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Read text here / Download PDF hereTraces of life on
the thin film of longingJanuary 5 - February 24, 2007
Traces of life on the thin film of longing is an exhibition of work by Jem Cohen [Chain], Jenni Olson [The Joy of Life], and Natalie Zimmerman [Islands] that considers the photographic in relation to film and video. Each piece, though differing in subject matter and narrative technique, is composed entirely of lengthy still shots; rendering an approach reminiscent of the photo essay.
In Chain, New York-based filmmaker Jem Cohen introduces us to a world that has become America, LLC©®™; shot over ten years in seven countries, it is a political film about global acquiescence to a corporate cultural environment comprising malls, hotels, airports, office parks, theme parks, chain stores, and chain restaurants. Bay Area-based Jenni Olson’s film The Joy of Life, composed entirely of still shots of San Francisco, consists of a two-part narrative voice-over by a young butch lesbian recounting the trials and tribulations of her love life and trying to come to terms with the grim history of the city’s suicide landmark: the Golden Gate Bridge. Natalie Zimmerman of Los Angeles presents Islands which introduces fifteen casting-call respondents in Los Angeles, interspersed with images of the LA landscape; lonely, desolate, and barely familiar as the great sprawling metropolis most know only as home to the film and television industry.
This exhibition challenges audiences to respond to the “white cube” gallery space in a new way and also allows SF Camerawork and filmmakers the opportunity to reconsider methods of distribution and spectatorship.
This exhibition will be accompanied by the Fall/Winter 2007 issue of Camerawork: A Journal of Photographic Arts; with essays by Adam Klein, Chuck Mobley, and Cassie Riger and a conversation with Natalie Zimmerman and William E Jones.
