Clothe/Sline. 1975. Gail Vachon.

(4/23/00)

We see images of a clothesline; the film which contains them has been scratched, painted and burned.

I couldn't help thinking about Andrew Noren's The Wind Variations which made an interesting experience of such spare footage without needing to do all that stuff to it. But Clothe/Sline is a different film and the treament of the film surface is really its subject. That's how it seems, anyway.

I think there are too many burns in this film. Yes, it is interesting to call attention to what film looks like when it burns in a projector, but I don't see much point in doing as much of that as Gail Vachon does. I kept wondering how that might have been used to more effect. Possibly a burn could be used to obscure something at an important moment. But it should be used effectively.
I can see using burns just to give a film a humble, homemade effect. But in that case they should be used sparingly.

I think I'm being perhaps overly critical of this abstract film because it has the footage of a clothesline as a foundation. Whatever the reason, it didn't make a big impression on me.