Ross McLaren (December 4, 1953November 28, 2023) was a Canadian artist, filmmaker, and educator based in New York City.

Biography

McLaren was born in 1953 in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada and graduated with honors from Ontario College of Art, where he also did post-graduate work. He was a faculty member at Cooper Union, Fordham University and Pratt Institute, and also taught at Millennium Film Workshop in New York City.

Following a stroke in July 2023, McLaren died in Brooklyn, New York on November 28, 2023.

Work Advocacy

Beginning in 1976, McLaren worked as a filmmaker, scholar, teacher, curator, critic, and community organizer. He founded and was first director of the Funnel Film Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, an institution devoted to the production, exhibition, and distribution of film. As founder/director, McLaren encouraged continued recognition of film—particularly Super 8—in his native country.

Films

His films include: Crash 'n' Burn: the "self-destructive document of Toronto’s eponymous punk club,"Springer. "Creemedia," Creem, Vol. 10, No. 4, Sept. 1978. Wave, Weather Building, Dance of the Sacred Foundation Application (feat. Jack Smith), Sex Without Glasses, and the Ann Arbor Film Festival award-winning sensation Summer Camp.

A recipient of such prestigious grants as the Ontario and Canada Council awards, McLaren's works have been shown worldwide. His films screened at MoMA, Anthology Film Archives, the Menil Collection, the National Film Theatre in London, the Centre Georges Pompidou, the Biennale du Paris, Documenta VI, Jyväskylä University in Finland, and ARKEN Museum of Modern Art in Denmark. His work, which was presented in such esteemed venues as the Edinburgh, Toronto, and Oberhausen Film Festivals, is found in several permanent collections, including that of the American Federation of Arts, New York, the Arts Council of Great Britain, the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ottawa’s National Film Archives and the National Gallery of Canada.

Selected filmography

Winning, 40 min (2005) Wave, 5 min. (2004) Dance of the Sacred Foundation Application (feat. Jack Smith), 15 min. (2003) Lapland, 3 min. (2002) Muted Horn, Squeaky Stool, 9:11 min. (2001) Another Story, S-8, 5 min. (1988) Spin, 16mm, 1 min. (1987) Warehouse Eyes, S-8 & 16mm, 13 min. (1986) Tilt, S-8, 3 min. (1985) Let's Run Amok, S-8, 3 min. (1984) Sex Without Glasses, 16mm 12:30 min. (1983) Calgary Girls, S-8, 5 min. (1983) Launch 5ive, S-8, 2:38 min. (1982) 9 X 12, 16mm, 1 min., (also microfiche insert for Impulse Magazine) (1979–81) Wednesday, January 17, 1979, 16mm, 4:40 min. (1979) Snorkel, 16mm. 10:10 min. (1976–79) Summer Camp, 16mm, 60 min. (1978) Crash 'n' Burn, 16mm, 27:45 (1977) I.E., 16mm, 14:45 min. (1976) Weather Building, 16mm, 10:15 min. (1976) (features weather beacon on the Canada Life Building) Baby Green, S-8, 10:15 min. (1974)

Academic appointments

Ontario College of Art, Toronto The Funnel Film Theatre, Toronto Fanshawe College, Fine Arts Dep’t., London The Cooper Union School of Art, New York Millennium Film Workshop, New York Fordham University: College at Lincoln Center, New York Koulu Lapland, Finland Pratt Institute, Brooklyn

Selected awards and distinctions

Albert Frank Toronto - Amsterdam Artist's Award Ann Arbor Film Festival Award (multiple) Black Maria Film Festival - Director's Citation Canada Council Grant, London Film Festival Canada Council Film Production Grant Ontario Arts Council Film Production Grant Ontario Arts Council Visual Arts Grant Parabola Arts Foundation Film Distribution Project

See also

Canada Life Building Crash 'n' Burn Diodes Punk film Stiv Bators Weather beacon

References and sources

Further reading Allan, Blaine. "Toronto: A Play of History," 1987 Allan, Blaine. "The Funnel," NFT, Kingston, 1981 Birnie. "Canadian Experimental Film in the 70's," 1978 Bruce, B. "Cinema of Transgression," Cine Action 5, 1986 “En Garde,” The Independent Eye, vol.10 #3, 1989 Ensom. "Toronto Festival Celebrates Super 8," 1977 Fleming. "Filming Buildings, Building Films," Parachute, 1981 Fleming. "Light at the End of the Funnel," Fuse, vol. 4, 1980 Gronau. "Magic, Witchcraft and Film", Parallelogram, 1982 Hall. "A Funnel for Talent," Cinema Canada, #52, 1979 Kelly, B. "Punk At The Movies," Graffiti #2, vol.#4, 1986 London Art Gallery. "Uncommon Language." London Art Gallery: London, 1984 MacDonald, Scott. “A Critical Cinema 3: Interviews With Independent Filmmakers,” University of California, 1998 Marchessault, Janine. “Film Scenes: Paris, New York, Toronto,” Public, Issue 22/23, York University Press, Toronto, 2003 Marras. "McLaren's Films," Art Communication #4, 1977 Mays, J. B. "Cache Du Cinema," Toronto Globe & Mail, 1985 McBride-Glassman. "The Displaced Narrator," 1985 National Gallery of Canada. "Filmmakers Series IV," National Gallery: Ottawa, 1980 O’Connor, Alan. “Local Scenes and Dangerous Crossroads: Punk and Theories of Cultural Hybridity,” Popular Music Vol. 21/2, Cambridge University Press, London: 225-36, 2002 Povere. "Moving Pictures In A Gallery," Ottawa Revue, Ottawa, 1980 Savage & Berlin. "McLaren at the Funnel," Hide, #3, 1983 Scott, Jay. "Movies Made Personal," Toronto Globe & Mail, 1979 Springer. "Creemedia," Creem vol. 10, #4, 1978 Wado. "Ontario Film Series," Cinema Parallele, 1980 Wlaschin, K. "Rock Movies in the 70's," British Film Institute: London, 1978

External links The Cooper Union Fordham University, New York, NY Millennium Film Workshop, New York, NY Porter, John. "A History of 8mm and Super 8 Film in Toronto." First published in Pop Off: The Regular 8 Faction, YYZ Artists' Outlet: Toronto, 1998. Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY