The Biography

Joyce Wieland (1931-1998) was an experimental filmmaker and artist, whose work challenged and bridged boundaries among avant garde film factions of her time. Her works introduced a kind of manual manipulation of the filmstrip that inscribed an explicitly female craft tradition into her films, while also playing with the facticity of photographed images. Wieland's output was small, but received considerable attention in comparison to other female avant garde filmmakers of her time. As both a gallery artist and a filmmaker, Wieland was able to crossover between those realms and garner attention and support in both. In 1963 Wieland and Snow moved to New York where they lived for ten years. She attracted critical recognition of her work but eventually moved back to Toronto. Wieland later divorced Snow and kept a low profile until her death in 1998 from Alzheimer's disease. She was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1982.