John Smith (born 1952, Walthamstow, East London, England) is a British avant garde filmmaker and professor of Fine Art based in London. His work has been noted for his use of humour in exploring various themes that often play upon the film spectator's conditioned assumptions of the medium, and he is therefore often associated with structural film.
His 1976 film The Girl Chewing Gum has been called one of the most important avant-garde films of the 20th century.Program for Uppsala International Short Film Festival 2011, p. 21.
Early life and education Smith was born in 1952 in Walthamstow, East London and later studied film at the Royal College of Art. During this time he found inspiration in conceptual art, structural film and spoken word.
Career While still attending college, Smith made The Girl Chewing Gum in 1976, which remains his best-known work. The film consists of two camera shots and narration by Smith. He directs the movement of passersby, pigeons, and even inanimate objects. The official Tate artwork collection text draws a relation to François Truffaut's 1973 film La nuit américaine, pointing out the shared theme of exposing the work of the director.
Smith lives and works in east London. He is Professor Emeritus of Fine Art at University of East London after teaching for over 40 years. He has also worked as a lecturer at Central Saint Martins. Among his students are musician Jarvis Cocker and film director Carol Morley.
Smith has made more than 60 films over 50 years. He studied together with filmmaker Peter Gidal, a founding member of the London Film-Makers' Co-op. Smith was at some point part of the LFMC, speaking fondly of colleagues such as Ian Breakwell.
Reception In a 2022 interview article for Frieze, a collaborator of Smith, Juliet Jacques, describes The Girl Chewing Gum as marrying "the 1970s structural film obsession with Brechtian alienation".
In 2013 Smith won the annual Film London Jarman Award.
Style Smith has said his goal is "making films that are as simple as possible".
Selected filmography Year Title 1975Associations1976The Girl Chewing Gum1977Hackney Marshes - November 4th 19771984Shepherd's Delight1986Om1987The Black Tower1991Slow Glass1996Blight1999The KissRegression2001Lost Sound2001-2007Hotel Diaries2003Worst Case Scenario2010Flag Mountain2011unusual Red cardiganThe Man Phoning Mum2012Dad's Stick2014White Hole2015Steve Hates Fish2016Who Are We?2017Song for Europe2019A State of Grace2020CitadelCovid Messages2024Being John SmithBeing John Smith (2024)|MUBI
Bibliography The Arts in the 1970s: Cultural Closure? (with Peter Gidal, Materialist Film (Routledge) and Bart J. Moore-Gilbert), Routledge, 1994,
References
External links Official website An essay on Smith's film 'The Girl Chewing Gum' on Tate website An essay on Smith from Idiom magazine An interview with Smith from Sight & Sound magazine An Essay on John Smith's Hotel Diaries