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Grožio blyksniai: trumpos gyvenimo istorijos
Šioje knygoje Jonas Mekas dar kartą mums pasakoja apie save, šįsyk – pasitelkdamas keistus ir nuostabius sutiktų žmonių gyvenimo fragmentus. Tai meistriška sužaista autobiografija.
Kartu ir išskirtinis avangardo menininkų paveikslas. Tarsi iš kino kadrų, iš „pastebėtų grožio blyksnių“ nuaustas pasakojimas – nuoširdus ir filosofiškas, įkvepiantis, linksminantis ir drąsinantis.
Jonas Mekas (1922–2019) – vienas didžiausių nepriklausomo avangardinio kino filmininkų, rašytojas, kritikas ir meno projektų kuratorius.
Kartu ir išskirtinis avangardo menininkų paveikslas. Tarsi iš kino kadrų, iš „pastebėtų grožio blyksnių“ nuaustas pasakojimas – nuoširdus ir filosofiškas, įkvepiantis, linksminantis ir drąsinantis.
Jonas Mekas (1922–2019) – vienas didžiausių nepriklausomo avangardinio kino filmininkų, rašytojas, kritikas ir meno projektų kuratorius.
- GenresNonfiction
360 pages, Paperback
First published October 3, 2017
7 people are currently reading
131 people want to read
About the author
Jonas Mekas
113 books195 followersJonas Mekas is a Lithuanian-American filmmaker, poet and artist who has often been called "the godfather of American avant-garde cinema." His work has been exhibited in museums and festivals world-wide.
In 1944, Mekas left Lithuania because of war. En route, his train was stopped in Germany and he and his brother, Adolfas Mekas (1925–2011), were imprisoned in a labor camp in Elmshorn, a suburb of Hamburg, for eight months. The brothers escaped and were detained near the Danish border where they hid on a farm for two months until the end of the war. After the war, Mekas lived in displaced person camps in Wiesbaden and Kassel. From 1946 to 1948, he studied philosophy at the University of Mainz and at the end of 1949, he emigrated with his brother to the U.S., settling in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. Two weeks after his arrival, he borrowed the money to buy his first Bolex 16mm camera and began to record moments of his life. He discovered avant-garde film at venues such as Amos Vogel’s pioneering Cinema 16, and he began curating avant-garde film screenings at Gallery East on Avenue A and Houston Street, and a Film Forum series at Carl Fisher Auditorium on 57th Street.
In 1954, together with his brother Adolfas Mekas, he founded Film Culture, and in 1958, began writing his “Movie Journal” column for The Village Voice. In 1962, he co-founded Film-Makers' Cooperative and the Filmmakers' Cinematheque in 1964, which eventually grew into Anthology Film Archives, one of the world’s largest and most important repositories of avant-garde film. He was part of the New American Cinema, with, in particular, fellow film-maker Lionel Rogosin. He was a close collaborator with artists such as Andy Warhol, Nico, Allen Ginsberg, Yoko Ono, John Lennon, Salvador Dalí, and fellow Lithuanian George Maciunas.
In 1964, Mekas was arrested on obscenity charges for showing Flaming Creatures (1963) and Jean Genet’s Un Chant d’Amour (1950). He launched a campaign against the censorship board, and for the next few years continued to exhibit films at the Film-makers’ Cinemathèque, the Jewish Museum, and the Gallery of Modern Art. From 1964 to 1967, he organized the New American Cinema Expositions, which toured Europe and South America and in 1966 joined 80 Wooster Fluxhouse Coop.
In 1970, Anthology Film Archives opened on 425 Lafayette Street as a film museum, screening space, and a library, with Mekas as its director. Mekas, along with Stan Brakhage, Ken Kelman, Peter Kubelka, James Broughton, and P. Adams Sitney, began the ambitious Essential Cinema project at Anthology Film Archives to establish a canon of important cinematic works.
As a film-maker, Mekas' own output ranges from his early narrative film (Guns of the Trees, 1961) to “diary films” such as Walden (1969); Lost, Lost, Lost (1975); Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania (1972), Zefiro Torna (1992), and As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty, which have been screened extensively at festivals and museums around the world.
Mekas expanded the scope of his practice with his later works of multi-monitor installations, sound immersion pieces and "frozen-film" prints. Together they offer a new experience of his classic films and a novel presentation of his more recent video work. His work has been exhibited at the 51st Venice Biennial, PS1 Contemporary Art Center, the Ludwig Museum, the Serpentine Gallery, and the Jonas Mekas Visual Arts Center.
In the year 2007, Mekas released one film every day on his website, a project he entitled "The 365 Day Project."[2] Since the 1970s, he has taught film courses at the New School for Social Research, MIT, Cooper Union, and New York University.
Mekas is also a well-known Lithuanian language poet and has published his poems and prose in Lithuanian, French, German, and English. He has published many of his journals and diaries including "I Had Nowhere to Go: Diaries, 1944–1954," and "Letters from Nowhere,
In 1944, Mekas left Lithuania because of war. En route, his train was stopped in Germany and he and his brother, Adolfas Mekas (1925–2011), were imprisoned in a labor camp in Elmshorn, a suburb of Hamburg, for eight months. The brothers escaped and were detained near the Danish border where they hid on a farm for two months until the end of the war. After the war, Mekas lived in displaced person camps in Wiesbaden and Kassel. From 1946 to 1948, he studied philosophy at the University of Mainz and at the end of 1949, he emigrated with his brother to the U.S., settling in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. Two weeks after his arrival, he borrowed the money to buy his first Bolex 16mm camera and began to record moments of his life. He discovered avant-garde film at venues such as Amos Vogel’s pioneering Cinema 16, and he began curating avant-garde film screenings at Gallery East on Avenue A and Houston Street, and a Film Forum series at Carl Fisher Auditorium on 57th Street.
In 1954, together with his brother Adolfas Mekas, he founded Film Culture, and in 1958, began writing his “Movie Journal” column for The Village Voice. In 1962, he co-founded Film-Makers' Cooperative and the Filmmakers' Cinematheque in 1964, which eventually grew into Anthology Film Archives, one of the world’s largest and most important repositories of avant-garde film. He was part of the New American Cinema, with, in particular, fellow film-maker Lionel Rogosin. He was a close collaborator with artists such as Andy Warhol, Nico, Allen Ginsberg, Yoko Ono, John Lennon, Salvador Dalí, and fellow Lithuanian George Maciunas.
In 1964, Mekas was arrested on obscenity charges for showing Flaming Creatures (1963) and Jean Genet’s Un Chant d’Amour (1950). He launched a campaign against the censorship board, and for the next few years continued to exhibit films at the Film-makers’ Cinemathèque, the Jewish Museum, and the Gallery of Modern Art. From 1964 to 1967, he organized the New American Cinema Expositions, which toured Europe and South America and in 1966 joined 80 Wooster Fluxhouse Coop.
In 1970, Anthology Film Archives opened on 425 Lafayette Street as a film museum, screening space, and a library, with Mekas as its director. Mekas, along with Stan Brakhage, Ken Kelman, Peter Kubelka, James Broughton, and P. Adams Sitney, began the ambitious Essential Cinema project at Anthology Film Archives to establish a canon of important cinematic works.
As a film-maker, Mekas' own output ranges from his early narrative film (Guns of the Trees, 1961) to “diary films” such as Walden (1969); Lost, Lost, Lost (1975); Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania (1972), Zefiro Torna (1992), and As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty, which have been screened extensively at festivals and museums around the world.
Mekas expanded the scope of his practice with his later works of multi-monitor installations, sound immersion pieces and "frozen-film" prints. Together they offer a new experience of his classic films and a novel presentation of his more recent video work. His work has been exhibited at the 51st Venice Biennial, PS1 Contemporary Art Center, the Ludwig Museum, the Serpentine Gallery, and the Jonas Mekas Visual Arts Center.
In the year 2007, Mekas released one film every day on his website, a project he entitled "The 365 Day Project."[2] Since the 1970s, he has taught film courses at the New School for Social Research, MIT, Cooper Union, and New York University.
Mekas is also a well-known Lithuanian language poet and has published his poems and prose in Lithuanian, French, German, and English. He has published many of his journals and diaries including "I Had Nowhere to Go: Diaries, 1944–1954," and "Letters from Nowhere,
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 3, 2025
Puiki įdomaus žmogaus knyga apie įdomius žmones ir vietas. Jurgio Mačiūno su Jono Meko pagalba pradėta Niujorko SoHo legenda su metais darosi vis svarbesnė ir įdomesnė. Ir tekstai apie ją.
March 22, 2025
Tiesiog dar kartą įkrista į grožiu verdantį Meko gyvenimo puodą.
Tik vertėjas ir/ar knygos redakcija nepasistengė, tad Jonas Mekas būtų labai nusivylęs tekste radęs, jog kažkada, po 25 metų svetur, jis buvo sugrįžęs "į Semeniškes" (Trakų r.), o ne "į Semeniškius" (Biržų r.).
O tereikėjo bent į keletą Meko eilėraščių akį užmest, ar, galų gale, Wikipedia atsiverst...
Tik vertėjas ir/ar knygos redakcija nepasistengė, tad Jonas Mekas būtų labai nusivylęs tekste radęs, jog kažkada, po 25 metų svetur, jis buvo sugrįžęs "į Semeniškes" (Trakų r.), o ne "į Semeniškius" (Biržų r.).
O tereikėjo bent į keletą Meko eilėraščių akį užmest, ar, galų gale, Wikipedia atsiverst...
March 2, 2025
Patiko už tekstų nujaučiamas "ne vandenį, o vilnį" geriančiojo gyvenimas.
Yra ten pasakojimas apie apsilankymą Fatimoje, pacituosiu beveik visą:
"Vieta, kurioje 1917-ųjų gegužės 13 dieną pirmą kartą apsireiškė Fatimos Mergelė Marija ir kurioje tada plytėjo paprasčiausia ganykla, dabar, šį šeštadienį, 10.30 val. ryto - artėjant jos link - atrodė kaip bet kuri kita garsi turistų traukos vieta. Daug turistinių autobusų, automobilių, minios žmonių, mažmožių krautuvėles. <...> Kietas cementas dengė plotą, kur kadaise augo žolė, gėlės, ropinėjo vabalai...Piligrimai, meldę Mergelės Marijos, sutrypė visa, kas buvo gyva, kas stojo jiems skersai kelio... Ieškojau azinairos medžio, po kuriuo Mergelė Marija apsireiškė trims piemenukams. Jokio medžio ten nebuvo. Ten, kur augo medis, dabar stovėjo altorius ir balta gipsinė Mergelės Marijos statula. Ir keturi kunigai. Paklausiau, kas nutiko medžiui. Nukirto, atsakė man. Piligrimai nuskabė lapą po lapo. Nulupo žievę. Nulaužė šakas. Ir kai iš medžio veik nieko neliko, jie jį nukirto...
Man paaiškino, kad medis, kurį mačiau už kokių penkiasdešimties metrų, į dešinę nuo koplyčios, atrodo lygiai taip pat kaip ir tasai, po kuriuo apsireiškė Mergelė Marija. Taigi nuėjau prie jo ir stovėdamas žiūrėjau. Senas, žalias, laimingas medis, labai laimingas, nes gyvas...Nufilmavau jį ir šis padėkojo man už dėmesį. Nieko ten daugiau nebuvo, tad medis išties apsidžiaugė..."
Yra ten pasakojimas apie apsilankymą Fatimoje, pacituosiu beveik visą:
"Vieta, kurioje 1917-ųjų gegužės 13 dieną pirmą kartą apsireiškė Fatimos Mergelė Marija ir kurioje tada plytėjo paprasčiausia ganykla, dabar, šį šeštadienį, 10.30 val. ryto - artėjant jos link - atrodė kaip bet kuri kita garsi turistų traukos vieta. Daug turistinių autobusų, automobilių, minios žmonių, mažmožių krautuvėles. <...> Kietas cementas dengė plotą, kur kadaise augo žolė, gėlės, ropinėjo vabalai...Piligrimai, meldę Mergelės Marijos, sutrypė visa, kas buvo gyva, kas stojo jiems skersai kelio... Ieškojau azinairos medžio, po kuriuo Mergelė Marija apsireiškė trims piemenukams. Jokio medžio ten nebuvo. Ten, kur augo medis, dabar stovėjo altorius ir balta gipsinė Mergelės Marijos statula. Ir keturi kunigai. Paklausiau, kas nutiko medžiui. Nukirto, atsakė man. Piligrimai nuskabė lapą po lapo. Nulupo žievę. Nulaužė šakas. Ir kai iš medžio veik nieko neliko, jie jį nukirto...
Man paaiškino, kad medis, kurį mačiau už kokių penkiasdešimties metrų, į dešinę nuo koplyčios, atrodo lygiai taip pat kaip ir tasai, po kuriuo apsireiškė Mergelė Marija. Taigi nuėjau prie jo ir stovėdamas žiūrėjau. Senas, žalias, laimingas medis, labai laimingas, nes gyvas...Nufilmavau jį ir šis padėkojo man už dėmesį. Nieko ten daugiau nebuvo, tad medis išties apsidžiaugė..."
December 2, 2017
Once in a while, a presence comes upon the landscape and shows an incredible amount of character and interest. Jonas Mekas is clearly in that bracket of a human being. Filmmaker, head honcho of the Film Anthology in New York City, as well as the Filmmaker's co-op, and writer. There are many great writers who write about film, but Mekas is the best, because he clearly shows his love for the medium, and by his writing, he expresses that enjoyment of seeing the projected light on a screen. There have been a few great books by Mekas on film and his life, but "A Dance With Fred Astaire" may be my favorite of his books.
For one, it's a perfect entrance way to his world for someone who is not familiar with New York / European / World filmmakers, because if nothing else (besides his talent as a filmmaker/writer) Mekas connects to his world like no other individual. He knows or knew everyone from Andy Warhol to Fritz Lang to Jacqueline Kennedy. He is the other side of the coin of Warhol, in that in his own fashion he also attracted talent by just standing there. Of course, that is not true. He was the publisher and editor/writer for the greatest film publication ever, "Film Culture." And his weekly column for the Village Voice was the most passionate and smart writing on artist's films and their world. Like Warhol and his Factory, artists were drawn to Mekas, either by his passion or personality, but it was truly a wonderful culture that produced many flowers that bloomed into films, art, writing and so forth.
There are so many amazing chance meetings that are listed in "A Dance With Fred Astaire." For one, Fred Astaire himself who was invited by Yoko Ono to participate in her film by dancing in it, with Mekas following his steps best as possible. So yeah as a reader, you are trying to put all of this in one's head: Yoko, Jonas, and yeah, of course, Fred Astaire, with John Lennon. Or the time he visited Jacqueline Kennedy and she casually told Mekas that Kennedy received an 8mm camera which he kept in his coat pocket the last few years of his life. She went to the closet, found John's coat, got the camera out and showed it to Mekas. At the time there is still film inside the camera. One wonders what is on that film??? And where is that film and camera now? There is also the incredible connection between Tony Conrad, Henry Flynt, and the UNABOMBER!
"A Dance with Fred Astaire" is full of illustrations and the book is beautifully designed by Nicholas Law with art direction by Bryan Cipolla. Creative Director is Johan Kugelberg, who has done numerous great books on cult faves. Remarkable.
For one, it's a perfect entrance way to his world for someone who is not familiar with New York / European / World filmmakers, because if nothing else (besides his talent as a filmmaker/writer) Mekas connects to his world like no other individual. He knows or knew everyone from Andy Warhol to Fritz Lang to Jacqueline Kennedy. He is the other side of the coin of Warhol, in that in his own fashion he also attracted talent by just standing there. Of course, that is not true. He was the publisher and editor/writer for the greatest film publication ever, "Film Culture." And his weekly column for the Village Voice was the most passionate and smart writing on artist's films and their world. Like Warhol and his Factory, artists were drawn to Mekas, either by his passion or personality, but it was truly a wonderful culture that produced many flowers that bloomed into films, art, writing and so forth.
There are so many amazing chance meetings that are listed in "A Dance With Fred Astaire." For one, Fred Astaire himself who was invited by Yoko Ono to participate in her film by dancing in it, with Mekas following his steps best as possible. So yeah as a reader, you are trying to put all of this in one's head: Yoko, Jonas, and yeah, of course, Fred Astaire, with John Lennon. Or the time he visited Jacqueline Kennedy and she casually told Mekas that Kennedy received an 8mm camera which he kept in his coat pocket the last few years of his life. She went to the closet, found John's coat, got the camera out and showed it to Mekas. At the time there is still film inside the camera. One wonders what is on that film??? And where is that film and camera now? There is also the incredible connection between Tony Conrad, Henry Flynt, and the UNABOMBER!
"A Dance with Fred Astaire" is full of illustrations and the book is beautifully designed by Nicholas Law with art direction by Bryan Cipolla. Creative Director is Johan Kugelberg, who has done numerous great books on cult faves. Remarkable.
December 29, 2024
Nutikimai, sutapimai, susitikimai, nuotrupos iš be galo turtingo patirčių ir (žymių) žmonių Jono Meko gyvenimo, persmelkta mekiško paprastumo ir akimirkos išjautimo, šiltumo ir dėkingumo.
June 27, 2025
Gera buvo skaityti apie nuostabiai turtingą ir įkvepiantį Jono Meko gyvenimą. Teisybės dėlei pasakysiu, jaučiau truputėlį pavydo, na kaip gi taip lengvai iš visur lyg plaukia įdomūs žmonės, malonios pažintys... Visgi toliau skaitant liko tik begalinis susižavėjimas tikėjimu savo idėja, savo sunkaus darbo prasmingumu, žmogiškumu, gerumu, atkaklumu, humoro jausmu.
Įkvepiančios mintys apie pastangas.
Gražus, tiesiog jaudinantis paskutinis skyrelis apie laimę. Rekomenduoju!
Įkvepiančios mintys apie pastangas.
... norint ko nors išmokti, reikia stengtis: nieko doro nebūna be pastangų. Būtina ieškoti. Priartėti. Atsiverti. <...> Ir aš pagalvojau, kad pats laikas žmonėms suvokti, jog mes per daug tikimės nieko nepadarę, kai iš tiesų už nieką galime gauti tik nieko, niekas yra daugiausia, ką galima gauti už nieką.
Gražus, tiesiog jaudinantis paskutinis skyrelis apie laimę. Rekomenduoju!
Read
May 11, 2025„Ir, žinoma, laimingiausios mano akimirkos išmuša, kai brolis pagamina kugelį [...]. Duokite man kugelio, didžiausią porciją, rudo, apskrudusio, su plutele, o sau pasilikite kiną, aš kibsiu į savo kugelį, kimšiu, šalmšiu, nusideginsiu liežuvį ir prakaituosiu kaip kiaulė - niekas manęs nuo jo neatitrauks. Ir tada, žinoma, būni toks sotus, kad ničnieko nebegali daryti, tik sėdėti pilnas laimės.”
August 21, 2018
Brilliant
August 6, 2025
Labai smagiii, tiek kietų asmenybių ir personažų, kaip Mekas tiesiog įplaukdavo visur?! Įspūdinga, patiko šitie šmaikštūs, bet ir švelnūs pasakojimai, bet duočiau gal 4,5 kartais labai jau nuskrisdavau
April 2, 2025
238 puslapy nemenkai pyktelėjau ant odilės, kad Meko gimtinę pervadino į Semeniškes.
Atėjus iki paskutinio puslapio supratau, kad visa kita knygoje buvo daug svarbiau.
Atėjus iki paskutinio puslapio supratau, kad visa kita knygoje buvo daug svarbiau.
July 7, 2025
영화부터 보고 천천히 다시 읽고 싶다
September 28, 2025
labai grazi knyga, greitai susiskaite. mekas niekad nenuvilia
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews