Paul Sharits
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Paul Sharits was a visual artist, best known for his work in "experimental" or avant-garde filmmaking, particularly what became known as the Structural film movement, along with artists such as Tony Conrad, Hollis Frampton and Michael Snow.
He was born in Denver, Colorado and earned a BFA in Painting at The University of Denver's School of Art where he was a protege of Stan Brakhage. He was subsequently a teacher at the Maryland Institute College of Art, Antioch and SUNY Buffalo (where he was hired by Gerald O'Grady along with Conrad and Frampton). His works of the 60s, when he received the widest acclaim, included influential "flicker" films such as "Ray Gun Virus," "Peace Manadala/End War," "N:O:T:H:I:N:G," "T,O,U,C,H,I,N,G" ("starring" poet David Franks), and "S:TREAM:S:S:ECTION:S:ECTION:S:S:ECTIONED." His works of the 70s were among the forerunners of contemporary installation art. Themes of violence permeate his work.
Buffalo art critic Richard Huntington has suggested that Sharits suffered from bipolar disorder.
