Frottements d’images : les films tardifs de Paul Sharits

This study questions the notion of friction in the domain of experimental film, and more particularly in the late productions of American film-maker and painter Paul Sharits (1943-1993). From 1974 Color Sound Frames onward, Sharits’ work changed drastically. For a large part his films then consisted in refilming fragments of exposed film with a rigged projector and a transparent screen. Proceeding by “anti-framing” and reshooting, Sharits orchestrated in the very heart of his films intense frictions between the secondary film (the filmed film) and the primary film (or the film watched by the spectator). This relationship is studied through two specific movies, Tails (1976) and Bad Burns (1982).