Derek Jarman’s Visionary Arts

Exploring Land and Depth

Michael Charlesworth (University of Texas at Austin, USA)

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English

Bloomsbury Academic
11 December 2025

Individual film directors, film-makers; Philosophy; Analytical & Jungian psychology

Derek Jarman's place in the history of film is assured by virtue of his vibrant, defiant films that experiment with the very process of film-making and create new forms. His paintings, their excitements and their profundity, are less well known.

Michael Charlesworth sheds light on the varied ramifications of Jarman's artistic practice from his years at Prospect Cottage, Dungeness, and provides the first book-length study of his interest in depth psychology. He draws on Jarman's paintings, especially his landscapes from the 1960s and 70s, his multiple series such as 'black' and 'broken glass', GBH, Queer and Evil Queen, and his last Ecstatic Landscapes (1991-3). He also showcases Jarman's excellence as a writer with respect to his memoir, Kicking the Pricks. In a novel approach to Jarman's cinema, selecting films such as Journey to Avebury (1973), Caravaggio (1986), The Garden (1990) and Blue (1993), Charlesworth emphasizes themes and artistry rather than narrative.

Exploring the ways in which Jungian and post-Jungian psychology were absorbed into Jarman's varied works, Derek Jarman’s Visionary Arts provides a fresh perspective on his painting, film and writing. It celebrates him as one of the major British artists of the late 20th century, engaging with current debates about queer sexualities, environmentalism and climate catastrophe.

By: Michael Charlesworth (University of Texas at Austin USA)
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9781350385764
ISBN 10: 135038576X
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 11 December 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Michael Charlesworth is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Texas at Austin, USA.

Reviews for Derek Jarman’s Visionary Arts: Exploring Land and Depth

Among the great strengths of Michael Charlesworth’s richly detailed and strikingly original study is the illuminating manner in which it weaves together discussion of Derek Jarman’s cinema, painting, writing, landscape design, activism and other arts, exploring to great effect how each is so intimately linked with the others. * John Wyver, Professor of the Arts on Screen, University of Westminster, UK * A sensitive and far-reaching analysis of the multiple practices that sustained Derek Jarman’s extraordinary career. Michael Charlesworth brings to life not just the work but the contexts that inspired and shaped Jarman’s work. An engrossing read which deftly combines the insights of history, art history and philosophy. * Philippa Levine, Global Professorial Fellow, Queen Mary University of London, UK * Compassionate and insightful … Derek Jarman's Visionary Arts illuminates many facets of this brilliant artist. -- Nancy Campbell * Times Literary Supplement *