About
Benita Raphan is a designer, an art director, a photo-illustrator and a filmmaker. She has worked in London, Paris and in New York City. Raphan received her MA(RCA) from the Royal College of Art in London and her BFA from the School of Visual Arts. Previously Benita taught graduate thesis students at New York University, the Center for Advanced Digital Applications. She is currently a faculty member at the School of Visual Arts.
Filmography
- Man and Idiot / (2010)
- Great Genius and Profound Stupidity / Helen Keller / Paul Erdös (2008)
- The Critical Path / R. Buckminster Fuller (2004)
- 2+2 / John Forbes Nash, Jr. (2002)
- Absence Stronger Than Presence / Edwin Land (2000)
- Within / Without (1989)
- The Immediate Subject (1986)
Museum Collections
- The Ruben/Bentsen Film and Video Study Center / The Walker Art Center / MINNEAPOLIS
- The Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum / The Smithsonian Institute / NEW YORK CITY
Museum Screenings
- The Museum of Modern Art / NEW YORK CITY
- The Walker Art Center / MINNEAPOLIS
- The National Gallery / WASHINGTON, DC
- The National Portrait Gallery / LONDON
- The Institute of Contemporary Art / LONDON
- The Kennedy Center / WASHINGTON, DC
- The Tate Modern / LONDON
Fellowships
- The Sundance Independent Producer’s Conference / PARK CITY
- The MacDowell Colony / Residencies for Film/Video Arts / NEW HAMPSHIRE
Library Collections
- The British Artists Film & Video Study Collection / LONDON
- The MacDowell Colony / NEW HAMPSHIRE
- Harvard University Library / CAMBRIDGE
- New York University Library / NEW YORK CITY
- Stanford University Library / SAN FRANCISCO
- The University of Virginia / CHARLOTTESVILLE
Selected Lectures
- Thinking Creatively Conference / The New Jersey Art Director’s Club / NEW JERSEY
- AIGA / Small Talks / selected by AIGA President, Carin Goldberg / NEW YORK
- The Art Director’s Club of New York / Saturday High School Program / NEW YORK
- The School of Visual Arts / selected by Richard Wilde, Chair, Advertising and Graphic Design / NEW YORK
BENITA RAPHAN FILMMAKER / Documentary Film Subject
- Indie/Nation / The Independent Film Channel / CANADA
Film Retrospectives
- The Royal College of Art / selected by Dan Fern / LONDON
- Santiago Festival Internacional de Cine / selected by Jorge Tacla / SANTIAGO
- The Walker Art Center / selected by Sheryl Mousley / MINNEAPOLIS
- The Hamptons Film Festival / selected by Rajendra Roy / THE HAMPTONS
Network Prestentations
- HBO / USA & SELECTED TERRITORIES
- Channel Four Television / THE UNITED KINGDOM
- The Sundance Channel / USA & SELECTED TERRITORIES
- PBS / USA
Selected Film Festivals
- The Sundance Film Festival
- The Tribeca Film Festival
- The Telluride Film Festival
- The London Film Festival
- The Silverdocs Film Festival
- Imagine Science Film Festival
Selected Book Citations
- Michael O’Prey / Benita Raphan / Digital Artist / The British Avant-Garde Film (1926-1995) / 2003
- Steven Heller & Gail Anderson / The Designers Guide to Astounding Photoshop Effects / 2004
- Steven Heller / On Becoming a Graphic Designer / Vol. 1 / 2000
- Ellen Lupton / Mixing Messages: Graphic Design in Contemporary Culture / 1996
Selected Articles
- Shoot Magazine / New Director's Showcase / 2008
- DesignNet Magazine (Korea) / Benita Raphan: Creator / 2005
- Res Magazine / Hollis Willis / Traces of Genius / 2004
- New York Newsday (Jimmy Breslin) / Short Film is Long on talent / 2002
- Realscreen / The Short’s Story / 2002
- Millimeter / Experimenting on Nash / 2002
- Res Magazine (Hollis Willis) / Another Genius Short / 2002
- Real Screen / The Shorts Story / 2002
- Creativity Magazine / Extracurricular Activities / Art’s Eternal Flame / 2000
- The New York Times / Habitats/Benita Raphan / 1999
- FilmMaker Magazine (Hollis Willis) / Benita Raphan’s Ambivalence 1997
- Moviemaker Magazine / Beauty in a Small Package / 1996
- Creativity Magazine / Directors/Polar Opposites/Benita Raphan / 1995
- Photographies Magazine / Révélations / 1992
- Filmmaker Magazine / 25 New Faces of Indie Film/Benita Raphan / 1991
- BAT Magazine / Benita Raphan/Graphiste Entre Paris et New York / 1994
- Création Magazine / Benita Raphan: La Liberty de Créer / 1988
- Shots Magazine / New Directors: Benita Raphan / 1990
- Creative Review / Portrait of Instant Fame / 1989
- Création Magazine / L’Aniversaire Manqué / 1988
- Création Magazine / Benita Raphan: Art Director / 1988
- BAT Magazine / Benita Raphan/Art Director / 1987
- Creative Review / The Quiet American / 1987
- Direction Magazine / RCA Dream Film pulls in Arts Council Award 1987
- The Independent / Fast Forward into Film / 1986
- Blueprint Magazine / Recent Graduates from the Royal College of Art 1986
Awards and Showcases
- The Art Director’s Club / Carin Goldberg: Grand Master / 2008
Benita Raphan’s Films included in an Exhibition of Work by 10 Former Carin Goldberg Students -
Shoot Magazine / shootonline.com / 2008
2008 / New Directors Showcase - The Broadcast Design Awards (BDA) / 2005
‘The Critical Path’ / Bronze Medal for ‘Experimental Film and Video’ - Creativity Magazine’s No Spot Short Film Festival / 2004
‘The Critical Path’ is selected as part of a showcase of the Best Directorial Talent and Creativity in filmmaking - The Santa Cruz Film Festival / 2002
Gold Medal in the ‘I Film Category’ - The Broadcast Design Awards (BDA) / 2000
Gold Medal in the ‘International Animation’ Category - The Art Director’s Club / Young Guns / 1990
Exhibition of New Work by Emerging New Talent - The Art Director’s Club / 1990
Gold Medal in the ‘International Animation’ Category - Comission for an Animated Film, Commissioning Editor, Clare Kitson / 1987
Channel Four Television / UK - Le Club Des Directeurs Artistiques / Paris / 1987
Gold Medal for ‘Editorial Design’ - Animate! Commission for Animated Film / 1987
Channel 4 Television, UK / The Arts Council of England - Bursary for a Student Film, Panel Chaired by David Curtis, Senior Officer 1986
The Arts Council of England / UK - Royal College of Art / Landor Associates / UK / 1985
Scholarship for a Final Year Graduate Student - The School of Visual Arts / 1984
Gold Medal for Excellence / Graphic Design Senior Thesis Portfolio
Other Professional Affiliations
- Member / The Art Director’s Club
- Member / SIGGRAPH
- Member / The Type Director’s Club
- Member / AIGA
What the Critics are Saying
“Benita Raphan is an iconoclast and a unique visionary. Her films are smart, gorgeous and like no other work out there.”
Carin Goldberg, Designer / AGI Member / President of the AIGA NY (2007–2009)
“Some things are worth the wait.....Rather than attempting to make anything resembling a traditional biography, Raphan, instead lifts ideas and aesthetic from her work as a print designer/illustrator to craft short films that layer images, drawings and fragments of text, creating portraits that employ metaphor and suggestion rather than a litany of facts and a chronological account.
Excerpted from Res Magazine article, “Traces of Genius”
Holly Willis, Director of Academic Programs / Institute for Multimedia Literacy /
University of Southern California
“They Were The Future”, Benita Raphan’s ongoing experimental series about science visionaries produced for The Sundance Channel, is both innovative and intriguing. This attests to Raphan’s great passion for exploration, and for pushing the boundaries into the realm of genius in terms of artistic expression.
Richard Wilde, Chair / Advertising and Graphic Design Department / The School of Visual Arts
“Benita Raphan’s films stand out as the work of a very creative single artist, an artist going cinematic places others haven’t.”
Bo Smith / Katherine Stone White Head of the Film and Video and the Head of Concerts / Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
“Benita Raphan is a filmmaker with an unusual view of the world. Her ability to go deep into the creative mind and help her audience to understand intuitive ideas without literal explanations is an art form in and of itself.”
John C. Jay / Partner and Executive Creative Director / Wieden + Kennedy