Ben Van Meter
Biography
Ben Van Meter began making films and light shows in the mid-1960s in San Francisco and soon became a leading figure in Bay Area-underground filmmaking. His films, especially S.F. Trips Festival, An Opening (1966) and the epic Acid Mantra or Rebirth of a Nation (1968), are compelling attempts to visually and sonically inscribe psychedelia, as experience and philosophy, in the medium of film. Van Meter’s films were unavailable for many years, but their ongoing restoration by the Academy Film Archive and their inclusion in the de Young Museum’s 2017 exhibition, The Summer of Love Experience: Art, Fashion, and Rock ‘n’ Roll, has gained them a new audience.
Personal Details
Also Known As
Movies (28)
Magick Lantern Cycle
Camera Operator (Camera)
2019
Army of Lovers or Revolt of the Perverts
Cinematography (Crew)
1979
The Saga of Macrame Park
Director (Directing)
1974
Set Your Chickens Free!
Director (Directing)
1974
Homegrown
Director (Directing)
1971
Krishna's March to the Sea
Director (Directing)
1971
Interrogation
Director (Directing)
1970
Boc Ging
Director (Directing)
1970
Naked Zodiac
Director (Directing)
1969
Invocation of My Demon Brother
Camera Operator (Camera)
1969
Vivid Color 3D Nude Models
Director (Directing)
1969
Steve Miller Blues Band
Director (Directing)
1968
Garden of Proserpine
Director (Directing)
1968
Acid Mantra
Director (Directing)
1968
Apropos of San Francisco
1968
Make Love Not War
Director (Directing)
1967
He's Here Now
1967
For Life, Against the War
Director (Directing)
1967
Me & Bruce & Art
as Himself (voice)
1967
BE
Director (Directing)
1967
Nico
Director (Directing)
1967
S.F. Trips Festival: An Opening
Director (Directing)
1966
Acid Camp
Director (Directing)
1966
Up Tight, L.A. Is Burning... Shit!
Director (Directing)
1965
Some Don't
Director (Directing)
1965
Bolex Peyote Bardo
Director (Directing)
1965
Colorfilm
Director (Directing)
1965
The Poon-Tang Trilogy
Director (Directing)
1964