Elam provides a small, voyeuristic case study of animal behavior in “Cat Garden / Birds.” Via binary structure, the film begins swiveling about (what appears to be) Elam’s Logan Square backyard inhabited by two black cats salient to her work. Initially out of focus, the cats loiter, drenched in saturated colors. Shedding ambiguity, Elam puts
After meditating for several beats on darkness, “Cats on Bed” flares out in color and gets under way rendering two black kittens (most likely the same that frequent Elam’s work) scuffling about a vividly depicted quilt, as the camera staggers to keep pace. Abruptly the footage freezes on one of the cats about to pounce,
Through a decent amount of visual noise, “Cats & Kittens” parallels, in two sections, the quaint evening happenings of a group of humans and cats. Opening around a dinner table, the film depicts a chummy group: drinking Old Style and finishing a meal (a group which includes JoAnn Elam herself). The intial section continues in
“Cats 4/82 Joe” coyly presents two black cats (and their silhouettes) lackadaisically lounging. As prelude, the titular cats sip from a bowl, sniff, and stretch at a relative distance. The camera cuts closer, in due time, depicting the pair more intimately as they bathe themselves and contemplatively gaze. Several jump cuts punctuate the introduction of
While “Back Porch” shares title with several of Elams’ films, the content of this film appears completely unrelated to others. In its short duration, what the piece does consist of is young adults leisurely gathering. Outside, a group lingers near a pavilion: congregating, mingling, and drinking Coors. While the sequence transpires, red, yellow, and blue
This film’s images consist of recreational types barbequing and loitering about a backyard superimposed on seemingly a spatial survey of the same backyard which houses said peoples’ leisure. This simultaneous rendering of setting and action creates a dream-like wandering through what is presumably Elam’s Logan Square backyard, as depicted in her film “Backyard (Original)” and
The meandering camera establishes a rural Monterey, in the likeness as depcted in Elam’s other Monterey films. “Monterey Maple Farm 81” consists of saturated foliage sprawling almost unimpeded, the exception being a cabin poking into frame occasionally. As the film progresses, the frame cuts to black;images reappear, but ill-lit. Moments pass. The ill-lit structure reappears
“Monterey 85” acts as an ensemble of sorts tracing several principles engaging and interacting with Monterey’s rural scenery, as also depicted in Elam’s other forestry-filled Monterey films. From a woman toiling with the earth, to a man intently chopping wood, to a child crooning on the sideline, “Monterey 85” depicts a rural way of life
“Monterey Maple Farms Out” generally renders the process in which maple syrup goes from sap to syrup. Cataloging the structures involved-a sugarhouse, a pipe, and a variety of tree buckets-the film surveys the production with a level of detail to the variables involved opposed to the ingredients or product, itself. The film depicts the steam-shrouded
Beginning with a black cat sunbathing, “[Black Cat & Green Garden]” opens ground level, cutting frantically. After several restless, feline-centric beats, the camera moves upward, swiping from left to right vigorously, and takes blurry note of the garden at eye level. The camera finally relents;it slows to depict the garden at a manageable rate, surveying