Paul Sharits N:O:T:H:I:N:G
1968
A leading figure in the American Structural filmmaking group in the 1960s, Sharits' works reduce the process of filmmaking to its most basic components - the projector, the filmstrip, light and duration.
Sharit's explored the physical effects of rapidly changing light and colour in confrontational 'flicker' films; here chromatic frames are interspersed with an occasional image of a lightbulb or a chair. Structurally based on the chanting pattern in the Tibetan mandala of 'five Dyani Bouddhas', the frequency of the flicker rate in N:O:T:H:I:N:G rises to a central peak before receding in mirrored reverse of the original progression.
Utilising continuous loops, multiple projections, and experimenting with the spaces in which film could be seen, Sharits was a leading innovator in video installation and pioneering in his presentation of moving image in art spaces.