A chameleon in the world of art and a multi-talented maverick who constantly challenged the boundaries of the acceptable, Derek Jarman is one of the most original and under-rated artists from the twentieth century. Although best known for his work in film, he was also a landscape gardener, a writer, a painter, a designer, a maker of pop-videos and an outspoken campaigner for AIDS awareness. His many talents make him difficult to pigeon-hole and, perhaps because of this, his work is loved and loathed in equal measure. As the London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival prepare a tribute to Jarman on the tenth anniversary of his death, it provides us with a timely opportunity to look back at his influential work in the world of film.
Born in 1942 in Middlesex, Jarman studied at Kings College, London before moving to the prestigious Slade School of Art, renowned for producing top painters. His years at the Slade were to change Jarman’s life forever. He came to terms with his homosexuality and his creativity blossomed in direct relation to this. He wrote poems, went travelling, had wild one night stands and, in short, had the time of his life. He also, crucially, signed up to a film course at the Slade. Already a fan of Fellini and Pasolini, the course was to introduce Jarman to the works of Eisenstein, Dreyer, Renoir and Humphrey Jennings. It wasn’t until 1976 though, that Jarman was to pick up a camera for himself. At first distracted by interior design, Jarman then threw himself into the world of set design for the Royal Ballet. However, the poor reception of his designs for Don Giovanni in 1968 led to a period of dissatisfaction followed by his first role in the cinema, as production designer for Ken Russell’s The Devils, (1970).
In 1976, Jarman began making his own films with Sebastiane and, in less than 20 years, made ten features, numerous shorts and pop videos and, incredibly, continued to design for both the theatre and opera. From Blue to Edward II and from Caravaggio to Wittgenstein, Jarman’s work in film was always surprising and never predictable. A true avant-garde artist, he constantly challenged both himself and his audiences. With Blue, possibly his most controversial film, he saturates the screen with constant unadulterated blue but in Caravaggio, he uses the cinema screen as a canvas, his beautiful cinematography echoing that of the master painter whom he so admired.
In 1977, Jarman made the film Jubilee, coinciding with the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. As the Sex Pistols screamed, “God save the Queen” in the charts, Jarman released his own sharp commentary on the state of the nation in the cinema. Jubilee combined a time-travelling Elizabeth I and John Dee with the punk movement to form a political snapshot of a troubled Britain. Now rather dated, it’s still a startlingly powerful piece of original thinking in film-making.
Music too held a fascination with Jarman. He was intrigued by the power of modern music and, over the years, worked with some of the top pop bands in the country on their music videos, from The Smiths to Marianne Faithful and from The Pet Shop Boys to Brian Ferry.
Jarman wasn’t shy of meddling with classic literature either. With both The Tempest and the more successful Edward II, Jarman produced his own idiosyncratic versions of their stories. In the latter, Jarman’s combination of modern and historical dress with neutral settings were a taste of things to come. By focusing on simplicity, Jarman forced the messages and morals in his films to the forefront. He re-imagined history in his works and used both classical literature and historical figures, such as Caravaggio, to reinterpret traditional history through the gaze of the ‘unseen’ gay.
Blue, Jarman’s last film, is a revelation in cinematic terms. Jarman, so preoccupied with visuals, omits them entirely in favour of a single unchanging colour. The soundtrack becomes all important with the absence of image and forces the viewer to use their imagination, in short, forces the viewer to think. Jarman encourages the passive cinema-goer to become active. The images exist only in the memory of those who see the film. They too become the director, the cinematographer and the editor of Blue. There probably aren’t too many other films that intentionally omit visuals throughout the entirety of their duration, and Blue challenges the conventions of cinema precisely because of this. Turning the visual medium of film on its head, Blue is a shocking revelation in cinematic terms. It was Jarman’s last film and yet, over a decade after it was first screened, it is still one of the most inspiring and infuriating films a cinema-goer is likely to see.
Just 52 when he died, Jarman was such a prolific film-maker and artist, one wonders how he managed to fit it all in. He leaves a vast and eclectic body of work behind, from his beautiful cinematography in Caravaggio to his poems, memoirs, paintings and his stunning garden in Dungeness, Kent. Jarman’s name is forever synonymous with both the avant-garde and with the outspoken determination to stand up for what you believe in. His films are challenging, strange, peculiar, difficult and sometimes plain weird, you might love them or loathe them, but do yourself a favour and go and see them.
Jarman is dead, long live Jarman.
Liz Hyder
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