ERIK BARNOUW, 1908-2001
Yesterday, on July 19, Erik Barnouw died at his home in Vermont. His wife
Betty was at his side. Erik had an inoperable cancer and had been in
hospice.
Betty says he was ready for life's next adventure. He was 93.
Erik was a legendary, foundational presence in our field. His scores of
books
include THE INTERNATIONAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF COMMUNICATION, CONGLOMERATES AND
THE
MEDIA, TUBE OF PLENTY: THE EVOLUTION OF AMERICAN TELEVISION, THE MAGICIAN
AND
THE CINEMA, DOCUMENTARY, THE SPONSOR: NOTES ON A MODERN POTENTATE, AND
HISTORY
OF BROADCASTING. His memoir, a compelling and eye-opening journey through
his
amazing life, entitled MEDIA MARATHON, was published in 1996 by Duke
University Press. Just a few months ago, Erik published MEDIA LOST AND FOUND
with Fordham University Press, a collection of his essays. Erik's life and
writing spanned nearly the entire twentieth century. He published his last
book only months before his death.Erik Barnouw was a co-editor of the Temple
University Press book series, WIDE ANGLE BOOKS, with Ruth Bradley, Scott
MacDonald and Patricia R. Zimmermann. The series is dedicating the unseen
and
unknown histories of the non-profit media arts sector.
Erik is considered by many to be one of the founding figures in the field of
university level communications programs. His books are classics; they
constitute the bricks and mortars of our field. His film, HIROSHIMA NAGASAKI
1945 is probably the most widely taught documentary in documentary studies
thirty years after it was produced, and is considered by many international
scholars to be the most significant and far reaching anti-war film ever
made.
In fact, it influenced, among scores of artists the world over, well-known
electroninc and video artist and Ithaca College alumni Daniel Reeves to
pursue
his documentary work in image processing.
Erik's life, however, was not confined to the academy. He worked as a ad
writer, a television writer, a journalist, a songwriter, a curator, a
filmmaker, an archivist, a board member of many media organizations, a
consultant on many film projects, a film preservationist. Erik was a scion
of
the independent media world since the 1950s, way before the term "indie"
meant
anything. Up until his death, he was a constant advocate for independent
work,
in all genres: he was generous in his spirit and always engaged and
delighted
by new work and new makers from all across the globe. His selections as a
curator changed how we think about media history and film art. He was open
to
anything, and everything, as long as it moved the soul.
He served as the first President of International Film Seminars, the first
film curator at the Library of Congress, and curated more Flaherty Film
seminars over the course of forty years than anyone can remember. He carved
out space for documentary filmmakers from all over the globe.
As many scholars, media arts professionals, and makers know, Erik had a
special
and unique relationship to emerging scholars and to expanding the field of
film and media history. He constantly shuttled between writing, presenting
new
work, and archiving old work. He was a scholar who loved makers and a maker
who loved scholars.
He edited the monograph, THE FLAHERTY: FORTY YEARS IN THE CAUSE OF
INDEPENDENT CINEMA, with Patricia R. Zimmermann, the first institutional
history published by the journal WIDE ANGLE. Two Ithaca College interns
worked side by side with him on that project, three generations of media
scholars typifying Erik's insistence that the torch for independent,
non-corporate media be passed on.
Beyond these accomplishments that exceed what one can imagine doing in a
lifetime, Erik was a compassionate, ethical, and clear-headed presence in
the
media arts world. He was an academic who spanned the archival, festival,
production, and art worlds, and a writer whose work knew no boundaries
between
professional and amateur, between the commercial world and the art world,
between fiction and non-fiction, between the experienced and the emerging.
Erik's humor and wit still ring in many of our ears. His editorial vision
was
flawless, spontaneous, and always, always laser-sharp.
But above all, Erik's legacy resonates to insist that optimism, generosity,
and unbridled enthusiasm and inquiry for all human effort--whether in media
or
life--are the only media that really matters.
Memorial services in Vermont and New York will be arranged and will be
posted
soon.
All of us in the fields of film, television, and new media will miss him.
But
I suspect his inspiring spirit wafts like a cool, gentle wind through all
of
our classrooms, our productions, our
writing, clearing out the pollen, pushing us to have a clearer vision, and
reminding us that communication is truly about connecting with people across
any divide.
Patricia R. Zimmermann
co-editor, WIDE ANGLE books
Professor, Department of Cinema and Photography, Ithaca College
Patricia R. Zimmermann, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Cinema and Photography
Ithaca College
Ithaca New York USA 14850
phone: 607 274 3431
fax: 607 274 7078
email: [log in to unmask]
Patricia R. Zimmermann, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Cinema and Photography
Ithaca College
Ithaca New York USA 14850
phone: 607 274 3431
fax: 607 274 7078
email: [log in to unmask]
Patricia R. Zimmermann, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Cinema and Photography
Ithaca College
Ithaca New York USA 14850
phone: 607 274 3431
fax: 607 274 7078
email: [log in to unmask]
Patricia R. Zimmermann, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Cinema and Photography
Ithaca College
Ithaca New York USA 14850
phone: 607 274 3431
fax: 607 274 7078
email: [log in to unmask]
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