Zorns Lemma

Director: Hollis Frampton
Year Released: 1970
Rating: 3.0

Structured, idiosyncratic work by Frampton that - for most of the running time - alphabetically cycles through images of 'found words,' systematically replacing those words with alternative images as it continues in a loop (apologies if this doesn't make a lot of sense - seeing it is easier than describing it, and avant-garde films in general privilege image over word). It's odd seeing such a picture in an age of post-structuralism, and Frampton's single-minded devotion to taking/gathering snapshots of such a mélange of words (and presumably spend hours ordering them) is clever and curious - most will be turned off it, but I found myself hypnotized by the rhythmic pacing. Being so firmly grounded in the humanities prevents me from even bothering to investigate whether or not this has anything to do with the work of Max Zorn (frankly, I'd prefer reading about and listening to musician John Zorn) - I'm assuming the association is slight at best, but I figure that it's pretty much besides the point (in the same way a lot of Brakhage's hand-painted films didn't have all that much to do with their referential titles except in a highly abstract way).