GME President and Curator Jon Gartenberg Gives a Virtual Keynote Address for Seminar on Jonas Mekas Sponsored by The Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, Israel

Accompanying the exhibition on Jonas Mekas held at the Mamuta Art and Research Center in Jerusalem (organized with the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design), as President of Gartenberg Media Enterprises, and former curator and archivist in The Museum of Modern Art Department of Film (MoMA), I was invited to give a virtual keynote address, in which I discussed the influence that Jonas Mekas has had on the evolution of my career. Alongside art historian Inesa Brasiske, I addressed the legacy of Jonas Mekas, the universally acknowledged godfather of the American avant-garde, experimental, underground, and independent cinema. Jonas Mekas’ influence was widespread, his having provided a wide berth for independent cinema to flourish in the areas of archiving (Anthology Film Archives), distribution (the Film-Makers’ Cooperative), exhibition (the Film-Makers’ Cinematheque), and publishing (Film Culture magazine). As for Jonas Mekas’ filmmaking practice, which began with his arrival in 1949 in the United States with his brother Adolfas, he regularly filmed virtually every major cultural figure during the ensuing 70 years of his life right up until his death in 2019.

You can watch the entire seminar, DEAR JONAS, dedicated to the life and work of Jonas Mekas, here.