Judith Noble Lecture | ‘An Occult Avantgarde’

Filmmakers Maya Deren and Kenneth Anger reinvented cinema as an occult artform, creating a cinematic magic that could only exist on screen. Both moved towards a radical re-imagining of sexuality and gender; both began their careers within a West Coast occulture that shaped their philosophies and practice, and both had a profound effect not only on the counterculture of the 1960s but also on mainstream cinema.

Professor Judith Noble discusses the occult philosophies that were a central element of the work of Maya Deren and Kenneth Anger, and the ways in which these influenced their filmmaking. Deren’s dialogue with Surrealism and the occult, and Anger’s roots in Thelemic magic shaped not only the content but also the form of their films. Noble examines two key films: Deren’s Ritual In Transfigured Time (1946) and Anger’s Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954) that critiqued and transcended heteronormative concepts of sexuality and gender and began a process that that was at the heart of the counterculture and the “New Hollywood” of the 1970s, and which continues today.

The event will take place on Thursday 30 November 2023 at The Plymouth Art Cinema at 6pm with the lecture commencing at 6:30pm. A drinks reception for in-person attendees of the lecture will be held between 6-6:30pm.

If you cannot attend in-person, this lecture will also be live streamed. If you would like to watch the live stream, please make sure you select the Live Stream ticket when you book. You will then be sent the log in details for the livestream.

If you have any questions, please contact us via brand@aup.ac.uk

Plymouth Arts Cinema will be screening ‘Performance’, a film specially selected by Judith Noble, after the lecture. If you would like to stay on to watch the film, please book your tickets here

Professor Judith Noble BIO

Professor Judith Noble is currently a Board member of RENSEP (Research Network for the Study of Esoteric Practices), joint coordinator of the Black Mirror research network, and actively involved in research and publication. Until Summer 2023, Judith was Head of Academic Research and Professor of Film and the Occult at Arts University Plymouth. Her research interests centre on experimental, avant-garde and artists film, Surrealism and the occult and magic. She has published extensively on Maya Deren, on Kenneth Anger and Derek Jarman, and on film and the occult. Judith founded and is a member of the Inner Space Exploration Unit (ISEU) an artists’ project with members from AUP, the University of Cambridge and Arts University Bournemouth that makes practice-led collaborative research that is published online and exhibited physically.

She has recently completed work on Kenneth Anger, magical practice and the West Coast avantgarde, and on Maya Deren and Surrealism. In 2014 she organised the Visions of Enchantment conference with Dan Zamani and Rachel Parikh. Before returning to Higher Education in 2007, she worked for many years in arts funding and the film industry. From 1984 – 96 she was Film and Television officer at South West Arts; from 1996 – 2001 she was Chief Executive of the South West Media Development Agency and from 2001 – 2006 she was Head of Production at Sgrin Cymru Wales, where she was responsible for executive-producing and developing feature films supported by the Wales Lottery Film Fund. These included Peter Greenaway’s Tulse Luper Suitcases trilogy (in competition at Cannes and Berlin 2002 – 4), Amma Asante’s A Way Of Life (BAFTA winner 2005), Patagonia (Gruff Rhys) and Sleep, Furiously (Gideon Koppel). In 2007 she joined the staff of the BA (Hons) Film Production course at Arts University Bournemouth. She held an AUB Research Fellowship in 2010-11, trained as a PhD supervisor and became Course Leader for BA (Hons) Film Production in 2014 and Associate Professor in 2015, before taking up her post at Arts University Plymouth.

In her role at Arts University Plymouth, Judith was responsible for the development of research culture and provision: devising and implementing research policy and strategy; developing and managing staff research; coordinating and developing research groups; managing major projects; and was joint editor of Making Futures online journal.

Judith is a Member of the International Society for the Study of Surrealism and the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism. She is a trustee of Plymouth Arts Cinema and a director of Pagan Phoenix SW. Judith holds an MFA from Reading (1980) and a BA (Hons) in Fine Art from Nottingham Trent (1978).