liebman sharits

Upload: barnabyd

Post on 07-Aug-2018

234 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

  • 8/20/2019 Liebman Sharits

    1/14

    Paul

    shar i t s

    by

    stuart l i ebman

  • 8/20/2019 Liebman Sharits

    2/14

      ul shar i t s

     y stuart l i ebm n

    Fourteenth

    i n

      s e r i e s o f

    monogr phs wri tt en f or

    t he

    s e r i e s Fi l mmakers

    F i l m n g

    co sponsored

     y

    F i lm

    I n  he

      i t i e s

     nd

    Wal ker

      r t

    Center

     

  • 8/20/2019 Liebman Sharits

    3/14

    Paul

    shar i t s

    Moret han t en

    year s

    have

    passed si nce Paul

    Shari ts

    neat l y

    t ranscri bed

    three

    short

    secti onf r o mW tt genstei n s Remarks

    on t h e Fo undat i o ns

    of

    Mathemati cs i n t o

    t he

    hecti c

    assemblage

    of

    not es f or hi s f i l m S

    tream S: S : ect i on: S : e c-

    t i onSS

    : ecti oned

    165

    What then-does

    i t

    j u s t

    t w i s t

    andturn abo ut w t h i n

    t hese rul es?- I t f or ms

    ever

    new

    r u l e s

     

    s al ways

    bui l di ng

    new

    road

    f or

    t r a f f i c

     

    by ext endi ng

    t he

    net wor k of

    t he o l d

    ones

      166 But

    t hen

    doesn t i t

    need

    a

    sancti on

    f or

    t h i s ?

    Can

    i t

    ext end t he

    net wor k

    a r b i t r a r i l y ? We l l

    coul d

    say   a

    mathemati ci an

      s al ways i nvent i ng

    new

    f or ms

    of

    descri pti ons

    Some,

    st i mul ated by practi cal need

    o t h e r s f r o m

    aestheti c

    needs, -and

    yet others

    i n

    a

    var i ety o f

    ways   And here i magi ne a

    l andscape

    gar dener

    desi gni ng paths

    f or

    t he

    l ayout

    of

    a

    garden i t

    may wel l

    be

    t hat he draws themon a

    drawngboardmer el y

    as

    or nament al

    s t r i p s w thout

    t he s l i g h t e s t thought

    of

    someone s

    wal ki ng

    on

    them

     

    167

    The

    mathemati ci an  s an i n ve nt o r not adi scoverer

    These

    quotat i ons present ed w thout comment, establ i sh

    a

    spaceof tr anqui l

    specul ati on

    amd

    thecorroded

    punni ng

    proser ecount i ng S h a r i t s random hought s andmyr i ad anx-

    i e t i e s

      Despi t e

    t h ei r

    i s o l a t i o n however

    t hey

    ar e drawn i n t o

    t he

    dynamc

    of an

    evol vi ng

    drama

    whose

    theme

    i s

    fam l i ar

    even

    i

    t s t er ms

    and   t s

    sett i ng

    ar e newAn a r t i s t str uggl es

    t o

    establ i sh

    hi s voi ce   an h i s t o r i c a l l andscapedef i ned byt he

    powerf ul

    r epresent ati ves of anadmredtradi t i on 

    Al t hough

    t he

    dramahas been

    reenactedcount l ess

    t i mes i n thewor k

    and

    i nt i mate thoughts

    of strong

    creati ve

    a r t i s t s

    t he i nt e r e s t

    andpoi gnancy

    of S ha r i t s str uggl e i s dim ni shed nei t her

    by

    t he exi st ence

    of pr ecedent s

    nor

    by

    hi s

    i n a b i l i t y

    t o

    f ormul ate

    t he

    themee x p l i c i t l y

    Thesequotati ons were omt ted

    from

    thenotes f or thef i l mpubl i shed i n

     Fi l mCulture

    65-66

    Theori gi nal

    notes

    are

    i n

    the

    f i l e

    of

    Anthol ogy

    Fi l m

    Archi ves,  ew

    ork C ty

     age

     

  • 8/20/2019 Liebman Sharits

    4/14

    u~u

    t

    - 11116 A

     I

    i l uNk I

    I

    I G

    MA

    ya

    r

    W

     

    At

    t he r o o t

    of

    t he

    drama l i e s what

    t he

    l i t e r a r y

    c r i t i c

    Harol d

    Bl oomc a l l

      t he anxi et y

    of i nf l uence, theacute sense of

    bel at ednessan a r t i s t

    experi ences whenconf ront i ng t he

    b r i l -

    l i a n t l y

    creat i veachi evemnts of a

    v i t a l a r t i s t i c tr adi t i on

     

    The

    a r t i s t

    struggl es to

    establ i sh grounds f or hi s own

    di f f erence

    so

    t hat

    he

    can

    pur sue

    creat i ve

    wor k

    w thout t heoppressi ve

    f ear

    t h a t , i n

    TS

    E l i ot s words, everything that can

    bedone

    has

    been

    done

      3

    I n

    d i f f e r e n t conf i gurat i ons, t he

    anims and

    purpose

    of t h i s

    anxi ety i s woven i n t o t he

    f abr i c of

    S ha r i t s

    t e x t s I t s

    presence

    canbe sensed i n t he W tt genstein quot a-

    t i ons

    f or t hey i mpl i c i t l y proposea pol emc, l e s s agai nst t he

    mast erwor ks

    of

    t he

    avant- gar de

    f i l m t r a d i t i o n thanagai nst

    the categori es f r omwhich

    t hey

    drew

    t h e i r

    str engt h   i coni c

    i mager y,

    narrati ve, t he

    r epr esentat i on

    of

    t he s e l f

    For

    several

    years, t he f i r s t of

    h i s ar t i s t i c

    maturi t y, mdelsder i ved f r omt he

    di scour ses

    of musi c ( ser i al i sm andart c r i t i c i s m ( Gr eenber-

    gi an mderni sm sust ai ned S ha r i t s i n h i s attemt

    t o d i s -

    tance himsel f f r om t hese

    categori es

      Now i n

    t he

    years

    between 1968and

    1970,

    a  pi votal l y tr ansit i onal mmnt

    of   per sonal

    and

    aesthet i c

    t ransval uati ons i n h i s career,

    S h a r i t s

    neededanevenmre

    abst r act

    and

    ri gorous

    mdel

    f or

    t he

    pure ci nema of

    uni quel y

    ci nemati c

    mat eri al s, pro-

    cesses

    and

    i deas

    he

    aspi redt o creat e  

    Encouraged

    by t he

    examl e of

    Wt t genstei n s

    mat hemat i ci an,

    Sh ar i t s i n t en s i -

    f i ed hi s

    search

    f or

    a

    set

    of

    pri me

    ci nemati c si gns

    as abst ract

    and

    s e l f - r e f e r ent i a l as numbers

    whi ch

    coul d

    be

    r ef ashi oned

    andrecombinedby

    procedur es

    model l ed

    af t er

    t hearbi t rary

    f ormal protocol s

    of mathemati cal specul ati on  From

    hese

    premses,

    Shari t s

    generated

    t he

    radi cal l y

    d i s t i l l e d

    space

    and

    t i me

    of

    mast erwor ks di sti ngui shed f or

    t h e i r f ormal

    el egance

    andby t he

    new

    hori zons of t heoreti cal specul ati on t hey

    open

    S h a r i t s

    i s one

    of themst

    si gni f i cant

    a r t i s t s

    of agener at i on

    of

    Amri can

    f i l mmaker s

    who

    came

    t o

    ci nema i n t he

    1960s

    whentwo

    decades of i ndependent

    e f f o r t s hadf i n a l l y

    est ab-

    l i shed

    t he

    i dea

    of

    atradi t i onof avant gardef i l mmaki ng  

    The

    earl y

    1960s

    was a peri od

    of astoundi ng and unprecend

    Scratch

    not ati ons

    f or

    S

    : t ream

    S : S

    : e c t i o n

    : S

    :ecti on

    : S : S

    : ect i oned

    ( 1968-

    2 Harol d

    Bl oom

      The Anxi et y

    of

    I nfl uence NewYork

    Oxf ord

    Un i v e r s i t y

    71)

    P r e s s ,

    1973)

     

    Fo r amrecompl ete

    consi derat i on

    of t he

    h i s t o r i c a l

    o r i g i n s

    of

    t h i s

    a n xi e t y , see

     J ackson

    Bat e,

     The Burden of

    t he

    Past and

    t he

    E n g l i s h Poet New

    York   Nort on,

    1972)

    3

    T

    S

    E l i o t

    What

    i s

    a

    Classi c7

    OnPoetry

    and

    Poet s NewYork   Noon-

    Page 2

    day,

    1961), p

    58

    Page

    3

  • 8/20/2019 Liebman Sharits

    5/14

    ented

    growt h

    f or

    t he

    avant-garde

    f i l m

    movemnt

    i n t he

    Uni t ed

    States

     

    Deren

    had

    di ed i n

    1961, and Si dney Peterson

    andJ amsBroughton

    hadstoppedmaki ngf i l ms

    f or

    vari ous

    personal

    or economc

    reasons Another earl y exponent

    of

    t he t r a di t i on , Kenneth Anger,

    however ,

    broke a decade-

    l ong si l ence and began

    to make

    f i l ms i n t he

    Uni ted

    States

    agai n

    Robert Breer

    also

    returned f r omEur ope   Mar kopol ous,

    Brakhage, and Harry Smth

    created

    t h ei r l ongest andmost

    ambi t i ous

    f i l ms

      There were

    al so

    i mpor t ant

    new

    debut s by

    J ackSmth, Ken J acobs, J onas

    Mekas , and

    Andy

    Warhol   The

    strong f i l mmakers

    of

    S h a r i t s

    generati on-

    Fr ampt on,

    Lan-

     ow

    and Snow and somwhat l a t er ,

    Noren,

    Sonbert , and

    Gehr-cam

    to maturi t y

    i n

    f u l l ,

    and

    conspi cuousl y

    uneasy

    awareness

    of these

    di verse

    and

    i mpressi ve

    achi evemnts

     

    Born

    i n

    1943,

    S h a r i t s encountered

    t he

    wor k of ea r l i er

    avant-

    garde

    f i l mmakers at

    l east

    as early

    as 1962whenhefounded

    t he

    Denver

    Experi mental F i l m Soci ety whi l e s t i l l a

    st udent of

    pai nti ng

    at t he Un i v er s i t y

    of

    Denver

    Un t i l

    1965, he

    made

    f i l ms

    that echoed

    al ready

    establ i shed

    t hemat i c and

    f ormal i d i -

    om The

    rawbl ack

    and

    whi t e

    sol i ps i smandthe t emporal

    dynamcs respecti vel y

    characteri sti c

    of

      trance

    and

      l y r i -

    cal f i l ms

    seem to have

    presi ded over hi s attemt t o

    recreate personal f eel i ngs, s t r e s s moods, anxi ety-

    experi ences

    of

    bl eakness ,

    non- l i near, t emporal

    suspensi on,

    l o s s

    of

     obj ecti ve

    mnd

    set (grey, grainy, cl aust rophobi c-

    hi ghl y f i l m c , a bl ack and whi t e

    l andscape

    4

    I

    wri te

     seem

    because

    these f i lm-amongthemEvent ,

    Wnter

    course, and

    I l l umnat i on

    Acci dent - no

    l onger e x i s t

     

    W th

    a

    si ngl e

    excepti on,

    S h a r i t s

    destroyed

    al l

    of them

    n

    1966

      i n

    a rage

    of

    non- narrati ve

    commttmnt

    .

    S ha r i t s

    destr ucti ve   rage

    di d not r e s ul t s o l e l y f roman

    uncontrol l abl e

    emot i onal

    i mpul se,

    and

    i t

    was not di rected

    onl y

    agai nst narrati ve

    as

     s t r u c t u r a l pri nci pl e i n

    f i l ms

     

    I t was

    equal l y provoked by consi derabl e r e f l e c t i o n

    about

    f i l m

    as

    an

    aest heti c

    mdi umand hi s

    obj ecti ons

    extended

    to

    t he

    enti re range of ci nemati c

    di scourse

    Even

    t he

    avant-garde

    was not

    exemted f romhi s

    c r i t i c i s m

    Af ter

    several years

    of

      experi ments w th

    f i l m

    i n

    1965,

    di scovered that  Ci nemat i c was an   expressi on

    mani ngmore than   creati ve edi t i ng i . e   space-

    4

     

    Paul S h a r i t s ,  Movie Cookbook,

      ( 1966),

      Fi l m

    Cult ure 65-66 (Wnter

    1978

    :109

    Page4

    t i me mani pul at i on and/ or i magi st i c- metaphori c

    i nvent i veness)

    or

      s e ns i t i v e camra control i

    . e  

    expressi ve

    camra

    movemnt ,

    f ramng,

    composi -

    ti onal t o n a l i t y ,

    et al ) because

    i n

    each

    of

    these

    i nst ances,  Ci nemat i c mant   ci nemati c treat-

    mnt

    of

    a

    non-f i l mc

      subj ect .

    So , i began

    to l ook

    t o

    t he

    actual materi al s- processes

    of mymdi um i n t he

    most basi c- obvi ous

    modal i ti es,

    f or

      subj ect mat t er

    and f or appropri ate overal l s t r u c t u r a l pri nci pl es

    .

    The

    theoreti cal

    i ssues at stake i n t hese remarks are

    l e s s

    consi derabl e, but

    i t i s t he

    manner i n whi chShari ts

    def i nes

    himel f w t h

    respect

    to

    t he

    avant-garde

    f i l m

    tradi ti on

    that

    I

    want to

    consi der

    f i r s t

     

    Hi s t one

    i s

    curi ousl y

    aggressi ve

     

    Shari ts

    wri tes

    as

    i f

    e ar l i er

    vanguard

    f i l mmakers

    fa i led

    to

    grasp the

    true

    nature

    of

    the ci nemati c

    whi ch

    he poses as a

    condi -

    t i o n

    of

    any c l a i m

    to

    aestheti c

    seri ousness The   creati ve

    edi ti ng and

    i nnovati ve

    camramovemntwhi chprovi ded

    t he f oundati ons

    of

    f ormal l y

    advanced

    f i l m practi ce i n t he

    Uni ted

    States

    f romt he 1940s t hrough t hemd- 1960s ( that i s ,

    f romt he

    earl y

    wor k

    of

    MayaDerent hrough

    Stan Brakhage s

    l y r i c a l

    andmthopoei c f i l ms ) ar e

    characteri zed merel y

    as

    so

    many

      t r eatment s

    of

    i nappropri ate

    subj ects

      The e f f o r t s by

    many

    f i l mmakers- preem nentl y

    Deren,

    Markopol ous,

    and

    Brakhage-to ground t h ei r

    ci nemati c

    pract i ce

    i n

    theori es

    def i ni ng

    t he str ategi es and

    structural pri nci pl es

    they

    bel i eved

    uni que to

    t he

    mdi um

    are not

    mnti oned

    Hi s readi ng-or

    r a t h e r ,

    msr eadi ng- of avant-garde

    f i l m

    h i s t o r y

    i s

    so caval i er

    and

    u n f a i r ,

    i n

    f a c t ,

    as

    to

    suggest

    t he

    exi st ence of som underl yi ng

    anims

    T h i s

    anims

    has

    recentl y

    been

    gi ven

    a

    name

     

    i t

    i s t he   anxi ety

    of

    i nf l uence,

    and i t s

    defensi veaims

    to establ i sh

    f or

    S h a r i t s a

    space

    apart

    f rom

    t he tradi ti on i n

    whi ch

    hi s

    own

    o r i g i n a l i t y

    can f l o u r i s h

    T hi s anxi ety i s present evenwhen

    Shari ts

    ost ensi bl y

    prai ses

    t heachi evemnts

    of

    e ar l i er f i l mmakers  

    Consi der

    hi s assess-

    mnts

    of t he f i l ms

    of

    BrakhageandWarhol , F i r s t

    presented

    publ i c l y i n 1970 i n

    hi s

    i mport ant l ecture  Wor ds

    Per

    Page ,

    S h a r i t s

    commnts

    r e f l ec t

    concerns

    whi ch he has

    been

    grappl i ng

    w th

    s i nce 1965  

    Stan

    Brakhage s mass i ve

    work

    i s t oo expansi ve i n i t s

    5

    Shari ts,

      -UR( i )N(ul) LS

    :TREAMS

    : SECTION

    S

    : SECTI ON

    S : S:ECTIONED A)-

    ( l y s i s ) J O  1968- 1970, F i lm Cult ure

    65-66(Wnter 1978 : 13

    Page

    5

  • 8/20/2019 Liebman Sharits

    6/14

    i mpl i cat i ons

    andri chness t o discuss

    here

    except t o

    menti ont hat

    hi s

    use

    of

    t he cameraas abehavi or al

    extensi on, hi s

    f o r c e f u l

    modul ati on of di sj uncti ve,

      di str act i ve mst akes ( b l u r s , s p l i c e s ,

    f l a r e s ,

    f rame

    l i n e s ,

    f l a sh f r ames) and

    hi s

    decomposi t i on-

    reconsti tuti on of   subj ects

    i n e di t i n g,

    because of

    t h e i r c i nemat i cal l y s e l f - r e f e r e n t i a l qual i t i es

    (they

    reveal

    t h e s ys t emby

    whi ch

    they ar e made), bri ng

    ci nema up

    t o

    date w t h t he other advanced a r t s  

    And, i n

    another

    manner, AndyWar hol hasdemon-

    strated i n hi s ear l ywor k

    that pro l ongat i ons

    of

    subj ect

    ( r edundant ,  nonmoti on pi ctures), because

    they

    def l ec t at t ent i on

    f i n a l l y

    t o

    t he

    mater i al

    process

    of

    recordi ng- pro j ect i ng

    ( t o

    t he

    successi on

    of f i l m

    f r ames,

    and

    byway

    of

    consci ousness

    of

    f i l m

    grain,

    scratches, and

    d i r t

    p ar t i c l e s , t o t he sense of t he

    f l o w

    of

    t he

    cel l ul oi d s t r i p ) ,

    i t

    i s

    perhaps

    as

    reveal i ng

    of

    t he

      nature

    of ci nema as i s

    consi st ent

    i nterr upti on of

      normat i ve ci nemati c f unct i ons

     

    Emphasi s i n

    o r i g i n al

    . °

    Despi te the

    apparant

    generosi t y

    and l audat ory

    tone

    of

    t h i s

    t r i b u t e , t he t ex t i mpl i c i t l y ar gues that Brakhage

    and

    War hol di d not pur s ue t he i mpl i cati ons

    of

    t h e i r i nnovati ons

    ei ther far

    enough

    or

    w t h s uf f i c i e nt r i g or   T he i r s el f - r e f e r en t i a l

    gestures

    and

    tautol ogi cal

    decl arati ons

    of

    f i l m c materi al s

    were

    a begi nni ng,

    but

    onl y

    a

    begi nni ng

      I t i s as i f they

    proceededcor rect l y

    up

    t o

    a

    cert ai n

    point, but then swerved

    awaywhen

    they

    shoul d

    have

    moved

    preci sel y

    i n

    the

    di rec-

    t i on

    that Sh ar i t s aspi res

    t o

    move.

    Thr ough t h i s

    spect acul ar

    act

    of mspri si on, al l

    f i l ms ,

    even those

    of

    admredprecursors,

    become

    ant i c i pat i ons

    of

    t he ci nema S h a r i t s hi msel f w i l l

    make  Hi s

    f i l ms ,

    hi s t ex t s br oadl y

    h i n t ,

    w i l l

    be cruc ia l l y d i f f e r -

    ent

    because

    they

    w i l l bet he f i r s t toexpl o i t the

    mater i al sand

    processes of t he medi umcorrectl y   Hi s w i l l

    be compl etel y

    andauthent i cal l y

    ci nemati c

     

    t he

    f i r s t

    f i l ms

    .

    I n

    1965,

    as Shari ts became i ncreasi ngl y

    d i s s a t i s f i e d w t h

    6

     

    S h a r i t s ,  Wor ds Per Page, . F i l m

    Cul tur e

    65-66 (Wnter

    1978)

    : 34 S h a r i t s

    readi ng of

    thei rwork s t r i k e s

    m

    as extr aordi nari l y reducti ve,

    s t i l l anot her

    s i g n that acreati ve mspr i s ion i s at work

    Page6

    Harol d Bl oomhascal l ed

    t h i s

    t ype

    of

    m sread ing

     cl i namen

    . pci t  

    p

    14

    t he

    f i l ms

    of

    e a r l i e r f i l m

    a r t i s t s

    as

    wel l

    as

    w t h

    hi s

    own, he

    became

    aware of apart i cul ar concept i on of

    t he

    purpose

    andval ue of modern v i s ua l a r t

    whose f oremost exponent

    was t he

    a r t c r i t i c , Clement

    Greenberg

    I n hi s a r t i c l e ,  Moder-

    n i s t Pai nt i ng,

    whi ch

    he

    publ i shed

    i n

    1965,

    Greenbergd e f i n i -

    t i v e l y f ormul ated the

    fundamental

    premse

    of hi s

    i n f l u e n t i a l

    theory

    of

    modern sm Each a r t , he

    wr ote,

    had t o

    dete rm ne th rough

    t he operat i ons pecul i ar

    t o

    i t s e l f

    t he

    effects pecul i ar and

    excl usi ve

    t o i t s l

    By

    doi ng t h i s , each ar t

    woul d,

    t obe

    s u r e ,

    narrow i t s area

    of

    competence,

    but

    at

    thesamet i me i t woul dmake

    i t s

    possessi on of

    t h i s

    area

    al l

    t he

    more

    secure

      I t

    qui ckl y emerged t hat t he uni que

    and

    proper

    area

    of

    competence

    of each ar t coi nc i ded

    w t h

    al l

    that

    was uni que t o

    t he

    nature

    of

    i t s

    medi um

    The task

    of

    s e l f - c r i t i c i s m became

    t o

    el i mnat e

    f r om

    t he

    ef fects of

    eacha r t any

    and

    every

    effect

    t hat mght

    concei va-

    bl y

    beborrowedf r om

    or

    by t he med umof anyother

    a r t

    Thereby

    each

    ar twoul d

    berendered

      pure,

    and

    i n i t s   p ur i t y f i n d t he

    guarantee of

    i t s

    st andards

    of

    qual i ty

    as w el l as

    of

    i t s i ndependence   P u r i t y

    meant s e l f - d e f i n i t i o n , and t he enterpr i se

    of

    s e l f -

    c r i t i c i s m i n t he a r t s became one

    of

    s e l f - d e f i n i t i o n

    w t h

    avengeance °

    Because

    of Gr eenberg s

    i nf l uence

    i n

    cert ai n

     advanced

    c r i t i c al c i r c l e s, t he quest

    f or

    puri ty

    was

    i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d

    as

    the

    f o rce ani mati ng

    modern

    a r t s h i s t o r y , and

    s e l f - d e f i n i t i o n

    became

    t he

    central

    standard

    of

    val ue

    agai nst

    whi ch

    con-

    t emporar y

    aesthet i c

    achi evement

    hadt o

    be

    measured

    8

     

    My purpose

    i n consi deri ng

    the

    anxi ety

    of

    i nf l uenceat

    such l ength

    i s

    nei ther

    t o

    di sparage

    t he me r i t s o f

    hi s theoreti cal cl aims,

    nor

    t od im ni sh

    t he extraordi nary

    beauty

    of

    hi s

    f i l ms

      I thi nk i t i s

    also cl ear that

    S h a r i t s

    f ound much i n Brakhage s and

    Wrhol s

    f i l ms

    that i nfl uenced

    hi m

    n

    the conventi onal sense

    weuse

    t he

    t e rm T h ei r exampl econf i rmed the

    p o s s i b i l i t y

    of a

    f ormal vocabul ary based

    on ci nemati c mater i als   I

    suppose t oo that S h a r i t s mus t be bel i eved

    whenhe

    emphasi zes

    that

    he

    di scovered the

    anti mony

    of

    s t a s i s and

    mot i on

    so central

    i n hi s

    mature wor k i n t he opposi ti on of s i ngl e f rameand

    f l ow ng

    s t r i p he

    bel i eves

    t o beembod ed

    i n Wrhol s

    l ong-t ake s t y l e  I

    want onl y

    t o

    suggest

    some

    of t he

    hi ddenexchanges,

    of ten

    as

    perverse

    as

    they

    ar e

    d i s c i p l i n e d ,

    that

    under l i e

    t he

    h i s t o r i c a l

    devel opments

    i n

    amature ar t

    f o rm

    9

     

    C ement

    Gr eenber g,

     Moderni st

    P a i n t i n g ,

    repr i nted i n   The NewA r t ,

    ed Gr egory Battcock  New

    York

    : Dutt on, 1966 ) , p 102

    Page 7

  • 8/20/2019 Liebman Sharits

    7/14

    Anal yti cal

    Studi es  

    Unframed Li nes  1971-76 Fi nal

    image

    Page

    8

     O  : H   : N G  1968

    Epi sodi c Generati on   1, 976

    Page

     

  • 8/20/2019 Liebman Sharits

    8/14

    Greenberg s

    theory

    of moderni st art i n t e n s i f i e d

    S h a r i t s d i s -

    af fect i on

    w th

    thewor ks he model l ed

    a f t e r

    t hose

    of

    other

    f i l mmakers andencouragedhi m o

    def i ne t he ci nemati c

    as a

    ki nd

    of

    cat egori cal aesthet i c i mperat i ve  

    Work on hi s

    f i l ms , 

    Ray

    Gun

    V i r u s ,

     

    WordMove,

    Razor Bl ades,

    and

    Peace

    Mandal a/EndWar ,

     

    compl emented

    by ext ensi ve

    research

    i n

    t he

    phenomenol ogy of ci nemat i c

    perc ept i on,

    enabled

    hi m

    o f ormul at e

    a

    programmati c st at ement f or

    the

    Fourth I nternati onal

    Exper i ment al

    F i l m F es t i v a l at

    Knokke- Le- Zoute i n

    1967

    I wi sh

    t o

    abandon

    imta t ion and i l l u s i o n

    andent er

    d i r ec t l y i n t o

    the

    hi gher

    drama

    of

     

    c el l u l o i d ,

    two

    di mensi onal

    s t r i p s , i ndi vi dual

    rect angul ar f r ames

    ;

    t he

    nature

    of

    sprocket s

    and emul si on proj ect or

    operat i ons, the

    three di mensi onal r e f l ec t i v e screen

    surf ace t he r e t i na l

    screen

    ;

    opti c ner ve andi n d i v i d -

    ual

    psycho-physi cal s u b j e c t i v i t i e s

    of

    consci ousness 

    I n t h i s

    ci nemat i c

    drama,

    l i g h t i s

    ener gy

    rather

    than a

    t o o l

    f or t he

    represent at i on

    of non- f i l mc obj ect s;

    l i g h t

    as

    energy i s

    r el eased t o c rea t e

    i t s

    own

    obj ect s,

    shapesandtextures   Gventhe

    fact

    of r e t i n al i n er t i a

    andthef l i c k e r i n g shutter

    mechanism

    f

    f i l m proj ec-

    t i o n ,

    one  y

    gener at e

    v i r t u a l

    form,

    create actual

    mot i on (rather than i l l u s t r a t e i t , bui l d

    actual

    col or-

    space

    (rather

    than

    pi cture

    i t , andbe

    i nvol ved i n

    actual

    t i me

     i mmd ate

    presence)

     

    1 0

    Shari ts

    f ormul at ed

    t h i s

    l uc i d

    program

    oestabl i sh

    t he

    l i m t s

    and t o i sol ate

    the uni que

    expressi ve potent i al

    of

    hi s

    medi um

    L i k e t he moderni st pai nt ers

    who

    expl ore t he can

    vas

    surf ace

    and

    shape i n the

    bel i ef

    that t hese

    parameters

    consti tute t he

    essent i al

    t erms

    of

    pai nt i ng s di scourse,

    S ha r i t s

    proposes

    t o

    use as thepri mevehi cl es of hi s

    aesthet i cs

    state-

    mnts

    onl y the

    per ceptual processes and

    f ormal

    el ements

    whi ch

    consti tute ci nema

    Hi s

    f i l ms ,

    theref ore, expl oi t t he

    dynamcs

    of

    r e t i n al r esponse

    t o

    modulated

    l i g h t

    andc ol o r ,

    andt hey el evate the

    normal l y

    i n v i s i b l e

    materi al s of

    f i l m

    sprocket

    h o l e s , t he

    f l a t

    screen, t he i ndi vi dual

    f r ames, et c

    .

    i n t o the

    pri nci pal

    obj ect s

    of v i s i o n   Devel opedand

    refi ned

    w t h

    astoni shi ng

    resol uteness and i nvent i veness, t h i s

    pro-

    10 S h a r i t s ,

      Not es on

    Fi l ms/ 1966- 1968

    . F i l m

    Cul t ure 47

     Summer

    1969) : 13

     

    Page

    1 0

    f

    gram nf orms

    al l thework

    S h a r i t s has produced

    duri ng

    the

    l a s t f i f t e e n years  

    Decl arati veMode,

     

    a t wo-proj ect or, si ngl e- screen

      f l i c k er

    f i l m i l l us t r at es

    t he

    r emar kabl e conti nui ty of S ha r i t s

    concerns

     

    Commssi oned f or

    the Bi cent enni al

    Year s cel e

    brat i on

    of

    Amri canval ues, Decl arati ve

    Mode

    extendst he

    expl orati ons

    of

      t he

    f act of

    r e t i n al i n er t i a andt he f l i c k e r i n g

    shutter

    mechani sm

    of

    f i l m

    proj ect i on ,

    whi ch

    S ha r i t s had

    begun nearl y adecade

    bef ore i n

    such

    works as Peace

    Manda

    l a/ End War

    and

    T: O U

    : C

    : H

      I : N

    : G The

      f l i c k er effect

    f or whi chthese

    f i l ms ar e

    named

    i s an i n t r i n s i c but o r d i n a r i l y

    unnoti ced

    f eature

    of

    t he phenomenol ogy

    of

    f i l m

    vi ewi ng

     

    Fi l ms

    c rea te the

    i l l u s i o n

    of

    obj ect s

    mving

    on

    screen by

    proj ecti ng a

    rapi dl y

    pul si ng

    ( f l i c k e r i n g ) beam

    of

    l i g h t

    t hrough

    as e r i e s

    of

    s t i l l f r ames

    that

    ar e

    transported

    i n t er m t -

    tentl y

    past

    t he

    l i g h t source

    . Each

    fram

    cont ai ns

    a

    phase

    of an

    act i on

    ( ei ther

    photographed

    or

    an mated)andt hese

    phases

    must be coordi nat ed ( f o r

    exampl e,

    t hey must be

    consecut i vel y ordered) so t h a t , whenproj ect ed, t hey f use

    i n t o

    the

    per ci eved i mageof

    an

    obj ect movi ngcont i nuousl y

    t hrough

    astabl e

    sett i ng

    .

    I n hi s f l i c k e r f i l ms , Sharit s di srupts

    t h i s

    process  

    He

    repl aces

    the consecut i ve phases

    of

    act i on

    w t h s o l i d l y

    col ored or

    bl ack or whi te f rames   The

    ef f ect

    i s

    l i t e r a l l y

    dazzl i ng  

    The

    viewer sees of ten

    vi ol ent bursts

    of l i g h t whose color

    and

    i n t e n s i t y ar e

    f unct i ons

    of

    t he

    speed at

    which t he

    col ored

    f r ames and t he

    complementary col ors of

    spont aneousl y

    i nduced

    af t eri mageschange The

    osci l l at ing col ors

    not onl y

    f oreground

    t he

    pul si ng

    l i g h t

    beam

    t hey

    a lso

    r e f l ex i v el y

    remnd t he vi ewer

    of

    the

    physi cal

    l i m t s

    of

    the

    f ram

    and

    of

    t he surf ace on whi ch

    f i l ms are proj ec ted   When

    col ors

    change

    s l o wl y ,

    a

    f l a t , undi f f erent i ated f i e l d f i l l s t he enti re

    i mage

    As the

    speedi ncreases,

    however , randomshapes

    appear

    that seem

    ei ther to

    s i nk i n t o an

    i l l u s o r y depthor t o

    11 The l e ns must also be properl y f ocused  Fo r mre

    detai l ed

    discussi ons

    of these

    i s s u e s ,

    seeJ oseph

    and

    Barbara

    Anderson, Moti on

    Percepti on

    i n

    Moti on

    P i c t u r e s , and

    B i l l

    N chol s andSusan J Lederman F l i c k e r

    and

    Moti on

    i n F i l m i n  The

    Ci nemat i c Apparatus

     

    eds Teresa de

    L a ur e t i s

    andStephenHeath  New

    York  

    St

    Ma r t i n s

    P r e s s ,

    1980), pp

    76-95 and

    pp

    96- 105

    respecti vel y

     

    12   The

    perc epti on

    of

    camra

    movement

    has beendi scussed by Davi d

    Bordwel l ,

     Camra

    Movement and

    Ci nemat i c Space,

    Ci ne-Tract s 2

     Summr

    1977 19- 25  

    Page

    11

  • 8/20/2019 Liebman Sharits

    9/14

    proj ect i n t o the

    audi t ori umspace

     dynamc, purel y

    o p t i -

    cal

    space, s h i f t i n g

    between

    two and three

    di mensi ons,

    whi ch

    i s

    characteri sti c

    of

    our percept i on of the

    space

    i n

    al l

    f i l ms ,

    i s

    created

      3

    I n

     

    Decl ar at i veMode Shari ts exagger at es al l t hese

    effects by super i mposi ng

    one

    f l i c k e r

    f i l m

    w t hi n

    t he

    f rame

    of

    another   The

    col or

    changes cause

    the

    spati al rel ati onshi ps

    of the

    two

    f i e l d s

    t o

    vary dramat i cal l y

      Wen

    t he

    col or

    of

    t he

    i nner f i e l d

    abrupt l y matches

    t hat

    of

    t he

    f ramng f i e l d , f or

    exampl e,

    i t radi ates rapi dl y

    t o the l i m t s of

    t he

    out er

    screen

     

    At ot her

    t i mes, the

    sequence i s rever sed as theouter r ect an-

    gl e col l apses i n t o t he smal l er

    f rame

    Cont r ast i ng

    col ors

    on

    t he

    i nner and

    oute r screen

    al so

    create

    t he

    i l l u s i o n

    of

    a

    t r uncat ed pyramd

    bul gi ng

    f orwar d

    or

    backward As the

    speedi ncreases,

    f i l m i mageandscreen surf acef use

    into

    the

    i l l u s i o n of

    a t aut

    membranefl exi ngi n arhythmt hat

    suggests

    a hear t

    beat i ng

    exci tedl y

    Sha r i t s or i g i na l l y pl anned a

    soundtr ack t o

    accompany

    Decl ar at i ve

    Mode  computer was

    t o

    havebeenused

    t o

    const r uct

    vari at i ons

    and j uxt aposi ti ons

    of

    phonemes

    and

    t hen mor phemes

    f r om

    aspoken t e x t

    of

    the   Decl arat i on

    of

    I ndependence

     

    Event ual l y

    t he enti re unmodi f i ed

    t e x t

    woul dhavebeenheard The

    f i l m

    i s now

    di stri butedwi t hout a

    soundtr ack,

    andany

    e x p l i c i t relati onshi p to J ef f erson sdec-

    l arati on

    i s

    no

    l onger apparent

    W

    see

    onl y

    a

    vi sual structure

    whi ch,

    accordi ng

    t o

    S h a r i t s , gr adual l y

    moves

    f r oma measuredpoi se

    t owards an

    ecstati c

    l e ve l

    of

    col or- l i ght

    pul sati on

     ending

    i n

    mcro-osci l l at i ons

    around

    5 cycl es per

    second, whi ch

    i s at

    once

    t he

    pr i mary f ade-wave cyc l e possi bl e i n

    soundspeed

    16mm

    f i l m

    and

    i s al so

    a rhythm

    associ at ed wi th

    cert ai n neuron

    pul ses

    dur i ng expansi ve,

    i n s p i r a -

    t i onal states of

    consci ousness)

    .

    Even the rhythmc

    structure

    al one,

    however ,

    sustai ns

    S h a r i t s

    13

     

    The

    psychol ogi st Hugo Munsterberg was the f i r s t f i l m

    theori st

    I am

    aware of

    whocharacteri zed

    the

    percepti on

    of ci nemati c

    i mages i n

    t h i s

    manner The F i l m 

    Psychol ogi cal Study

    ( 1916,

    repri nt

    edi t i on

    New

    York Dover , 1970),

    pp

    18-24

    14 Sharit s,

    unpubl i shed

    proposal

    f or Bi centenni al

    F i l m

    Proj ect,

    1976, c i t ed

    i n notes f or a screeni ng

    at

    the

     useumf A r t , Carnegi e I nst i t ute on

    September

    20,

    1977

    Page

    1

    2

    pur pose

    i n maki ng

    Decl arati ve

    Mode

    t o

    cel ebrate the

    grandscal e

    of

    sent i ment i nscri bed i n J ef f erson s ri ngi ngdec-

    l arati on of human

    l i b e r t y

     

    I n

    hi s

    1967

    st atement,

    S h a r i t s emphati cal l y re j ected

    any

      imtat ion andi l l u s i o n o f

    r e a l i t y

    i n ci nema Hedi dnot mean

    t o

    excl ude

    represent at i onal

    i mages

    e nt i r e l y , however , and,

    i n

    f a c t ,

    such i mageshave

    often

    played i mpor t ant

    r o l e s

    i n

    hi s

    f i l ms

     

    I n

    PeaceMandal a/End

    War ,

    f or

    exampl e,

    si ngl e-f r ame

    shots

    of

    a

    coupl e

    maki ng l ove mot i vat e

    t he

    gradual s h i f t s i n

    the f l i c ker i ng

    col or patt erns surr oundi ng

    them

    S : TREAMS : SECTI ON

    S : ECTI ON S : S : ECTI ONED used

    superi mposed

    i mages

    of a st ream

    f l owi ng over

    rocks

    as

    an

    echo of

    t he

    metaphor

    of

    f i l m

    as

    a

      stream

    dammd

    by

    spl i ces

    he pr oposes

     

    As t hese

    exampl e

    suggest , S h a r i t s has

    al ways i n s i s t e d t hat

    represent at i onal i magery

    be

    tr ansl ated

    into

    t he opt i cal t er ms

    andstructural

    modes

    of

    hi s

    medi um

    and the

    ef f ect of

    t h i s tr ansl ati on

    has been t o subvert any

    i l l u s i o n

    of

    r e a l i t y the

    i mages

    mght

    suggest

     

    Af t er

    a

    hi atus of

    nearl y si x years,

    represent at i onal

    i mages

    reappeared i n S h a r i t s wor k i n t he twover si ons of Epi l ept i c

    Sei zure

    Compari son and

    i n

    T a i l s , bot h compl eted n 1976

    Onl y three mnut es l ong,

    T a i l s

    i s

    S h a r i t s s h o r t e s t , but

    one

    of

    hi s most , beaut i f ul wor ks  

    T h i s

    decepti vel y

    si mpl e f i l m i s

    di vi ded i n t o ei ght secti ons

     

    I n

    each, an

    i coni c i mage

    appears, The

    second,

    f i f t h

    and

    seventh

    secti ons present

    i mages of peopl e (r especti vely

    a

    nude

    woman a

    womn n

    a f eather boa,

    and

    a

    chi l d)  

    The i d e n t i t i e s

    of

    t he other sub-

    j ects

    ar e

    l e s s

    c l e a r , but

     

    di scern consecut i vel y a bl urr ed

    i mage

    of

    a

    green

    f i e l d ,

    a

    rephotographed

    f i l m

    s t r i p

    a

    noc-

    t urnal f i r e

    ashot

    t hrough

    t he w ndow

    of

    amovi ng

    t r a i n ,

    and,

    f i n a l l y , anot her

    f i l m s t r i p

     

    16

    Thef i l m al l ows

    j u s t

    enought i me

    f or

    these

    i mages t o

    bedeci phered before t hey

    ar e

    swept

    away

    i n a f l a r e

    of

    l i g h t as t he f i l m

    seem

    t o

    r un of f t he proj ector

    l eaving t he screen f i l l e d wi th pur e whi t e

    l i g h t

     

    15

     

    There i s o f t en

    aw degap

    between the

    accessib l e

    meani ng

    of

    Sharit s

    f i l m andthe pr ivate

    si gnif i cance

    they appear to

    have

    f or

    hi m

    For

    exampl e

    hi s

    di ari es and

    notes

    f or

      Decl arati ve

    Mode

    suggest that the

    col o r f l i ckers

    of

    i ndi vidual secti ons represent

    hi sexperi enceonpart i cu-

    l ar days i n

    Hydra

    and Mont i ce l l o  

    16

     

    Most

    of

    Sharit s

    mor e

    i nti mate

    texts -h i s j ournals,

    di aries, andl e t te r s -

    suggest t hat each subj ect

    represented

    i n the f i l m s i mages-nature

    j ourneys,

    chil dren,

    women

    burni ng,

    and s t r i p s

    of

    f i l m

    running

    across

    the

    screen- are

    obsessi ve sources of wonder

    f or

    hi m

    Page 13

  • 8/20/2019 Liebman Sharits

    10/14

    T a i l s

     1976

    Page

    14

    The punni ng t i t l e provocat i vel y sugges ts that these

    i mages, i cons

    of

    an i ndef i ni te

    past

    t i me,

    m yr epr esent

    the

    phases

    of

    anarrati ve,

    al bei t

    a

    hi ghl y

    e l l i p t i c a l

    one

     

    Shari ts

    i nvokes

    t h i s p o s s i b i l i t y

    however ,

    t o open

    a sophi sti cat ed

    pol emcabout

    thei ncompati bi l i ty

    of

    narrati vet i me andan

    authenti cal l y

    ci nemati c

    t emporal i t y   I n order

    t o

    construct

    the   real t i me of anarrati ve i n f i l m i ndi vidual i magesmust

    be f ocused t owards   tota l i z ing

    t empor al

    hor i zon that

    establi shes

    t h e i r si gni f i cance

    as

    a

    moment

    of an

    ordered

    sequence

    of

    event s

     

    The   t ai l consti tutes

    t he

    t a l e

    so

    t o

    speak

    T a i l s i r o n i c a l l y parodi es

    thesei deas Ther e f l e x i v e mar ker s

    of

      r e e l

    t i me,

    t he

    gl ori ousl y

    l umnous

    f l a r e s

    termnat i ng a

    r e e l

    of

    exposed

    f i l m

    compose t he pri mary

    structure of

    the

    f i l m

     

    They erupt i n t o t he r e a l

    t i me of

    t he

    si ngl e

    l ong t akes i n

    eachsecti on

    t o

    corrupt t he

    i l l u s o r y

    presence

    of

    t hedepi cted

    subj ects,

    and

    to set

    upapl ay

    between

    the

    pasti ness of

    the

    i mageandtheemphati c

    presence of i t s ci nemati c

    i n s c r i p -

    t ion

    The

    b r i l l i a n t l y

      t screen that

    f oll ows

    each f l a r e creates a

    gapbetween

    i mages t hat

    ef f ecti vel y

    i n h i b i t s any i nf erence

    of

    a causal

    networ k

    uni t i ng

    them

    Depr i ved of an or i ent i ng

    t empor al i t y,

    each

    i magemust beread

    as

    a

    sel f - contai ned

    monadt o

    beexper i enced i n i t s   u l l

    t empor al

    i ndeterm nate-

    ness

    u n t i l   t bursts

    i n t o

    l umnous cl i max   S h a r i t s underscores

    h i s

    pol emcal

    poi nt by concl udi ng

    T a i l s w t h

    awi t t y

    rhyme

    As t he

    l a s t rephotographed

    i magebegi ns

    t o

    f l a r e

    o u t

    t he

    f i l m

    recordi ng

    t h i s

    i mageal so

    f l a r e s

    o u t

    superi mposi ng

    yet

    anot her l ayer of

    t i me onto t hose

    i nscri bed

    wth i n

    t he

    f i l m

    Both

    t he

    si ngl e-screen

    and

    f our- screen versi ons of

    E p i -

    sod i c

    Generat i on

    engage t he topi c

    of i mageryandtem

    p o r a l i t y i n ci nema,

    al t hough

    at an even

    hi gher l e v e l

    of

    abs t ract i on Both

    wor ks ar e composed

    of

    t he

    same f our

    secti ons

     

    Thesect i ons ar e

    approxi matel y

    ei ght

    mnutes l ong,

    andeach presents an o r i g i n a l speci men f l i c k e r f i l m sub-

    j ec ted

    t o

    successi vest ages

    of r ephot ography

    I n secti on  A

    a central

    band

    of col ored

    f r ames   s f l anked by a row

    of

    sprocket hol es on one

    s ide

    andby themodul ated

    bl ack

    and

    whi t e

    contours

    of

    anopti cal sound

    track

    on

    theother

     

    scr atched l i n e

    runs across

    thecol or f r ames  

    I n

    Secti on

      B

    two

    new

    r ows

    of

    sprocket

    hol es

    ar e

    added

    at

    theedges

    of

    17

     

    t m ybe

    possibl e t o

    readt hesei magesasa

    raref i ed

    representati on

    of

    events

    i n

    Shari ts

    l i f e as he

    di scusses

    i t i n   Postscri pt As

    Preface

    . .

    F i l m

    Cult ure 65-66 (Wnter 1978) : 2 - 3  

    Page15

  • 8/20/2019 Liebman Sharits

    11/14

    t he f ramand

    t he r emai ni ng

    el ements

    appear

    somewhat

    condensedt oward

    t he cent er

    of

    t he

    imge

    Af resh scratch

      s cut

    i n t o the surf ace

    of

    thenewimge Secti on  C con-

    t i nues t h i s process,

    but other

    ki nds of changes

    resul ti ng f r om

    t he

    rephotography

    are i ntr oduced  

    The

    r e d ,

    black, and

    greencol ors appear mre

    somber , andthej aggededgesof

    t he soundt rack and scratch

    marks

    become

    smoother

      By

    the l a s t secti on,

      D, t he

    imge

    hasbecomeadense,

    unst a-

    bl e conf i gurati on of bl urr i ng sprocket h o l e s , yel l ow s t r i p e s ,

    and

    bands of synt heti c col ors

      At cert ai n speeds, event he

    l i near

    ori entati on of theel ements di si nt egrates

    as mment-

    a r i l y precepti bl e r e gul a r i t i e s

    i n di recti on,

    c ol o r , or shape

    create

    new

    v i s u al

    pat t erns

     

    The

    soundt r ack

    i s

    subj ect ed t o a s e r i e s

    of

    t r ansf ormati ons

    analogous

    to

    t hose

    of

    t he

    v i s u al track di dacti c

    t e x t

    d i s -

    cussi ng the

    product i on

    of

    sound

    t hrough

    anopti cal

    sound

    system i s i n i t i a l l y

    heard T h i s

    t e x t

      s

    progressivel y

    condensed

    by

    a

    comput er , andby

    t he

    t h i r d

    condensat i on, onl y

    random

    words

    can

    s t l l bei denti f i ed   By t he f ourt h st age, thet e x t   s so

    accel erat ed

    t hat   t s meani ngdi ssol ves i n t o

    a rhythmcal l y

    undul ati ng

    aura of

    sound

    Al t hough t hey usethesame

    el ement s, t he

    exper i ence of

    the two versi ons of

    Epi sodi c

    Generati on

    i s

    ast oni shi ngl y

    di f f e r ent  

    I n

    t he

    si ngl e-screen

    v er s i o n, t he sect i ons are

    pres-

    entedconsecut i vel y   T h i s order i ng est abl i shesani nexorabl e,

    l ogi cal

    mvement

    toward

    some

    f uture mment

    when

    the

    imgew i l l

    be

    so congested

    that t he i n i t a l

    conf i gurati on of

    e emnts-indeed

    t he

    el ements

    t hemsel ves- w l l

    no l onger

    be

    i denti f i abl e

     

    Wen t he

    f o u r

    sect i ons

    are

    set s ide

    by

    si de

    and

    present ed

    si mul t aneousl y

    i n endl essl y repeated

    cycl es,

    as they

    are

    i n the f our- screen   l ocati onal v er s i o n,

    t he

    pro-

    gressi ve

    t empor al

    t h r u s t

    of

    t he si ngl e- screen versi on i s l os t  

    Occasi onal l y, when t he al i gnment s, speed, and

    di recti ons

    of mving el ement s moment ari l y match,

    t he screens

    f use

    i n t o

    a

    uni ty

    andt he

    enti re wal l seem

    t o

    l ead t heeyef r om

    t he past

    toward

    t he

    f uture

    as

    the

    composi t i onal

    el ement s

    mvef r om l e f t

    t o

    r i g h t  

    Abr upt

    decel erati ons

    or evenmnor

    s h i f t s i n p o s i t i o n , however , suf f i ce t o suspend t h i s total i z i ng

    18   Other changes i n present ati onal format i nclude the rotati on

    of

    the

    imges ninety

    degrees

    to

    the l e f t sothatthe

    sprocket hol es appear at

    the

    top

    and

    bottom

    rat her than

    at the

    ri ght nd ef t si des

    of the

    f ram

    The

      l ocati onal versi on

    of

     Episodi c

    Generati on s also proj ected

    by

    projectors

    stand ngw t h i n the

    space

    of thework One sexperienceof

    the

    work   s

    f ar

    mre

    coml ex

    than

    m

    brief descri pt i on

    cansuggest

    Page16

    mvement

      As

    the

    separat e i d e n t i t y

    of thei ndi vi dual

    screens

    i s

    reaf f i rmed,

    t he i mpressi on

    of

    a

    uni f yi ng t empor al vector

    i s

    shattered i n t o t he exper i ence of f o u r i ncompat i bl e

    t empor -

    a l i t i e s

    t hat

    are

    si mul t aneousl y present  

    Permeatedby

    t he di rge-l i ke buzz

    of the

    soundt racks, t he

    room

    s

    a

    s i t e

    of

    dynamc

    a c t i v i t y i n which

    rhymng

    and

    di ssonant

    patterns, mvements and count er - movements,

    consti tute, di ssol ve and reconsti tute an i n f i n i t e var i ety of

    si gni f i cant conf i gurati ons   The

    v o l a t i l e permutat i ons

    of ci ne-

    mati c si gns

    create a

    spaceof

    pure potent i al t hat uncanni l y

    r e c a l l s

    t he

    dramati c arena

    Paul

    Val ery

    imgined as t he

    spaceof

    consci ousness

    i t s l f Wth i n

    t he

    mnd, he w r i t e s ,

    adram

    t akes

    pl aceDram,

    adventure,

    agi t at i on,

    any wor ds of the s o r t can be

    used

    provi ded

    t hat

    several of themare used

    together,

    so t hat

    one

    i s

    corrected

    by anot her

     

    The actors

    i n t he

    dram

    are

    mental

    i mages,

    and

    i t i s

    easy tounder st andthat,

    i f we

    el i mnate

    the

    part i cul ar

    f eatures

    of

    t he imges

    and

    consi der onl y

    t h e i r

    successi on,

    f r equency,

    peri o-

    d i c i t y ,

    varyi ng

    capaci t y f or associ at i on,

    and f i n a l l y

    t h e i r

    durati on, we

    are

    soon temted t o

    f i n d

    anal o-

    gi es i n

    the

    so- cal l ed materi al

    worl d,

    t o comare

    themw t h

    s c i e n t i f i c anal yses, to

    postul ate

    an

    e n v i r -

    onment , t oendowthem  r s t w t h conti nui ty, vel oci -

    t i e s , propert i es

    of

    di spl acement , t hen w t hmssand

    energy

    Thereuponwemyreal i ze t hat mny

    such

    sys t ems

    are

    possi bl e, t hat anyone i n part i cul ar

    i s

    wort h

    nomre

    than

    anot her

     

    19

    That such an abstract work generated

    by

    quasi -

    mthemti cal pr ocedures i n s i s t s on bei ngread

    as

    a

    mta-

    phor

    f or

    t hemnd

    reveals thepower of

    t he

    avant- garde

    f i l m

    tr adi ti on

      S h a r i t s

    attempt

    t o

    evade

    t he

    burdenof   t s

    i mpr es-

    s i v e

    accoml i shmnts

    by i nventi ng

    new

    ormal

    codes

    and

    str ategi es

    h a s , i r o n i c a l l y , mde

    hi mi nto

    oneof

    t hat

    t r a d i -

    t i o n s cent ral

    f i gures  

    19

     

    Paul Val ery I ntroducti on

    t o

    theMethod

    of

    Leonardodo

    Vinci ,

    Leo-

    nard Poe Mal l arme, tr ansl ated

    by

    Malcolm

    CoweyandJ ames R

    Lawer  Pri nceton Boll i ngen, 1972

    pp

    10- 11

    Page

    1 7

  • 8/20/2019 Liebman Sharits

    12/14

    paul s h a r i t s f i l mogr aphy*

    SEARS

    CATALOGUE

    (b w 2-screen performance

    work,

    1964)

    RAYGUNVI RUS

    ( 1966) 14

    mnutes, c ol o r , sound

    WORDMOVI E/ FLUXFI LM 29 ( 1966) 3

     

    4 mnutes,

    c o l o r ,

    sound

    PI ECEMANDALA/ END

    W R

    1966) 5

    mnut es,

    c ol o r ,

    s i l e n t

    RAZOR BLADES

    ( 2-scr een,

    1965- 68) 25

    mnutes,

    b/w

    c ol o r , stereo

    sound

    NO

    T

    : H

     

    : N

    : G ( 1968) 36

    mnutes,

    c ol o r ,

    sound

    T,O U C,H, I , N,G ( 1968) 12 mnutes, c ol o r ,

    sound

    S: TREAM   : ECTI ON  : ECTI ON: S : S: ECTI ONED ( 1968- 71) 42

    mnutes, c ol o r , sound

    I NFERENTI AL

    CURRENT( 1971) 8m nut es,

    c o l o r ,

    sound

    AXIOMATIC

    GRANULARI TY ( 1973) 20

    mnutes,

    c o l o r ,

    sound

    ANALYTI CAL

    STUD ES

     

    COLOR

    FRAME

    PASSAGES ( 1973-

    74) 29mnutes, c ol o r ,

    s i l e n t , 16

    f ps

     OLOR

    SOUND

    FRAMES ( 1974)

    26

     /2 mnutes,

    c o l o r ,

    sound

    APPARENT

    MOTI ON( 1975) 30

    mnutes,

    c ol o r ,

    s i l e n t ,

    pro-

    j ect s i l e n t speed onl y

    ANALYTI CALSTUD ES I THE FILM

    FRAME ( 1972- 76)

    25

    m n-

    u t e s ,

    c ol o r ,

    s i l e n t

    DECLARATI VE

    MODE

    (2- screen

    proj ecti on,

    1976-77)

    40

    mnutes,

    c ol o r ,

    sound

    ANALYTI CAL STUD ES   UNFRAMED LI NES ( 1971- 76) 25

    mnutes,

    c ol o r ,

    s i l e n t

    ANALYTI CALSTUD ES I V ( 1973- 76)

    EPI SODI C

    GENERATI ON

    (si ngl e-screen v er s i o n,

    1976) 30

    mnutes, c ol o r , sound

    EPI LEPTI C SEI ZURE

    COMPARI SON

    (si ngl e-screen v er s i o n,

    1976)

    30

    mnutes,

    c ol o r , sound

    TAI LS ( 1976)

    3

    mnutes,

    c o l o r , s i l e n t

    TI RGUJ I U (2-screen performancewor k, 1976)

    SOUNDSTRI P/FI LMSTRI P (2-screen

    performance

    v er s i o n,

    1972- 81)

    F I V E MEXI CAN

    PYRAMDS (work i n progress)

    PASSAGES (work i n progress)

    POSON

    (work i n progress)

    Page 1

    8

    l ocati onal f i l mpi eces

    SOUND

    STRI P/FI LM

    STRI P

    ( 1971)

    SYNCHRONOUSOUNDTRACKS

    ( 1973- 74)

    VERTI CAL CONTIGU TY ( 1974)

    DAMAGED

    FILM

    LOOP

    ( 1973- 74)

    THE

    FORGETTING

    OF

    I NTENTI ON NDMPRESSI ONS

    ( 1974)

    SHUTTER I NTERFACE ( 1975)

    DREAMDSPLACEMENT( 1975- 76)

    EPI LEPTI C SEI ZURE

    COMPARI SON( 1976)

    EPI SODI C GENERATI ON( 1979)

    *The

    most

    ext ensi ve

    f i l mogr aphy

    of

    Paul

    Shari t s

    appears

    i n   F i l m

    Cul t ur e

    65- 66 (Wnter 1978)   115- 124

    paul s h a r i t s

    sel ect ed bi bl i ogr aphy*

    ar t i c les by

    paul shar i ts

     Red,

    Bl ue

    Godar d, F i l m Quart erl y (Summer 1966)  

    Movi e Cookbook, F i l m Cul t ure 65/6 (Wnter 1978)

     Not es

    on

    F i l ms , F i l m Cul t ure

    47

    (Summer 1969)

      Bl ank

    Defl ect i ons  

    Gol den Ci nema,

    F i lm Cul t ur e

    48/ 49 (W nter/ Spri ng 1970)  

    Wor ds Per Page,

    ( 1970)

      Af t er i mage 4 (Autumn

    1972)  

    Epi l epti c Sei zure

    Compar i son, Ni agara

    Magazi ne

    (Summer

    1976)

     

    A

    Ci nemat i cs Model

    f or F i lm

    St udi es

    i n

    Hi gher Educa-

    t i o n , Quart erl y Revi ew of Fi l mSt udi es : 4 (November

    1976)  

    - Ur( i )N(ul) LS

    : DREAM

      : ECTI ON: S : ECTI ON: S

    : SEC-

    TI ON : S : S: ECTI ONED (A)- ( l ys i s ) J O

    : 1968- 70

      , Fi l m

    Cul t ur e

    65- 66 (Wnter 1978)  

    Postscri pt

    as

    Pref ace,

    ( 1973)

     Fi l m

    Cul t ure 65-66(W n-

    t er

    1978)

     

    Exhi bi t i on/ Frozen

    Frames, ( 1974)

     Fi lm

    Cul t ur e

    65- 66

    (Wnter 1978)  

    Hear i ng: Seei ng,

    ( 1975)

      F i l m Cul t ure 65- 66 (Wnter

    1978)

     

    Page

    19

  • 8/20/2019 Liebman Sharits

    13/14

     C nema as

    Cogni ti on,

    1975)

     Fi l m Cul t ur e

    65-66

    (Wnter

    1978)

     

    Statement Regarding

    Mul ti pl e Screen/Sound  Loca-

    t i onal F i l m

    Envi ronment s- I nst al l ati ons, 1976)  Fi l m

    Cul -

    ture 65-66

    (Wnter 1978)

     

    hi hay yeh f o l k s , step

    on

     

    transverse  yr

    present

    posi ti on, F i l m

    Cul t ur e 65-66

    (Wnter

    1978)  

    Comedy i n Abstract

    A r t , (f orthcomng)

     

    i ntervi ew wi t h

    paul

    shari ts

      Paul Shari ts/ Li nda Cathcart ,

    i n

     Paul Shari ts   Deam

    Dspl acement and

    Other Proj ects . Buf f al o   Al bri ght-

    Knox

    Gall ery,

    1976

    n

    . p

    arti cl es

    about

    paul

    shari ts

    Cornwel l ,

    Regina  Paul

    Shari ts

      I l l u s i o n

    andObj ect Art-

    forum

     Septemer

    1971)  

    56-62

    Krauss,

    Rosal i nd

     

    Paul Shari ts

      Stop Ti me,

    Ar t f orum

    (Apri l

    1973)

     

    60- 61

     

    Paul Shari ts, i n

     Paul Shari ts

     

    DeamDi s-

    pl acement and

    Other

    Proj ects

    . Buf f al o

    Al br i ght - Knox

    Art Gal l ery , 1976 n. p

     

    Li ebman, Stuart

     

    Apparent

    Moti onand F i l m

    Structure

     

    Paul

    Sh ar i t s

    Shutt er

    I nterf ace, M l l enni um

    F i l m J our-

    nal 1

    : 2

     Spri ng-Summer

    1978)

    : 101-109

    M chel son,

    Annette

      Paul

    Shari ts and

    theCri ti que of

    I l l us ioni sm

    AnI ntr oducti on, i n

     Proj ected

    Images

     

    Mn-

    neapol i s

    Wa ker

    Art

    Cent er,

    1974

     Shrader, Paul ,

      Sensi bl e New

    Trends

    i n Exper i ment al

    Fi l ms,

    Los

    Ange es

    Ti mes,

    9

    September

    1971

     

    Si tney,

    P

    Adam,

     The

    Achi evement

    of

    the

    Ameri can

    Avant-Garde,

    i n  ThePl easur e

     omAmeri can

    Experi -

    menta

    F i l m

    1939-1979

     

    Stockholm

    Moderna

    Museet,

    1980,

    pp 21- 35

     Vi si onary

    F i l m

     

    NewYork

     

    Oxford

    Uni versi ty

    Press, 1974, pp

    425-427

    Wol l en,

    Peter

      Ontol ogy and

     Materi al i sm i n Fi l m

    Screen

    Summer

    1976)

      7-23

    ' A

    thorough l i s t i n g

    of al l arti cles

    byand

    about

    Shari ts

    through

    1978 appears

    i n

     Fi l m

    Cul t ur e 65- 66 (Wnter

    1978) : 130-133

    Page

    20

    Thi s mnograph i s mde possi bl e by grants

    f rom

    he

    Mnnesota

    State

    Arts

    Board

    f romf unds

    appropri ated

    by the

    Mnnesota

    State Legi sl a-

    ture and f romhe

    Nat i onal Endowment

    f o r the

    Arts  

  • 8/20/2019 Liebman Sharits

    14/14