Palmer Square

This footage starts in Chicago’s Palmer Square Park, where JoAnn Elam films the people around her and the houses bordering the park in a series of rapidly edited shots. Elam then turns her attention to a neighbor’s house shot from inside another house and through a brown and yellow curtain, to a pigeon on the roof, and to a back alley with dogs between apartment buildings. At the end, the footage goes back and forth between the park where kids are playing soccer and community members are gathering on the lawn, and the other house, from which Elam witnesses a mailman on his round and teenagers playing catch on the street. Like several other elements from this collection featuring Palmer Square, this footage reveals Elam’s interest in Chicago’s diverse people. Sometimes out of focus, rapidly edited, and shot through screens obstructing our view partially or totally, this footage also showcases Elam’s experimentations with cinematic techniques.