 1957. While pursuing art full-time Farber continued as a film critic until the late1970s for Time, The New Leader, Cavalier, and Artforum. He also contributed to Commentary, Film Comment, City Magazine and Film Culture. He taught film at the University of San Diego from 1970 to 1987. Vanity Fair added him into their 'Hall of Fame' in June 1998.  Farber was considered by many to have reinvented film criticism
with his unusual and pointed prose. His essay “White Elephant Art vs. Termite
Art,” first published in 1962 in Film Culture, about the virtues of “termite
art” and the excesses of “white elephant art,” is one of his best-known essays.
He challenged the work of filmmakers like Orson Welles, John Huston and Alfred
Hitchcock that fellow critics applauded and instead championed the B-movies,
westerns and horror films and was an early advocate for filmmakers later
acclaimed as American masters: Val Lewton, Samuel Fuller, Raoul Walsh and
Anthony Mann.Samplings of Farber’s film criticism have appeared in various compilations, most notably in “Negative Space,” first published in 1971. A complete collection of Farber’s writing on film will be published for the first time in September 2009 by Library of America in Farber On Film, from his early and previously uncollected weekly reviews for The New Republic and The Nation to his essays (some written in collaboration with his wife) on Godard, Fassbinder, Herzog, Scorsese, Altman and others. “For Manny Farber, being a movie critic wasn’t a matter of handing out grades or indulging in easy generalities,” said Geoffrey O’Brien, Editor-in-Chief, The Library of America. “Seeking in language itself an analogue to the experience of watching film, he crafted a style of tremendous power and originality, full of unpredictable turns and vibrant paradoxes. This long overdue collection of all his film writing fully reveals his marvelous eye and equally marvelous ear. We are so pleased to be able to present it to the Telluride audience and be a part of this very special occasion.” “As I was finishing college in the early 1970s film criticism was everywhere, some better than most of it. When ‘Negative Space’ was published I knew I’d found a book I would return to often to find inspiration for my film programming. Manny’s ideas have never failed to stimulate our thinking about the possibilities of the medium,” commented Telluride Film Festival co-director Gary Meyer  Tom Luddy concludes, “Manny Farber was a
great friend and inspiration to me, from my days at the Pacific Film Archive in
the l970s when Manny was a frequent guest and I helped get him and Patricia
Patterson a gig at Francis Coppola's City Magazine, where they published some
wonderful film critiques. One of Telluride's greatest moments was Manny Farber
on-stage at the Sheridan Opera House in conversation with James Stewart on the
subject of the Westerns of Anthony Mann. I treasure my many memories of Manny,
and consider him one of the great American writers of the 20th Century, as well
as one of the finest painters of his era."
About The Library of America The Library of America is an award-winning nonprofit publisher dedicated to preserving America’s best and most significant writing in handsome, enduring volumes, featuring authoritative texts. About Telluride Film Festival The prestigious Telluride Film Festival ranks among the world’s best film festivals and is an annual gathering for film industry insiders and a major launching ground for the fall season’s most talked-about films. Co-founded in 1974 by Tom Luddy, James Card and Bill and Stella Pence, Telluride Film Festival, nestled in the beautiful mountain town of Telluride, Colorado, is a four-day international celebration of the art of film. The Festival’s long-standing commitment is to join filmmakers and film connoisseurs together to experience great cinema. The exciting schedule, kept secret until Opening Day, consists of over two dozen filmmakers presenting their newest works, special Guest Director programs, three major Tributes to guest artists, special events and remarkable treasures from the past. Festival headquarters are in Berkeley, California. To purchase passes to the 36th Telluride Film Festival, please visit: www.telluridefilmfestival.org Click on logo below to add this article to your favorite Social Website ~ |
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