After making his first avant-garde works in 1972, James Benning soon began producing longer experimental films. Between 1978 and 1985, he made several projections and installations. From 1977 to 1980, he taught at the Universities of California and Oklahoma. Since the late 1980s, he has lived in Val Verde, near Los Angeles. He teaches at the California Institute of the Arts, where, through his works, he continues to greatly influence new generations of artists. A particularly important aspect of his work is his engagement with the American landscape. Using fixed, long takes, Benning's films often study nature and man's encroachment on the world.