Jack Smith (1932-1989) is an American
experimental filmmaker, actor, performer and photographer. Pioneer of underground cinema, member of the New American Cinema group and a figure of the New York avant-garde in the Sixties, Smith contributed to forge the camp style, an audacious aesthetic embracing elements of kitch, cabaret and queer culture—the best example being 1963 film
Flaming Creatures. Provocative and radical, his limited-budget productions have had a huge influence on artists such as
Andy Warhol,
Tony Conrad,
Laurie Anderson,
Jonas Mekas,
Nan Goldin,
Cindy Sherman,
Mike Kelley, John Waters and Matthew Barney.
See also
May #20 – Jack Smith.
