Experimental Cinema by Simon Payne

Experimental Cinema by Simon Payne

Experimental Cinema examines a range of structures, systems and strategies that film and video artists have developed from the late 1960s to the present. Over the decades, artists have responded to the ever-changing medium of cinema and its technological advances, as well as taking inspiration from painting, sculpture and music.

Simon Payne argues that the evolution of methodical strategies in experimental cinema goes back to the first avant-garde films made a century ago, in the 1920s. He shows how key figures internationally have formed part of this picture since then, but suggests that the most thorough formal exploration of cinema can be credited to a generation of artists that began making films in Britain in the 1960s and 1970s.

Payne analyses the work of numerous influential artists including Peter Gidal, David Hall, Malcolm Le Grice, Annabel Nicolson, Jayne Parker and Guy Sherwin. He discusses recent and lesser-known works as well as canonical films, videos and expanded cinema. He also pays close attention to younger artists including Jenny Baines, Neil Henderson, Jennifer Nightingale and Samantha Rebello.

Experimental Cinema traces a lineage that has defined some of the central preoccupations of artists’ film and video, which continue to test our expectations of cinema, television and the moving image.

Simon’s book is that rare thing, a work of serious scholarship that is also a joy to readReviewing the work of many of the UK’s major film and video artists, he draws on his deep knowledge of the arts to make new connections and question many long-held assumptions. A superb achievement. * David Curtis, author of Experimental Cinema (1971) and Artists' Film (2021) *
This is one of the most accessible texts on experimental cinema, written in a lively and highly engaging style. Payne’s unique perspective as a filmmaker, curator and scholar brings historical depth and analytical precision to key works of the British avant-garde. * Kim Knowles, Senior Lecturer in Alternative and Experimental Film, Aberystwyth University, UK *

Simon Payne is an experimental video maker whose work has shown in numerous venues including Tate Modern; the Serpentine Gallery; The Hermitage, St Petersburg and the London, Edinburgh and Rotterdam Film Festivals. He has written widely on experimental film and video, and recently co-edited the book Kurt Kren: Structural Film with Nicky Hamlyn and A.L. Rees. He is Reader in Film and Media Studies at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781839026485
ISBN 10	1839026480
Title	Experimental Cinema
Author	Simon Payne
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Year published	2026-05-14
Number of pages	256
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.