SOURCE: "The Mother of the American Avant-Garde Film," in The New York Times, May 2, 1976, pp. 13, 22.

In the following essay, Starr discusses how Deren's films influenced a generation of avant-garde filmmakers.

The gospel of the low-budget, personal, experimental film was first preached in this country by an explosive, dedicated young woman named Maya Deren. From the early 1940's until her death in 1961, Miss Deren both invoked and exemplified the American avant-garde movement, virtually by herself—as filmmaker, distributor, lecturer, theorist, and promoter, all in one fiery personality. In the 15 years since her death, hundreds of new experimental filmmakers have shown their films around the country; yet, in contrast to modern music, dance, architecture, and painting, the avant-garde film has remained almost invisible to the American public. This week, a series of avant-garde films at The Museum of Modern Art ushers in what may be a new era of visibility...