“Total Mystery” primarily consists of black film or what appears to be painted white leader. Occasionally brief glimpses of domestic scenes are visible, including a candle flame, doorknob, lamp, windows, and the view of a house door out of a window.
This footage by JoAnn Elam shows members of the Chicago city council during one of their meetings around 1973. As in other elements from this collection that show the city council, she mostly films one speaking member after another from behind, as she was probably sitting in the back. Elam started working as a letter
This film documents a trip on the Staten Island Ferry in New York City, including views of the city skyline, other boats on the water, and the Statue of Liberty with scaffolding up during the restoration project of 1984-1986. Approximately halfway in the film are brief scenes on land, including a poster criticizing then-President Ronald
This footage by JoAnn Elam shows members of the Chicago city council during one of their meetings around 1973. As in two other element from this collection titled [City Council 1] and [City Council 2], she mostly films one speaking member after another from behind, as she was probably sitting in the back. Elam started
Filmed mostly in close-up shots of their faces or other body parts, a group of women and a few small children relax on a dock by a lake on a sunny day. The date and location of production remain unknown.;This film has been held from streaming due to sensitive content. To learn more, please contact
One of the longest of the garden films in the JoAnn Elam Collection, “Garden 85″ appears to document the entirety of the 1985 growing season of Elam’s backyard garden in Logan Square, Chicago. From the beginning, Elam is shown preparing the land and planting the crops, with some of the earliest footage directly related to
As its name suggests, “Lake & Planetarium – Garden – Go Bears” consists of three distinct sections: The first features JoAnn Elam and an unidentified cameraperson walking around Museum Campus in Chicago, where the waves of Lake Michigan, the Adler Planetarium, and the Field Museum of Natural History are visible. In the second part, Elam
A loose triptych, “Hockey” begins with a nighttime hockey game before turning its attention to an orange cat outside a house, walking up to the door and waiting to be let in. Finally, the camera explores an urban neighborhood during a rainy day, with special focus on a basketball bouncing into a puddle, a Wells
A visit to JoAnn Elam’s apartment by two parents and a child, likely Ric, Jane, and Avery, respectively. In the kitchen they play with Avery and a dog and prepare food with ingredients from the spice rack. These were likely friends of JoAnn’s, though further information about them and the date of production remain unknown.
Amid frequent and chaotic light leaks, JoAnn Elam’s sister Susan calmly rides a horse, Marlboro, around a corral in Grayslake, IL. Approximately one minute of blank film comprises the ending. Another film in the collection, ” Marlboro ” (F.2011-01-0165) appears to have been shot around the same time, and similar footage of Susan riding appears