Shirley Clarke
Directing
A major figure of the American avant garde, Shirley Brimberg Clarke (1919-1997) was born into privilege as the daughter of Polish-Jewish immigrants who made their fortune in manufacturing. Rebelling against a repressive bourgeois upbringing, Clarke turned first to dance, and later film and video, to express her distinctive vision of the world. Moving freely across genres and media throughout her career (and often within a single work), Clarke’s cinema explores the porous boundaries between narrative and documentary filmmaking, and film and other media, such as painting, dance, performance and video. Her 1960s features The Connection (1961), The Cool World (1963) and Portrait of Jason (1967), for which she is arguably best remembered, address issues of urban alienation, poverty, addiction and racism, focusing on lives lived at the margins of American society. Fearless in both her personal and creative life, Clarke produced a body of work that is as formally innovative as it is rooted in social protest. Clarke initially trained as a dancer, immersing herself in New York’s vibrant post-war avant-garde dance scene. Although her dance career never quite earned her the critical acclaim she’d hoped for, it had a lasting impact on her subsequent filmmaking and video work, informing an interest in how movement is recorded formally, while introducing her to key avant-garde dancers and choreographers. Source: https://denniscooperblog.com/shirley-clarke-day-2/
Known for
Directing46
movieFear Flight
2016
Director
Tongues
1982
Director
movieSavage/Love
1981
Director
movie24 Frames per Second
1977
Director
Ricky Leacock Visit, evening, April 19, 1971
1971
Director
Ricky Leacock Visit, daytime, April 19, 1971
1971
Director
The Arrest
1971
Director
moviePortrait of Jason
1967
Director
Butterfly
1967
Director
movieThe Cool World
1964
Director
movieThe Connection
1962
Director
movieA Scary Time
1960
Director
movieSkyscraper
1959
Director
movieBridges-Go-Round 1
1958
Director
movieBridges-Go-Round 2
1958
Director
movieBrussels Loops
1958
Director
movieA Moment in Love
1956
Director
movieBullfight
1955
Director
movieDance in the Sun
1953
Director
Acting21
movieShirley Clarke: The Artist with the Lens
2016
Self (archival footage)
movieAlien Blood
1999
second alien mother / MIB soldier
movieHe Stands in a Desert Counting the Seconds of His Life
1986
Self (archive footage)
movieUp Your Legs Forever
1971
Self - Legs(uncredited)
movieRome Is Burning: Portrait of Shirley Clarke
1970
Shirley Clarke
movieLions Love
1969
Shirley
moviePortrait of Jason
1967
Self - Interviewer (voice)
movieGalaxie
1966
Self
Editing9
Tongues
1982
Editor
movieThe Cool World
1964
Editor
movieThe Connection
1962
Editor
movieSkyscraper
1959
Editor
movieBullfight
1955
Editor
Production4
moviePortrait of Jason
1967
Producer
movieSkyscraper
1959
Producer
movieBridges-Go-Round 1
1958
Producer
movieBridges-Go-Round 2
1958
Producer
Camera3
movieBridges-Go-Round 1
1958
Director of Photography
movieA Moment in Love
1956
Camera Operator
movieBullfight
1955
Camera Operator
Crew2
movieBridges-Go-Round 2
1958
Cinematography
movieLove Nest
1951
Stand In
Writing2
movieThe Cool World
1964
Writer
movieChristopher and Me
1960
Dialogue