John Smith (English filmmaker)

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John Smith
Born1952
Walthamstow, East London, UK
Occupations
  • Filmmaker
  • professor

John Smith (born 1952, Walthamstow, East London, England) is a British avant garde filmmaker and professor of Fine Art based in London. His work has been noted for his use of humour in exploring various themes that often play upon the film spectator's conditioned assumptions of the medium, and he is therefore often associated with structural film.

Contents

His film The Girl Chewing Gum has been called [1] one of the most important avant-garde films of the 20th century. [2]

Early life and education

Smith was born in 1952 in Walthamstow, East London and later studied film at the Royal College of Art. During this time he found inspiration in conceptual art, structural film and spoken word. [3]

Career

While still attending college, Smith made The Girl Chewing Gum in 1976, which remains his best-known work. The film consists of two camera shots and narration by Smith. He directs the movement of passersby, pigeons, and even inanimate objects. The official Tate artwork collection text draws a relation to François Truffaut's 1973 film La nuit américaine , pointing out the shared theme of exposing the work of the director. [4]

Smith lives and works in east London. He is Professor Emeritus of Fine Art at University of East London after teaching for over 40 years. He has also worked as a lecturer at Central Saint Martins. Among his students are musician Jarvis Cocker and film director Carol Morley. [5]

Smith has made more than 60 films over 50 years. He studied together with filmmaker Peter Gidal, a founding member of the London Film-Makers' Co-op. Smith was at some point part of the LFMC, speaking fondly of colleagues such as Ian Breakwell. [5]

Reception

In a 2022 interview article for Frieze, a collaborator of Smith, Juliet Jacques, describes The Girl Chewing Gum as marrying "the 1970s structural film obsession with Brechtian alienation". [5]

In 2013 Smith won the annual Film London Jarman Award. [6]

Style

Smith has said his goal is "making films that are as simple as possible". [5]

Selected filmography

YearTitleRef(s).
1975Associations
1976The Girl Chewing Gum [4]
1977Hackney Marshes - November 4th 1977 [6]
1984Shepherd's Delight
1986Om
1987The Black Tower
1991Slow Glass
1996Blight
1999The Kiss
Regression
2001Lost Sound
2001-2007Hotel Diaries
2003Worst Case Scenario
2010Flag Mountain
2011unusual Red cardigan
The Man Phoning Mum
2012Dad's Stick
2014White Hole
2015Steve Hates Fish
2016Who Are We?
2017Song for Europe
2019A State of Grace
2020Citadel
Covid Messages
2024Being John Smith

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ "John Smith at Tanya Leighton Berlin" . Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  2. ↑ Program for Uppsala International Short Film Festival 2011, p. 21.
  3. ↑ "John Smith". Tate . Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  4. 1 2 Wilson, Andrew (January 2010). "Artwork Information - The Girl Chewing Gum". Tate . Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Jacques, Juliet (2 November 2022). "'Each Film Invents a New Language': An Interview with John Smith". Frieze . Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  6. 1 2 "Hackney Marshes - November 4th 1977". BFI . Retrieved 4 November 2024.
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