Appreciating Maya Deren

As she proposes An Anagram of Ideas on Art, Form and Film, Maya Deren believes that “a work of art is an emotional and intellectual complex whose logic is its whole form” (25). Although many artists may share this belief, Deren presents an entirely unique and original execution of it. Having seen “Meshes in the Afternoon” and “At Land,” I was truly impressed, and admittedly perplexed, by her ability to transform simple, seemingly unrelated objects and activities, and readdress them through her own innovative visual language.

“Meshes in the Afternoon” chronicles the female protagonist as she wanders down an unknown path of self-definition. The narrative of the film is expressed through Deren’s ingenious language of visual images. As the viewer follows the protagonist into the apartment, he or she notices the only distinct objects are a knife and bed, while the only other human counterparts are the man and the women following the protagonist. These facets, coupled with Deren’s choppy camera motion, create an unsettling atmosphere of sexual-violent tension. When the narration ends with the women dead in the apartment, the viewer is left to wonder who committed and what motivated the crime. Through her visual language, Deren showcases such simple events, while simultaneously creating a whole wealth of emotional depth.

Like “Meshes in the Afternoon,” “At Land” lets the actions of the film be the visual language. In “At Land,” however, Deren creates a completely silent film, whose protagonist observes the film’s events with naïve amazement. Opening with the protagonist emerging from the backward-rolling waves of the ocean, the film documents her as she meanders aimlessly, almost unnoticed, through picturesque landscape, refined banquets and mundane chess matches. Observing the montage of events, I was left wondering if Deren used the visual images of the outdoors to question her role in the greater whole of the world. Were these seemingly unrelated encounters with various natural objects and societal interactions really intended to spark a self-reflective evaluation of one’s place in the world?

For me, Maya Deren remains utterly confusing and yet completely engaging. Although I may not understand, or even appreciate her ability to recreate art as “an emotional and intellectual complex whose logic is its whole form” (25), I think her films have an uncanny ability to evoke a reaction from their viewers by there choice and arrangement of visual images.