Maya Deren

Inspiration time

Maya Deren was an experimental film maker most active in the 40's and 50's. The dream like quality of her work and well as her beautiful use of shadow, framing and juxtaposition is truly inspiring. Deren's work 'Meshes of the Afternoon' (1943) is said to be the first example of “the poetic psychodrama”, with it's heavy use of symbolism and rhythm, producing a haunting primitive tone to the work. 'The Very Eye of Night' (1958) was a collaboration with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet School. Deren called it her 'ballet of night', an ethereal dance within a nocturnal space that focused on the spectacle rather than the narrative.









I really highly suggest you watch these short films with an open mind and a high attention span, with 'the very eye of the night' don't expect anything to happen, just look at the form and the lines and the contrast, it is beautiful.