Celluloid Illuminations

With light-drenched visuals illuminating a screenplay of "dialogue and poetry," filmmaker Gerson made this short B&W experimental feature about a man who confronts the meaning of existence in a variety of cityscapes. Gerson described the film: "The narrative form expanded, utilizing non-linear sequences within a linear structure. Past, Present and Future are interwoven throughout to present a total, heightened reality."

Various unrelated vignettes, often juxtaposing sound and image.

Amid Guanajuato's vibrant streets, an aging filmmaker becomes a modern Don Quixote, joined by a spirited young animator as his loyal Sanchia. Together, they navigate themes of mortality, unfulfilled dreams, and the fragile line between madness and clarity, uncovering the transformative power of light, art, and the landscapes that shape our souls.

GROUP VII: PORTRAIT OF DIANA (1970, 4 min, 16mm, silent) PORTRAIT OF ANDREW NOREN (1972, 4 min, 16mm, silent) These films are personal light portraits. I consider them unique and beautiful.

Film by Barry Gerson

SUNLIGHT (1970, 4 min, 16mm, silent) Sunlight patterns on a window in constant change through subtle camera swings – the motions repeated giving the light a fluid quality. FLOATING (1970, 15 min, 16mm, silent) Moving images from a windowsill looking out on a cityscape transformed in time and space. AFTERNOON (1970, 8 min, 16mm, silent) A darkened room in Time with yellow sunlight streaming onto the floor through parted red curtains gently swaying in the breeze.

GROUP II: WATER (1969, 4 min, 16mm, silent) Two images of a lapping water level, used at the beginning and end of the film, counterpointing the middle section consisting of flying through clouds and mist. CONTEMPLATING (1969, 12 min, 16mm, silent) The body fluids reacting in unison with the ocean waters.

"Oblique mattes, instead of blocking the vision, accentuate our ability to see and appreciate details, narrowing and expanding the focus of our attention, rendering symmetry and simplicity simply unbalanced. Through repetition of this approach, the movement and the framing become a sensual force —and the objects appear in all their voluptuousness. Gerson has employed this technique repeatedly. In his Translucent Appearances (1975), thirty-five different shots of Niagara Falls are blocked by horizontal, monochromatic mattes. The object is shaped —water flowing seeking a form that will suffice. These are films that disclose gradually, changing revealed and unrevealed layers of visual information." Mónica Savirón

“Since all matter in the Universe pulsates rhythmically, it is therefore , in constant motion. My film/videos become an activated metaphor to elucidate this phenomenon . I attempt to create psychically charged images that are in a constant state of flux- structured formally but with a poetic intent. Through the use of slow movements and small changes the images become felt, eliciting an almost tactile response."-Director Statement

"Endurance/Rememberance/Metamorphosis is a film composed of three parts of equal duration. Each part consists of a single shot of a minimal space." - Ellen Feldman

GROUP I: GRASS (1969, 1 min, 16mm, silent) Grass to reeds to sky – the gradual melting of grass image to become the blue of the sky. ICE (1969, 2 min, 16mm, silent) Sensual icicle images in process of melting – drops of water eventually fall. SNOW (1969, 1 min, 16mm, silent) The mystery of snow illusion – a snow-covered walkway is followed to a short flight of steps to a bicycle wheel transposed by snow. VIBRATIONS (1969, 8 min, 16mm, silent) “VIBRATIONS is a truly photographic poetry, a transformation of sunlight into art light.” –Michael Snow

An elegant study of light, color, geometry, and perspective.

Evocations of a space in the mind – limitless, soundless. Blackness punctuated by bursting water bubbles ascending and descending into the unknown. The color red evokes feelings of the inner self – a microcosmic viewpoint for an expansion of time and space.

GROUP IV: BEADED LIGHT (1970, 4 min, 16mm, silent) “In BEADED LIGHT, Gerson applies an ambiguous procedure to our perception of color and light.” –Bill Simon, ARTFORUM DISSOLVING (1970, 4 min, 16mm, silent) An ambiguous shiny grey substance at the bottom part of the frame counterpoints horizontals of clouds and fog as the camera moves up and down – shifting the perspective and therefore the space. A lone bird flies across on a perfect horizontal path. BEYOND (1970, 4 min, 16mm, silent) “The foreground discloses the red hair and the shoulders of a girl lying on a beach. [...] At the very end of the film, he raises the camera to a higher angle and the portions of the beach previously obscured by the girl’s form becomes visible and the two spaces – the girl and beach, foreground and background – are joined.” –Bill Simon, ARTFORUM

"I would like to say something else in relation to the Automatic Free Form Film movement. The camera was constantly moving. Movement was used to elucidate space. This is a concept that I have continued to develop and have worked on in other films. I have a great interest in what happens to the edges of the camera frame when it moves. Automatic Free Form Film was done by working with shapes and specifically with the shapes of light and with the specific shapes of objects. When the camera moves, it changes the whole perspective of what we see." -BG

2016 digital work by Barry Gerson