I agree with Jonathan, Back and Forth is anything but static, it's a ping pong
game that gets seriously out of hand. There are "dizzying" qualities to Central
Region, too. Isn't it the dynamic contrast between the heights of "busyness"
(rhymes with "dizziness") and the relative repose of the calmer sections that
leads to dizziness? The viewer is comfortable looking at something, then the
accelerated and/or increasingly eccentric movement takes away that level of
comfort. You see depth in the image, then the depth is erased; with that change
comes disorientation.
Peter Rose climbs the Golden Gate Bridge in The Man Who Could Not See Far
Enough, that might get some people dizzy. The various Nervous System works by
Ken Jacobs can get rather dizzying, in my experience.
In years past, when necessary, I voiced a warning before a few screenings that
flicker films can be dangerous to some epileptics. More recently I have
introduced a few screenings by saying, "Although nothing tonight should be
dangerous to epileptics, uptight people might find that they get a little
dizzy."
- Tom Durham Cinematheque
-----Original Message-----
From: FrameWorks [mailto:frameworks-boun...@jonasmekasfilms.com] On Behalf Of
Jonathan Walley
Sent: Tuesday, April 02, 2013 8:46 AM
To: Experimental Film Discussion List
Subject: Re: [Frameworks] Dizziness and Disorientation
I don't think it's a reach at all to say that BaF can induce dizziness or
disorientation; calling the film "static," and implicitly likening its camera
movement to that of WAVELENGTH, is quite misleading. The frenetic quality of
BaF's camera movement is totally different from the staid zooming of
WAVELENGTH, and thus creates perceptual effects that are distinct from the
earlier film.
And whether "the camera position only moves once" is beside the point
- that may be the case (though I'm not convinced that the actual position of
the camera changes only once in BaF), but certainly the extent to which a film
might cause perceptual disorientation or physical effects like dizziness isn't
solely a matter of camera position. There is no "camera position" at all in THE
FLICKER, but that film surely causes those sorts of effects.
BaF was indeed discussed in terms of its disorienting effects on perception at
the time of its release - see Manny Farber's ARTFORUM review from 1970, or
Peter Gidal's discussion of the film in STRUCTURAL FILM ANTHOLOGY. At the very
least, there is general agreement that, at its most accelerated, the panning
interferes with the viewer's ability to perceive depth in the image, and to
discern the individual bodies and objects in the frame. This might not be
"dizziness," but it seems perfectly accurate to call it "disorientation."
Jonathan
On Mon, Apr 1, 2013 at 10:05 PM, Peter Mudie <peter.mu...@uwa.edu.au> wrote:
> Geez, Mike Snow's Back and Forth has nothing to do with 'dizziness' or
> 'disorientation'. There is a room, four windows, a door and some
> people doing things – the camera position only moves once (just after
> the beginning). In terms of phenomena it is remarkably 'static'. Ask
> yourself, is Wavelength 'about' 'horizontal vertigo'? Yikes.
>
> If you're in Wien then check out Kurt's material with Günter Brus and
> Otto's films.
>
> Peter
> ________________________________
>
>
> Michael Snow's Back and Forth would be the best example I can think of
> off the top of my head.
>
>
> On Mon, Apr 1, 2013 at 7:01 AM, Anderwald + Grond
> <cont...@anderwald-grond.at> wrote:
>>
>> Dear frameworkers,
>> We are currently conceiving a research project, including film
>> screenings, on the phenomenon of Dizziness/Disorientation seen as a
>> resource for thought and artistic practice.
>> Could you please recommend theory writings or artists' films and videos?
>> Thank you!
>> Ruth + Leo
>>
>> -------------
>> Ruth Anderwald + Leonhard Grond
>>
>> ++43 699 10984551
>> Schüttelstr. 21/14
>> 1020 Vienna
>> cont...@anderwald-grond.at
>> http://www.anderwald-grond.at
>> follow on twitter @anderwaldgrond
>> http://www.hasenherz.at
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>
>
>
> --
> Patrick Brennan
> patrick.brennan...@gmail.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> FrameWorks mailing list
> FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com
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>
--
Jonathan Walley
Associate Professor
Department of Cinema
Denison University
wall...@denison.edu
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