Mothlight
Encyclopedia
Mothlight is an experimental
short film by Stan Brakhage
, released in 1963
. The film was created without the use of a camera
, by pressing objects between two strips of clear mylar film, and passing them through an optical printer
.
"collage film" that incorporates "real world elements." Brakhage produced the film without the use of a camera, using what he then described as "a whole new film technique." Brakhage collected moth
wings, flower petals, and blades of grass
, and pressed them between two clear strips of 35mm mylar film. The resulting assemblage was then passed through an optical printer
to allow projection in a cinema. The objects chosen were required to be thin and translucent, to permit the passage of light. Brakhage reused the technique to produce his later film, The Garden of Earthly Delights
(1981). Mothlight has been described as boasting a "three-part musical structure."
in a film when he noticed many of them burning to death in a candle:
After spending some time following live moths with a camera, an exercise that proved fruitless, Brakhage instead turned his attention towards using dead moths:
, praised the way Brakhage "evokes the moth not through cartoon mimicry, but by the fragile sensation of its movement, batting against the screen, hurtling in descent."
Along with Window Water Baby Moving
(1959), Mothlight remains one of Brakhage's best-known works, and his most rented. It is currently available in the DVD collection By Brakhage: An Anthology, Volume 1 from Criterion.
Experimental film
Experimental film or experimental cinema is a type of cinema. Experimental film is an artistic practice relieving both of visual arts and cinema. Its origins can be found in European avant-garde movements of the twenties. Experimental cinema has built its history through the texts of theoreticians...
short film by Stan Brakhage
Stan Brakhage
James Stanley Brakhage , better known as Stan Brakhage, was an American non-narrative filmmaker who is considered to be one of the most important figures in 20th century experimental film....
, released in 1963
1963 in film
The year 1963 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* June 12 - Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison and Richard Burton premieres at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City....
. The film was created without the use of a camera
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
, by pressing objects between two strips of clear mylar film, and passing them through an optical printer
Optical printer
An optical printer is a device consisting of one or more film projectors mechanically linked to a movie camera. It allows filmmakers to re-photograph one or more strips of film...
.
Description
Mothlight is a silentSilent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
"collage film" that incorporates "real world elements." Brakhage produced the film without the use of a camera, using what he then described as "a whole new film technique." Brakhage collected moth
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
wings, flower petals, and blades of grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
, and pressed them between two clear strips of 35mm mylar film. The resulting assemblage was then passed through an optical printer
Optical printer
An optical printer is a device consisting of one or more film projectors mechanically linked to a movie camera. It allows filmmakers to re-photograph one or more strips of film...
to allow projection in a cinema. The objects chosen were required to be thin and translucent, to permit the passage of light. Brakhage reused the technique to produce his later film, The Garden of Earthly Delights
The Garden of Earthly Delights (1981 film)
The Garden of Earthly Delights is an experimental short film by Stan Brakhage, released in 1981. The film was partly inspired by Hieronymus Bosch’s painting of the same name.-Production:...
(1981). Mothlight has been described as boasting a "three-part musical structure."
Production
Brakhage was initially drawn to the idea of using mothsMoths
Moths may refer to:* Gustav Moths , German rower* The Moths!, an English indie rock band* MOTHS, members of the Memorable Order of Tin Hats...
in a film when he noticed many of them burning to death in a candle:
Here is a film that I made out of a deep grief. The grief is my business in a way, but the grief was helpful in squeezing the little film out of me, that I said “these crazy moths are flying into the candelight, and burning themselves to death, and that’s what’s happening to me. I don’t have enough money to make these films, and ... I’m not feeding my children properly, because of these damn films, you know. And I’m burning up here... What can I do?” I’m feeling the full horror of some kind of immolation, in a way.”
After spending some time following live moths with a camera, an exercise that proved fruitless, Brakhage instead turned his attention towards using dead moths:
“Over the lightbulbs there’s all these dead moth wings, and I ... hate that. Such a sadness; there must surely be something to do with that. I tenderly picked them out and start pasting them onto a strip of film, to try to... give them life again, to animate them again, to try to put them into some sort of life through the motion picture machine."
Reception
Mothlight won awards at the 1964 Brussels International Film Festival, and the 1966 Spoleto Film Festival. James Peterson Mothlight as belonging "to a new class of films, those that direction attention away from the screen and to the physical object in the projector." Darragh O'Donoghue, writing for Senses of CinemaSenses of Cinema
Senses of Cinema is a quarterly online film magazine founded in 1999 by filmmaker Bill Mousoulis. Based in Melbourne, Australia, Senses of Cinema publishes work by film critics from all over the world, including critical essays, career overviews of the works of key directors, and coverage of many...
, praised the way Brakhage "evokes the moth not through cartoon mimicry, but by the fragile sensation of its movement, batting against the screen, hurtling in descent."
Along with Window Water Baby Moving
Window Water Baby Moving
Window Water Baby Moving is an experimental short film by Stan Brakhage, filmed in November 1958 and released in 1959. The film documents the birth of the director's first child, Myrrena.-Production:...
(1959), Mothlight remains one of Brakhage's best-known works, and his most rented. It is currently available in the DVD collection By Brakhage: An Anthology, Volume 1 from Criterion.