Subject

1974

Dir. Ken Feingold, 16mm Color Sound 00:05:30

Page Contents

Description

"SUBJECT presents a succession of shots in which different parts of a still photograph are concealed by the artist's hands. The entire photograph is revealed piecemeal over the course of the film, but we are never able to reconstruct a composite of the entire image. A voice-over reads a series of texts, some of which seem to describe the artist's present experience (e. g. "I am thinking of a certain color. This color is very controlled") amd some of which are more general statements about systems, such as "Another idea which can be brought to bear in this context is not necessarily one within the predetermined framework. All exclusions are deliberate and final. This also applies to any choices which have been made regarding the general arrangement of items," or, "It's an oversimplification to draw parallels within the single text between its various parts. Here, however, the ethics proper thinking are waived in favor of that simplicity, both for the purpose of having the text prolong itself, and for reasons not stated." "... Both the content and the medium in which the content occurs are finally only devices whereby structures of thought may be realized and communicated."
[Source: David James "Six Films by Ken Feingold," Journal of the Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art; Number 14, April 1977 ]