JoAnn Elam

Portraits of Chuck’s cats and friends, as well as a self-portrait.

A covered bridge and the nature surrounding it.

Elam's husband prepares vegetables at the sink.

In this footage by JoAnn Elam, almost nothing is discernible, with the exception of buildings sometimes emerging in the dark and stripes of orange light invading the black screen near the end. Like other elements from this collection, Light Leak exemplifies the type of cinematic experimentations that Elam was interested in her work.

The film was made in response to an evening during which a number of male members of Chicago's experimental film scene gathered at JoAnn's house and proceeded to ignore both her and the chocolate cake she made for the occasion. The film consists of a series of shots documenting the making of a chocolate cake, followed by a shot of JoAnn's sandaled foot stepping in the middle of the cake. When JoAnn screened the film in homes or loft spaces in Chicago, she would always serve chocolate cake as an accompaniment. Date of production unknown (likely 1973).

An outdoor gathering.

Farm work and nature.

"Popcorn" begins with a teenaged boy reading from an unknown text inside a living room. JoAnn Elam is seen knitting, presumably nearby, before entering the kitchen and proceeding to cook popcorn on the stovetop. Each step is filmed in extreme close-up, with an emphasis on hands and tactility. This attention to process is similar to other films from Elam, notably " Chocolate Cake " (F.2011-01-0166). At the end of "Popcorn," following a flurry of light leak and mis-aligned optical printing, the boy happily eats the popped and seasoned kernels. The exact date of production remains unknown.