mommartzfilm 1964-2020

The work of the experimental filmmaker Lutz Mommartz (*1934) has been shaking up the art and film community for more than 50 years. Ever since he embarked on his career as an artist in the 1960s, Mommartz has been thinking out of the box. Rejecting the clichés of the movie industry, he aimed to bring about a radical new beginning of film – with a focus on aesthetic and social goals. In 1967, he soared to the top of the German avantgarde as a self-taught filmmaker after his surprising success at the renowned experimental film festival in Knokke, Belgium. Not only was he one of the founding members of the legendary Creamcheese bar populated by artists, but he also participated in influential festivals and exhibitions such as the documenta 4 (1968). From this time onward, he belonged to the circle of filmmakers who pressed ahead with “the other cinema” against the mainstream film industry and promoted alternative distribution systems.

In 1975, Mommartz became the first professor of film at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf and headed the film class until 1999. During a career spanning more than 50 years, Mommartz produced an impressive body of short and experimental films, feature films, and documentary recordings of Düsseldorf’s art scene. The two-volume publication provides an introduction into his diverse oeuvre and highlights thematic and associative connections between his films.

Text in English and German.

Published to accompany an exhibition at Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, between 21 November 2020 and 7 February 2021.