A Multi-Faceted Career
Manny Farber was an American painter, film critic, and writer. Born in Douglas, United States, he was also a journalist, university teacher, and artist. His professional life was marked by a diverse range of roles, including working as a painter and carpenter in San Francisco during the early 1930s. He later moved to Washington DC and eventually to New York City, where his journalistic career began as an art critic.
Farber held various positions in journalism, contributing to publications such as The New Republic, Time, The Nation, New Leader, Cavalier, and Artforum. He also contributed to Commentary, Film Culture, Film Comment, and City Magazine. In 1970, he joined the faculty of the department of visual arts at the University of California, San Diego, where he taught several courses, including "History of Film" and "Films in Social Context."
Artistic and Literary Contributions
As a painter, Farber's work was held in high regard, and he was described by The New York Times as the greatest still life painter of his generation. His painting was often influenced by his favorite filmmakers. In his later years, he focused on collages and drawings. His catalog includes the work Untitled from 1972, which is held in the Worcester Art Museum.
In the realm of film criticism, Farber is noted for his distinctive prose style, which he described as a struggle to remain faithful to the multisuggestive complication of a movie image. He is credited with coining the term "underground film" in 1957. His writing often utilized sports metaphors, particularly those related to baseball. He was a recipient of several honors, including:
