Structural film

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The term was coined by P. Adams Sitney who noted that film artists had moved away from the complex and condensed forms of cinema practiced by such artists as Sidney Peterson and Stan Brakhage. "Structural film" artists pursued instead a more simplified, sometimes even predetermined art. The shape of the film was crucial, the content peripheral. This term should not be confused with the literary and philosophical term structuralism.[http://www.waysofseeing.org/struct.html Ways of Seeing: Yoel Meranda's Web Site - Structural Film]

The earliest films associated with the structural film movement emerged during the mid 1960s. New York filmmakers from this period whose work was later associated with the term were Tony Conrad, Hollis Frampton, Ernie Gehr, Ken Jacobs, George Landow, Michael Snow, and Joyce Wieland.{{cite journal |last=Cornwell |first=Regina |date=September 1979 |title=Structural Film: Ten Years Later |journal=TDR: The Drama Review |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=77–92 |doi=10.2307/1145231|jstor=1145231 }}

File:Tony Conrad - The Flicker film.jpg (1966) by Tony Conrad produces a flicker effect with alternating solid black and white frames.]]

The earliest flicker films associated with structural film were made in 1966. Conrad, a minimalist musician, made The Flicker, where solid black and white frames are arranged in different frequencies to produce a flicker effect. Visual artist Paul Sharits made several flicker films—Ray Gun Virus, Piece Mandala/End War, and the Fluxus film Word Movie—in an effort to revisit "the basic mechanisms of motion pictures…working toward a new conception of cinema." The two filmmakers made their respective works with knowledge of neither each other's practices nor earlier examples of flicker films.

Snow's Wavelength (1967) quickly became a turning point. The film shows a loft for 45 minutes from a fixed perspective, progressively zooming across the room with variations in the image coming from color gels, different film stocks, superimpositions, and negative images. It won the International Experimental Film Festival and was soon recognized as the movement's most significant work.{{cite magazine |last=Michelson |first=Annette |author-link=Annette Michelson |year=1971 |title=Toward Snow |url=https://www.artforum.com/features/annette-michelson-on-michael-snow-213663/ |magazine=Artforum |volume=9 |issue=10 |pages=30–37 |access-date=}}

By the late 1960s, the structural film movement coincided with a shift in experimental cinema away from 1960s counterculture and toward closer affiliations with academia and film theory.Hoberman 1984, pp. 64–65.{{cite journal |last=Zryd |first=Michael |year=2006 |title=The Academy and the Avant-Garde: A Relationship of Dependence and Resistance |journal=Cinema Journal |volume=45 |issue=2 |pages=17–42 |doi=10.1353/cj.2006.0023|doi-access=free }} In 1969 Film Culture magazine published P. Adams Sitney's essay "Structural Film", in which he coined the term.{{cite magazine |last=Sitney |first=P. Adams |author-link=P. Adams Sitney |year=1969 |title=Structural Film |magazine=Film Culture |issue=47 |pages=1–10}} He published two revisions in the following years. Anthology Film Archives, opened in 1970, was established as an exhibition venue for avant-garde cinema and included structural films in its programming.Hoberman 1984, p. 65.

File:Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son (1969) 4.jpg (1969), Ken Jacobs rephotographs the 1905 Billy Bitzer film of the same name.]]

The structural film movement was concurrent with a renaissance of the Library of Congress's Paper Print Collection. Since the early 1950s, the library had been making film negatives from its archive of paper prints, used to establish copyright on early cinematic works until 1912. These new prints began to circulate starting in the mid to late 1960s.Habib 2021, pp. 267–274.{{cite news |last=Canby |first=Vincent |date=February 29, 1968 |title=Restored Films, Dating to 1894, Shed Light on Medium's History |work=The New York Times |page=31}} The sudden availability of these prints generated interest in their intermediate state between still and moving image. Filmmakers such as Jacobs and Frampton made use of the Paper Print Collection as source material for new films.Habib 2017, pp. 31–50.

In the United Kingdom, a related "structural/materialist" film movement emerged during the 1970s, similarly focused on the material properties of film. These filmmakers, often associated with the London Film-Makers' Co-op, included David Crosswaite, Fred Drummond, John Du Cane, Mike Dunford, Gill Eatherley, Peter Gidal, Roger Hammond, Mike Leggett, Malcolm Le Grice, and William Raban.Newland 2015, p. 78.Gidal 1978.

Sitney identified four formal characteristics common in Structural films, but all four characteristics are not usually present in any single film:

:* fixed camera position (an apparently fixed framing)

:* flicker effect (strobing due to the intermittent nature of film)

:* loop printing

:* rephotography (off the screen)

It has been noted by George Maciunas that these characteristics are also present in Fluxus films.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20140424083328/http://filmslie.com/fluxus-film-george-maciunas-manifesto/ Fluxus Film: George Maciunas Manifesto, Avant-Garde, and Anti-Art]}}

==Key films==

• Sleep (Andy Warhol, 1963)[https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Avant_Garde_Feature_Film/8qxV6MBkDKcC?hl=en&gbpv=1 The Avant-Garde Feature Film: A Critical History - Google Books (pg.82)]
• The Flicker (Tony Conrad, 1965)[https://film-makerscoop.com/catalogue/tony-conrad-flicker-the The Flicker - Tony Conrad - The Film-Makers' Cooperative]
• Wavelength (Michael Snow, 1966–67)[https://film-makerscoop.com/catalogue/michael-snow-wavelength Wavelength - Michael Snow - The Film-Makers' Cooperative]
• T,O,U,C,H,I,N,G (Paul Sharits, 1968)[https://offscreen.com/view/paul-sharits-expanding-cinema-to-the-beyond Paul Sharits: Expanding Cinema to the Beyond - Offscreen]
• One Second in Montreal (Michael Snow, 1969)[https://books.google.com/books?id=eMe-3gdh7HMC&dq=one+second+in+montreal+structural+film&pg=PA356 Visionary Film - Google Books (pg.356)]
• Tom, Tom, The Piper's Son (Ken Jacobs, 1969)[https://metrograph.com/ken-jacobs/ Ken Jacobs - Journal - Metrograph]
• Necrology (Standish Lawder, 1970)[https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/necrology-standish-lawder-experimental-joke/ 'Necrology': A great experimental joke by Standish Lawder{{!}}Far Out Magazine]
• Variations of a Cellophane Wrapper (David Rimmer, 1970)[https://mikehoolboom.com/thenewsite/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/reading_david_rimmer_cfmdc_2014_final1.pdf Reading David Rimmer; pg.10 (PDF)]
• Zorns Lemma (Hollis Frampton, 1970)[https://film-makerscoop.com/catalogue/hollis-frampton-zorns-lemma Zorns Lemma - Hollis Frampton - The Film-Makers' Cooperative]
• Serene Velocity (Ernie Gehr, 1970)[https://harvardfilmarchive.org/programs/new-works-by-ernie-gehr New Works by Ernie Gehr - Harvard Film Archive]
• Remedial Reading Comprehension (George Landow, 1971)[https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/aug/28/george-landow-obituary George Landow obituary - The Guardian]
• [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21257518/?ref_=nm_flmg_c_2_dr Hand Held Day] (Gary Beydler, 1974)[https://vimeo.com/1011795698 Hand Held Day (audio commentary) (Art & Trash Miniature 22) - Art & Trash on Vimeo]
• [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13577136/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_lk Pasadena Freeway Stills] (Gary Beydler, 1974)[https://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/2010/02/17/sticky-splices-and-hairy-palms/ Observations on film art: Sticky splices and hairy palms]
• The United States of America (James Benning and Bette Gordon, 1975){{Cite web|title=The United States of America|url=https://www.criterionchannel.com/directed-by-bette-gordon/season:1/videos/the-united-states-of-america|work=The Criterion Channel|access-date=June 10, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927144620/https://www.criterionchannel.com/directed-by-bette-gordon/season:1/videos/the-united-states-of-america|archive-date=September 27, 2020|url-status=dead}}
• The Girl Chewing Gum (John Smith, 1976)[https://www.frieze.com/article/john-smith John Smith{{!}}Frieze]
• American Dreams: Lost and Found (James Benning, 1984)[https://mubi.com/en/notebook/posts/viennale-2014-james-bennings-natural-history Viennale 2014. James Benning's "natural history" on Notebook|MUBI]
• Landscape Suicide (James Benning, 1986)
• Passage à l'acte (Martin Arnold, 1993)
• Window Work (Lynne Sachs, 2000)[https://cinema.indiana.edu/upcoming-films/archive/screening/2023-fall-thursday-december-7-700pm Structural Film at the Turn of the Century, Thursday, 07, 2023 - Indiana University Cinema]
• *Corpus Callosum (Michael Snow, 2002)

• Bette Gordon{{Cite web|title=Directed by Bette Gordon|url=https://www.criterionchannel.com/directed-by-bette-gordon|work=The Criterion Channel|access-date=June 10, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626042348/https://www.criterionchannel.com/directed-by-bette-gordon|archive-date=June 26, 2020|url-status=dead}}
• James Benning
• Tony Conrad
• Hollis Frampton[https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-hollis-frampton Where to begin with Hollis Frampton{{!}}BFI]
• Ernie Gehr
• Standish Lawder[https://keyframe.fandor.com/daily-standish-lawder-1936-2014/ Daily{{!}}Standish Lawder, 1936-2014 - (KeyFrame){{!}}Fandor]
• Birgit and Wilhelm Hein
• Kurt Kren
• George Landow (a.k.a. Owen Land)[https://www.academia.edu/5125447/Scratching_the_Surface_The_Birth_of_Structural_Materialist_Film Scratching the Surface: The Birth of Structural/Materialist Film]
• Paul Sharits
• Michael Snow
• Joyce Wieland[https://www.splittoothmedia.com/northern-light-canadian-experimental-film-sampler-stephen-broomer/ Northern Light: A Sampler of Canadian Underground Film - Split Tooth Media]
• Sharon Lockhart

Ken Jacobs's Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son and Ernie Gehr's Serene Velocity were each inducted into the National Film Registry.[https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/descriptions-and-essays/ Brief Descriptions and Expanded Essays of Titles at National Film Registry][https://www.austinfilm.org/2016/09/a-primer-on-experimental-film-legend-ken-jacobs-appearing-in-austin-this-week/ A PRIMER ON EXPERIMENTAL FILM LEGEND KEN JACOBS, APPEARING IN AUSTIN THIS WEEK{{!}}Austin Film Society]

Several structural films have been included on DVD sets, including the works of Hollis Frampton (released by The Criterion Collection as a part of A Hollis Frampton Odyssey{{Cite web |title=A Hollis Frampton Odyssey |url=https://www.criterion.com/films/27945-a-hollis-frampton-odyssey |access-date=2022-05-28 |website=The Criterion Collection |language=en}}) and Standish Lawder's Necrology which appeared on the 2008 DVD set entitled Treasures IV: American Avant-Garde Film, 1947-1986.{{cite AV media notes

| url=http://www.filmpreservation.org/dvds-and-books/treasures-iv-american-avant-garde-film

| title=Treasures IV: American Avant-Garde Film, 1947–1986

| publisher=Image Entertainment

| location=Los Angeles

| id=NATD4737DVD

| year=2008

| language=

| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903025004/http://www.filmpreservation.org/dvds-and-books/treasures-iv-american-avant-garde-film

| archive-date=3 September 2011

| url-status=live

}} [http://home.utah.edu/~klm6/3905/lawder.html Alt URL]Lim, D (March 1, 2009). "Avant-garde film gems in 'Treasures IV' collection," The Los Angeles Times. [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-mar-01-ca-secondlook1-story.html]

• Non-narrative film
• Still image film
• Collage film
• Minimalist film
• Maximalist film

{{reflist}}

• Gidal, Peter. Materialist Film Routledge; First Edition, Second Impression edition (Mar. 1989).
• de Lauretis, Teresa and Stephen Heath (eds). The Cinematic Apparatus. Macmillan, 1980.
• {{cite book |last=Habib |first=André |editor-last=Herzogenrath |editor-first=Bernd |year=2017 |chapter=Drafts and Fragments: Reflections around Bill Morrison and the Paper Print Collection |title=The Films of Bill Morrison: Aesthetics of the Archive |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |isbn=978-90-8964-996-6}}
• {{cite book |last=Habib |first=André |editor-last1=Bernardi |editor-first1=Joanne |editor-last2=Cherchi Usai |editor-first2=Paolo |editor-last3=Williams |editor-first3=Tami |editor-last4=Yumibe |editor-first4=Joshua |year=2021 |chapter=Finding Early Cinema in the Avant-Garde: Research and Investigation |title=Provenance and Early Cinema |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-05299-5 |doi=10.2307/j.ctv1b742kt.25}}
• Heath, Stephen. Questions of Cinema. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1981.
• {{cite book |editor-last=Gidal |editor-first=Peter |year=1978 |title=Structural Film Anthology |publisher=British Film Institute |isbn=0-85170-0535}}
• {{cite book |last=Hoberman |first=J. |author-link=J. Hoberman |editor-last=Wallis |editor-first=Brian |year=1984 |chapter=After Avant-Garde Film |title=Art After Modernism: Rethinking Representation |publisher=The New Museum of Contemporary Art |isbn=978-0-87923-563-5}}
• Maciunas, George. "Some Comments on Structural Film by P. Adams Sitney." Film Culture, No. 47, 1969.
• {{cite book |last=Newland |first=Paul |year=2015 |title=British Films of the 1970s |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=978-0-7190-8225-2}}
• O'Pray, Michael. The British Avant-Garde Film 1926 to 1995: An Anthology of Writings. Indiana University Press, 2003.
• Sitney, P. Adams. Visionary Film: The American Avant-Garde 1943-1978. Second Edition, Oxford University Press 1979

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Category:Experimental film

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Category:1960s in film

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