Garbage(1984)

A Trip to Paramountown(en)

Documentary short film depicting the filmmaking activity at the Paramount Studios in Hollywood, featuring dozens of stars captured candidly and at work.

24(es)

Casual Workers(en)

An abstract perspective into two young South African workers in the heart of Johannesburg's industrial sector during Covid-19

Speaking of Abstraction: A Universal Language(en)

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, abstraction - that most quintessentially modernist innovation - maintains a peculiarly contradictory position. Used, on one hand, by post-modernist artists as just one more quotable style amongst many, it is on the other hand still considered an elitist or hermetic language by audiences intimidated by its lack of recognizable subject matter. Yet ultimately, abstraction continues to be a viable creative path for contemporary artists of all generations, many of whom embrace it as the most inclusive and fundamentally resonant of artistic languages. Filmed at the artists' studios, the Dia Center for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Museum during their exhibition, "Abstraction in the Twentieth Century."

Atlanta Nat Convention(en)

Filmed during the 52nd National Convention of the American National Association of Letter Carriers in August 1980.

Moving(en)

Elam records several men moving boxes and furniture as they track across her backyard.

Screen Test: Jackie(en)

Andy Warhol directs The Factory regular Louisa "Jackie" Foster for a screen test.

Symptoms in Schizophrenia(en)

Shows masked mental patients enacting various schizophrenic symptoms as they were understood at the time. A disturbing film that raises questions about the condition and treatment of its subjects. (archive.org) “Abstract: This film describes and demonstrates four types of schizophrenia. Filmed at various New York institutions, it shows patients singly and grouped in large, outside recreational areas. Some patients are blindfolded. Symptoms shown include: social apathy, delusions, hallucinations, hebephrenic reactions, cerea flexibilitas, rigidity, motor stereotypes, posturing, and echopraxia.” (Guide to Mental Health Motion Pictures)

New York Portrait(en)

Peter Hutton's New York trilogy. An act of urban archaeology, a chronicle of indelible impressions of the city.

INFRASTRATA(en)

Amongst the contemplative static shots of decaying architecture weaves an abstract narrative unveiling the life-cycle of a higher perception, too large to perceive. Shot at various sites across south-east England, INFRASTRATA is a study on the concept of super-organisms, and the relationship between structure and nature.

The Creation Of Life(en)

This silent film from 1948 "The Creation of Life" briefly demonstrates how a fetus forms and graphically shows different types of births. It was made by Sherwood Picture Corp., and may have been sold both to schools and professional organizations for medical education, and to the public for shock value. (Several similar birth films were sold in this era through home catalogs and photography shops.) Summary: By means of diagrams, conceptions and pregnancy are explained. Views of various methods of delivery are shown. Created by: T. Marc Sherwood

Disabuse(en)

Abstract short.

Michigan(en)

Farm work and nature.

Backyard Winter(en)

Consists of frantic and (mostly) uninformative pans sprinting across Elam's lawn.

Hell Frozen Over(en)

Bernadette Corporation describes this work as "A fashion film about the poetry of Stéphane Mallarmé and the color white." Produced for the 2000 Walker Art Center exhibition Let's Entertain, this short film employs a range of strategies to approach the idea of nothingness, emptiness, and vacuity, with an eye to how these notions relate to contemporary mass-cultural entertainment. Juxtaposing "documentary" takes on a fashion shoot with footage of semiologist Sylvère Lotringer giving an impromptu lecture on Mallarmé on a frozen lake, Hell Frozen Over maintains an ambiguous stance from which to both critique and celebrate the power of surface.

Rodez(xx)

An exploration of Rodez Cathedral and its stained glass windows: praying figures and scientific imagery. A study on color, repetition and flickering consisting of 292 photographs.

Sprockets(en)

Sprocket holes moving across the screen.

Tai Chi II(en)

“Tai Chi II,” similarly to Elam’s “Tai Chi Bowling” and “Tai Chi,” focuses on movement. Through a sequence of close-ups, Elam coyly records portions of several individuals practicing tai chi, primarily focusing on the practitioners’ extremities as they float about. Distinct from its affiliates, “Tai Chi II” finds the action taking place outside.

BC(en)

Elam turns in place while filming nature.

Landscape(en)

Chicago streets.