The Films of Jack Chambers

Jack Chambers (1931-1978) was one of Canada's most esteemed artists. Although he was a classically trained painter, he embraced vanguard ideas and made radical art. His 1969 manifesto on perceptual realism paralleled the emergence of "new realism" in American painting. As a filmmaker he transformed the collage form, melding home movies and found footage into original works that proposed a synthetic notion of experience. Possessing the rigor of the materialist and the insight of the visionary, Chambers challenged the notions of photographic perception posed by his contemporaries Stan Brakhage and Michael Snow. International recognition for Chambers' work was immediate, and his epic feature The Hart of London remains an art house standard.

The Films of Jack Chambers brings together the best published writing as well as new contributions from academics, critics, and artists, who situate Chambers' accomplishment in the avant-garde, trace the evolution of his aesthetic ideas, and describe his ongoing influence. Also included are Chambers' 1969 artistic manifesto and a comprehensive annotated bibliography.