Meshes: The Art of Maya Deren

This post is about the surrealist and avant garde film made by artist/film maker Maya Deren. I

viewed her film Meshes of the Afternoon in a Film Studies lecture during university (for

an Avant Garde and Experimental module). This film drew me in very much, with its brooding

female protagonist (Deren) featuring in a repetitive Groundhog Day-dreamlike sequence of

paranoia. Trying desperately to track down a mysterious mirror faced being, Deren takes us through an unpredictable experience of fear, confusion and delirium, allowing us the viewer to delve into her bizarre world and vision.

Such films, though considered obscure, without much narrative in most cases and just plain odd, represent one important purpose of film: an interpretation of art. Avant Garde/experimental films can be considered art in motion, a series of shots placed together in a non-linear narrative, or a mosaic/collage/kaleidoscope style of various artistic visions. It is also notable to take into consideration the use of sound in many such films.

Whatever the artists motivation, influences and meaning behind the films, we as the viewer have a privileged freedom to interpret their meaning however we wish. They can inspire - as many of those that I viewed in my lectures did, and as the ones you may find in an art gallery do - and they can open your mind to wondrous things. Alternatively, like Meshes of the Afternoon, they could even frighten you.