Film/Queer Studies

[Highlight handle: A meditation on the color spectrum by Britain’s most controversial filmmaker]

Praise for Derek Jarman:

“The clarity with which Derek Jarman offered up his life and the living of it, particularly since the epiphany—I can call it nothing less—of his illness was a genius stroke, not only of provocation, but of grace.” —Tilda Swinton

Praise for Chroma:

“Chroma, with its rich blend of the philosophical and the personal, the arcane and anecdotal, is a further reminder of Jarman’s artistic vision.” —The Times (London)

“Chroma is a book with ambitions to be a poem, a diary, an autobiography, a gay manifesto, a contribution to art history, a confession, and a color chart. . . . In Chroma, white is the color of the cliffs of Dover, as well as a young man’s sperm. . . . Red is the color of itchy blotches that AIDS sufferers want to scratch, the color of blood, stop signs, Mrs. Jarman’s lipstick. Blue, as we already know, is the color of the infinity that awaits the dying man.” —The Sunday Times (London)

[Author photo: mkt/author photos/J/Jarman, Derek.tif]

One of England’s foremost filmmakers, Derek Jarman (1942–1994) wrote and directed several feature films, including Sebastiane, Jubilee, Caravaggio, and Blue, as well as numerous short films and music videos. He was a stage designer, artist, writer, gardener, and an outspoken AIDS and queer rights activist in the UK and the United States. He is the author of Dancing Ledge, Kicking the Pricks, Modern Nature, At Your Own Risk, and Smiling in Slow Motion, all available from the University of Minnesota Press.

University of Minnesota Press
Printed in U.S.A.
Cover design by Percolator
Cover art: Derek Jarman, Landscape (detail). Copyright The Estate of Derek Jarman. Photograph by K. Collins.