A series of zooms -in and -out, “Curtain & Walls” hypnotically shifts back and forth between the titular surfaces. With about twenty seconds left, the rhythm deviates, as the shot cuts to what appears to be a different curtain, followed by a cut to a reel of film, which abstractly digresses to the short’s finale.
Pink and yellow flares. As the color of “Skaters / California Culture” settles, a duo of skaters glides succinctly but effortlessly across the asphalt;their peers, other skaters and recreational types, simply soak in the pleasant weather. The perspective swoops amongst their peers before flaring out, again, in pink and yellow.
“Back Porch” surveys a backyard, seemingly the same yard depicted in Elam’s ” Backyard (Original) ” and ” Back Porch.” This particular rendering distinguishes itself from other pieces under Elam’s “Back Porch” mantle due to its focus on the view from the porch and the yard’s content, opposed to the point of perspective, itself (as
“Back Porch” surveys a backyard, seemingly the same yard depicted in Elam’s ” Backyard (Original) ” and ” Back Porch.” This particular rendering distinguishes itself for the patience the camera exercises as it spatially defines the porch: nearly the entirety of the first three minutes catalogs the ground, walls, and ceiling of the structure. As
Through a series of pans in black and white, “1st NALC Convention” etches the landscape of a convention gathering. Opposed to recording the convention’s content, “1st NALC Convention” focuses on the event’s attendees jostling and networking around the space. A significant amount of visual noise instills a level of ambiguity deterring detail of who or
In “Barbeque,” the camera lurks around a backyard, recording a man grill an assortment of meats and potatoes. The camera changes vantage several times: from intrusively in front of the cook to voyeuristically peering at the cook through the gaps of a fence. The short pauses its rhythmic record of meat glazing and prodding to
Monterey Maple Farm Bird and Wasp Feeder belongs to a series of elements shot by JoAnn Elam at a farm in Monterey, MA, over the course of a few years in the early 1980s. While the other elements in the series explore the farmers’ work and the surrounding flora and fauna, Monterey Maple Farm Bird