J O H N K L A X / PUBLICATIONS

1
2
3

The Transcendent Cinema of David Brooks

Editor and Designer
Chapbook published by Anthology Film Archives on the occasion of David Brooks complete retrospective, June 28 - July 1, 2019

“David Brooks established himself during the 1960’s as one of the most prominent lyricists of the experimental cinema. His work was eclipsed by his early death in 1969 at the age of twenty-four and throughout the next decade by the cooler, more controlled sensibility of structural film. As a consequence his films are scarcely remembered today, which is particularly unfortunate since at least two of them—Nightspring Daystar and The Wind Is Driving Him Towards The Open Sea—deserve a place among the important films of this period.” -J.J. Murphy, Film Culture

1
2
3
4

Manuel DeLanda: ISM ISM

Co-editor (with Andrew Lampert)
Designed by Jason Fulford
Published Anthology Film Archives and J&L Books

Economically downtrodden New York City in the 1970s was like the end of the world—but only if you chose to see it that way. For young artists running amok in the collapsing capitol, the possibilities seemed endless. Manuel DeLanda, a Mexican transplant enrolled at the School of Visual Arts, saw the overcrowded sidewalks and decrepit subway stations as blank canvases for inspired mayhem.

Recognized today as a philosopher, professor, and author (of War in the Age of Intelligent Machines and A Thousand Years of Nonlinear History, among other titles), DeLanda initially came to prominence as one of the premier experimental filmmakers of his generation. Fueled by the gonzo humor and graphic audacity of Frank Zappa and ZAP Comix, DeLanda’s fevered productions were among the most deliriously innovative movies of the punk era. While films like Raw Nerves: A Lacanian Thriller and Incontinence: A Diarrhetic Flow of Obvious Mismatches are certified underground classics, DeLanda’s visually striking, virtually unknown graffiti work (signed with the tag “ISM ISM”) has long remained more urban legend than legendary.

ISM ISM presents a comprehensive overview of DeLanda’s ephemeral street collages with a colorful frame-by-frame breakdown of a Super 8 short film completed in 1979 in order to document his sweetly subversive activities. Extensive still images, an expansive interview, and copious contextual materials combine to illustrate the story of DeLanda’s aesthetic attack on 23rd Street, including his friendly competition with fellow artist-taggers Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

See the film at ismism.net

1
2

INCITE: Journal of Experimental Media
No. ∞: FOREVER, Fall 2015

Issue Co-Editor (with Walter Forsberg)

230 pages
Full color, perfect bound
Multiples Edition of 200

CONTRIBUTORS: @timebasedmedia, Peggy Ahwesh, Anonymous, Craig Baldwin, Nadia Baram Larralde, Michael Betancourt, Mark Byrnes, Terry Cannon, Rutherford Chang, Steve Cossman, Kevin Croker, Jon Dieringer, Clint Enns, Bradley Eros, Walter Forsberg, Brian L. Frye, Jason Fulford, Marsha Gordon, Sabine Gruffat, Cheryl Hann, Brett Kashmere, John Klacsmann, Andrew Lampert, Charles Levine, Ross Lipman, Amy Lockhart, John Madey, Zak Marmalefsky, Jesse McLean, T.K. Peters, Greg Pierce, Suzanne Porath, Sabrina Ratte, Samplerman, Soda_Jerk, Leslie Supnet

ARTIST MULTIPLES include: Black Hole Cinema Dossier [risograph ‘zine] by Bradley Eros, Jon Dieringer's 24 Hour Weekend at Bernie’s [Blu-Ray disc], John Klacsmann's DURATION IS DEAD [sticker], an @timebasedmedia badge [glow-in-the-dark button], Forsberg & Klacsmann's INCITE #∞ Call For Entries [flier], and a special re-issue of SPIRAL No. 3 (April 1985)[Compact Cassette].

1
2

The Collections of Harry Smith, Catalogue Raisonné
Volume 1: Paper Airplanes
Volume 2: String Figures

Co-Editor (with Andrew Lampert)
Photographs by Jason Fulford
Published by Anthology Film Archives and J&L Books

Filmmaker, painter, anthropologist, musicologist and occultist--Harry Smith (1923-1991) was an incomparable polymath and seminal figure in the realms of beat culture and avant-garde art. Smith's kaleidoscopic experimental films have influenced generations of artists and cinephiles, while his landmark three-volume compilation, the Anthology of American Folk Music (1952), laid the foundation for the folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s. In addition to his ecstatic artwork, Smith is renowned for his vast collections of curious objects. The Collections of Harry Smith, Catalogue Raisonné series spotlights and indexes his eclectic research obsessions.

Volume one features richly detailed photographic documentation of 251 paper airplanes gathered by Smith from the streets of New York City over an approximately 20-year period. Whimsical and weird, the paper airplanes rank among Smith's most mysterious collecting pursuits. This extensive compendium presents the fruits of his extraordinary aeronautic pursuit and highlights the tangled history and myths that accompany them.

Volume two focuses on Smith's erudite study of string figures, an age-old form of spiritual and recreational play that he passionately chronicled in multiple mediums. This immersive volume contains photographs of the extant mounted string figures created by Smith alongside interviews, film stills and selections from his unpublished anthropological research. Additional contextual materials include an introductory essay and a conversation between musician, photographer and filmmaker John Cohen, a longtime colleague of Smith, and painter Terry Winters.