The Films Of Jack Chambers 1965-70

Jack Chambers is regarded as one of Canada’s most important visual artists. With a well-established career as a painter, he embarked on a short-lived but significant career as a filmmaker in the mid-1960s. This set brings together for the first time the complete film works of Jack Chambers. His artistic practice was described as “perceptual realism” and stood in counterpoint to the dominant abstract styles of his day. His films are particularly noted for their formal investigations of the properties of light and for their thematic examinations of the the cycle of life and death. Chambers is celebrated with an acclaimed international reputation for his unique and impressive body of films.

In 1967, issues surrounding copyright payment and rental fees led Chambers to stage a campaign for what he termed “fair exchange: payment for services” and in 1968 he bacame one of the founders of Canadian Artists’ Representation/Le Front des artistes canadiens (CAR/FAC).

“The fact IS that the four films of Jack Chambers have changed the whole history of film, despite their neglect, in a way that isn’t even possible within the field of painting. There are no ‘masters’ of film in any significant sense whatsoever. There are only ‘makers’ in the original, or at least medieval, sense of the word. Jack Chambers is a true ‘maker’ of films. He needs no stance, or standing, for he dances attendance upon the coming-into-being of something recognizably NEW” – Stan Brakhage

VOLUME 1 : Short Films (19966-69)

Mosaic – Canada / 9:00 / 1965 / sound / b/w

Hybrid – U.S.A. / 15:00 / 1966 / silent / colour

R34 – U.S.A. / 26:00 / 1967 / sound / colour

Circle – Canada / 28:00 / 1969 / sound / colour

VOLUME 2 

The Hart of London – Canada / 1:19:00 / 1970 / sound / colour

VOLUME 3 – Special Features

Little Red Riding Hood – Canada / 25:00 / 1965 / sound / colour

Chambers: Tracks and Gestures – Chris Lowry & John Walker

Canada / 56:50 / 1982 / sound / colour

The Jack Chambers Film Project – Christopher Doty

Canada / 48:00 / 2004

Institutional purchases: £120