Adolfas Mekas Photo: China Jorrin ’86
At the time of his death, the indefatigable Mekas was working on a new film, about the martyred philosopher and astronomer Giordano Bruno, who was burned as a heretic by the Inquisition in 1600. As the New York Times reported in its obituary, “Mr. Mekas described Bruno as ‘the first beatnik’ and called the film, with typical cheek, Burn, Bruno, Burn.” A retrospective of Mekas’s films takes place at the Anthology Film Archives in New York City from October 20 through 27; in late November, another tribute will be held at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Bangalore, India. In addition to his wife, Pola, and his brother and erstwhile collaborator, Jonas, Adolfas Mekas is survived by a son, Sean, and another brother, Costas. To that list, he and Pola would no doubt also include the many former students who constitute a large, loving, extended family, one whose ties have only deepened over time.
“he was the kind of teacher, mentor, and comrade who would push you off the ledge, then jump with you, with a mirthful giggle.” One more memory, as recorded by Syd Johnson in her film column for Alm@nac, an arts weekly published in Kingston, New York: “I remember a rainy winter night at Bard. I walked to the Chapel of the Holy Innocents—where Mozart’s gorgeous Requiem was to be performed—wearing a fedora, as I did in those days. Adolfas was there, already seated. I approached him, removed my hat, and a brimful of rainwater spilled right into his lap. He laughed and laughed, because it was the kind of thing that only happened in movies, and that made it good. That was Adolfas: high art, slapstick humor, laughing all the way.” —Mikhail Horowitz
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