Bill Morrison: 8 films

Bill Morrison is an award winning filmmaker whose films are held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. His short experimental films, where memory and history are important themes, use evocative monochrome imagery rhythmically edited together. Morrison, who was originally a painter, found the film medium more spiritually effective on a larger and captive audience. His use of found footage and high contrast almost abstract black and white footage arranged to create an atmospheric dreaminess with textural ghostly and poetic visions present an objective and meditative view. The Duchamp inspired experiments use machinery and in particular film related machinery like the machine that punches the sprocket holes in 35mm film and even the projector workings. Diagrams animated reveal the way a shutter works on a projector. Images of zoetropes, film storage and film processing machines are cut together with a rhythm where the machines of films become the subject. Film edge numbers and countdown leaders are strong images. There is interesting footage of the Library of Congress and its collection of paper film used in the piece “The Film of her”. There is a mild narrative compared to his earlier semi abstract films.