Jeff Keen

Biography

Jeff Keen (1923–2012) was a pioneer of experimental film whose rapid-fire animations, multiple screen projections and raucous performances redefined multimedia art in Britain. Keen was a veteran of the Second World War, and his work powerfully evokes the violence, colour, speed and noise of the 20th century. He transformed cinema into a riotous collage of comics, drawings, B-movie posters, plastic toys, burning props and extravagant costumes. His early 8 mm and 16 mm films are built for speed, combining footage of Beat-era motifs – jazz, motorbikes and car culture – with experimental animations in which the achievements and atrocities of the 20th century seem to flash by within a few short, cacophonous seconds. A single frame could not contain the frenzied energy of Keen’s imagination, and by the mid-1960s he began to use multiple screens and live action in presentations of his work.

Directed

1. The Autumn Feast (1961) — Director
2. Godzilla: Last of the Creatures (1976) — Director
3. Marvo Movie (1967) — Director
4. White Lite (1968) — Director
5. Day of the Arcane Light (1969) — Director
6. Instant Cinema (1965) — Director
7. Artwar Fallout + Artwar 3 (1995) — Director
8. B-B-B Bom and Life Storm (1990) — Director
9. Cineblatz (1967) — Director
10. The Pink Auto (1964) — Director
11. Spontaneous Combustion (1989) — Director
12. Family Star (The Mutt & Jeff Icecream Sundae + Mothman) (1969) — Director
13. Missing Close-ups (1965) — Director
14. Flik Flak (1965) — Director
15. Breakout (1962) — Director
16. Like the Time Is Now (1961) — Director
17. Wail (1960) — Director
18. Artwar Loop 2 (1990) — Director
19. Artwar Loop 1 (1990) — Director
20. Joy Thru Film (2000) — Director
21. Blatzom (1986) — Director
22. Omozap 2 (1991) — Director
23. Omozap (1991) — Director
24. The Dreams and Past Crimes of the Archduke (1984) — Director
25. Pulverised Cinema (1990) — Director
26. Kino Staccato (1999) — Director
27. Kino Pulveriso (1993) — Director
28. Victory Thru Film Power (1980) — Director
29. Return of Silver Head (1980) — Director
30. The Cartoon Theatre of Dr Gaz (1979) — Director
31. 24 Films (1975) — Director
32. Meatdaze (1968) — Director
33. Mad Love (1978) — Director
34. Artwar: The Last Frontier (1993) — Director
35. Artwar (1994) — Director
36. Omozap in Artwar (1995) — Director
37. Blatzom in Artwar (1990) — Director
38. Plazmatic Blatz (1991) — Director
39. Plasticator (1990) — Director
40. Blazon Blatzom: El Pistolera Blatzo (1990) — Director

Also appeared in

1. Return of Silver Head (1980) — Silver Head
2. Blatzom (1986)
3. Like the Time Is Now (1961)
4. The Pink Auto (1964)
5. Art Flies Free (2000) — Self