Ken Jacobs

For other people named Kenneth Jacobs, see Kenneth Jacobs (disambiguation).

Ken Jacobs (born May 25, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York)^[2] is an American experimental filmmaker.^[3][4] His style often involves the use of found footage which he edits and manipulates. He has also directed films using his own footage.

Ken Jacobs
Ken Jacobs in 2021
Born	(1933-05-25) May 25, 1933 (age 92) New York City, U.S.[1]
Occupation	Filmmaker
Notable work	Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son
Spouse	Florence Jacobs
Children	2, including Azazel Jacobs

Ken Jacobs directed Blonde Cobra in 1963. This short film stars Jack Smith who directed his own Flaming Creatures the same year. In 1969 he directed Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son (1969, USA), in which he took the original 1905 short film and manipulated the footage to recontextualize it. This is considered an important first example of deconstruction in film. The film was admitted to the National Film Registry in 2007. His Star Spangled to Death (2004, USA) is a nearly seven-hour film consisting largely of found footage.^[5] Jacobs began compiling the archival footage in 1957 and the film took 47 years to complete.^[6]

Jacobs taught at the Cinema Department at Harpur College at Binghamton University from 1969 to 2002.^[7] His son Azazel Jacobs is also a filmmaker.^[8]

In the 1990s, Jacobs began working with John Zorn and experimented with a stroboscopic effect, digital video, and 3D effects.

Selected filmography

• Little Stabs at Happiness (1960), 14:57 min, color, sound, 16 mm film on video.^[9]
• Blonde Cobra (1963), 33 min, color and b&w, sound, 16 mm film on video.^[9]
• Window (1964) ^[10]
• Lisa and Joey in Connecticut (1965), 21:59 min, color, silent, Super 8mm film on video.^[9]
• Tom, Tom, The Piper's Son (1969), 133 min, color and b&w.^[9]
• Perfect Film (1986)
• Opening the Nineteenth Century: 1896 (1991)
• The Georgetown Loop (1996), 11 min, b&w, silent.^[9]
• Circling Zero: We See Absence (2002), 114:38 min, color, sound.^[11][12]
• Star Spangled to Death (2004), 440 min, b&w and color, sound, DVD. Clip collection began in 1956.^[9]
• Nymph (2007), 2 min, color, silent.^[9]
• Gift of Fire: Nineteen (Obscure) Frames that Changed the World (2007), 27:30 min, anaglyph 3-D color, surround sound.^[9]
• The Scenic Route (2008), 25 min, color and b&w, sound.^[9]
• 60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero, first segment. ^[13]
• Seeking the Monkey King (2011), 39:42 min, color, 5.1 surround sound, HD video.^[9]
• Joys of Waiting for the Broadway Bus (2013), 4–part series, enhanced 3D film digital slides.^[14]
• A Primer in Sky Socialism (2013), color 3D film.^[15][16]

Awards and accolades

He is a recipient of the 1994 American Film Institute's Maya Deren Award.^[8] In 2012 he received a Creative Capital Moving Image grant award.^[17] In 2014 he was named a United States Artists (USA) Fellow.^[18]