Letter from Stan Brakhage to Bob
(11/12/1974)
Dear Bob,
What a very good letter from you. It pleases me much that Jane and I managed to give you something MORE than the films, something personally special. You deserve all the blessings you get, especially peaceful ones. I'm very impressed by your dedication and continuing clarity. And I'm especially pleased that you are able to afford SKEIN and, hopefully later, HYMN TO HER. It is to me the happiest of all occasions when a good pair of eyes, and a good friend, has something of this work in the home. Jane will order the print and get it off to you soon's possible. I would like you to know that your choice of these new films is most especially mine also (of the new short ones, that is). There seems an aura of indifference to most of my painted films. That was causing me to brood alot until I one day realized that this indifference is spread over ALC painted or so-called "abstract" films . . . Jim Davis, for example, whose work is almost totally ignored. And you bring up Fischinger: he also suffers
from this neglect ... or rather people suffer from (if that's possible) not knowing what they're missing -- a kind of 'negative suffering' shall we call it? The distributor who is trying to do the most for Fischinger and the Whitneys and Belson, too, is Pyramid Films. They're in touch with Fischinmer's widow. The man you might want to contact is: David Adams,
Pyramid Films, Box 1048, Santa Monica, Calif. 90406. He was the most concern, the best prints, etc. To answer your question: no, I never was
priviledged to meet Fischinger. I'm assuming that the new-Film Culture must have delighted you, its arrival timely answer to your consideration. There IS some in-ate-ane prejudice against using film for any purpose other than the 'reproductive reality': we must struggle to defeat that.
My newest short attempt it: "He was born, he suffered, he died" ... in
the Co-Op already. Let me know when you get a chance to see it. I'm not likely to get feedback from anyone else
