Born in 1923 and a soldier in World War Two, Jeff Keen began making films at the age of 37 – prompted by a deficit of screenings at the local art school film society.
So began over forty years of unique, imaginative, irrepressible filmmaking that’s outlived the various scenes in which it thrived: the 1960s counter-culture, punk and beyond.
Featuring a massive range of animated cut-outs and painting and populated by friends and family in a variety of guises, including The Cat Woman, Silverhead, Babyjelly and many more, these frenetic films reveal Keen’s genuine LOVE of comics, B movies and pulp novels while also making darker references to wartime experience.
Progressing through various film stocks, though always preferring 8mm – this self taught artist and pioneer of independent film impresses his very personal and highly individual stamp upon all his work.
Drawn from the various phases of his output – from his turn of the 1960s beatnik movies straight on through to the apocalyptic beauty of his 1990s multi-layered videos – these ten titles offer a new and massively overdue opportunity to explore the alternative cinematic world of Brighton’s very own, DR GAZ.
Cineblatz | 1967 | 3 mins
Sculpted radio static washes over a rush of animated superheroes, advertisements and even the House of Lords. Over twenty discrete animations in less than three minutes.
White Lite | 3 mins | 1968
‘Meet Anti-Matter Man and the Bridge of the Atom’ in this surreal and psychedelic B movie homage.
Marvo Movie | 1967 | 5 mins
Ken Russell said, “It went right over my head and seemed a little threatening, but I’m all for it.” The Cat Woman, Mickey Mouse, melting toys, the local graveyard and Brighton beach all get together in this anarchic and very British bit of fun.
Like the Time Is Now | 1960 | 5 mins | silent
America comes to Brighton as three beatniks hang out, listen to records and smoke before strange hats appear out of nowhere and a cartoon bubble suggests they go to the cinema.
Wail | 1961 | 5 mins | silent
Motorbikes and leather jackets – signs of the rebel – collide with a rush of cut-out animation similar to but pre-dating the work of Python animator, Terry Gilliam. And it’s all done with just black and white 8mm film.
Rayday Film | 1969 | 13 mins
Motler the Word Killer and other Keen cohorts escape from crazed costumed antics in his flat and spread chaos to the local tip – where fires and wedding dresses both tread the board – and then spray their dadaesque slogans over Brighton beach and local adverts.
Victory Thru Film Power | 1980s | 3 mins
This tightly edited animation presents the news at over a hundred miles an hour and subverts it with painting and other interference. This may be how it’s seen best.
Blatzom | 1986 | 12 mins
Jeff Keen dons paper masks and his knitted Artwar jacket having already avoided falling bombs and paced a dusty, grey, moonlike landscape. Blaztom offers an exquisitely crafted noise soundtrack to match its explosive opening.
Plazmatic Blatz | 1990s | 9 mins
Stealth bombers hover like vultures over crashing waves and a ruined land. Using found footage and several thick layers of video, Keen presents a very visceral version of Armageddon.
Artwar | 1993 | 6 mins
Constructed from footage of the first Iraq war and Jeff Keen painting at the local tip, this very personal work melds the artist’s two main themes in a video that’s both compelling and very contemporary.
