Special effects are not credited to the late 19th century, but filmmaker Zoe Beloff has brought some of those cinema techniques to life in beautifully captivating pieces that explore the unconscious.
Professor Mary Tsiongas of the Electronic Arts Department in conjunction with the Southwest Film Center brought Beloff to UNM and her films, "Shadowland, or Light From the Other Side" and "Claire and Don in Slumberland," last weekend. Beloff is an internationally recognized experimental filmmaker who has won several awards for her one-of-a-kind works.
"Think of me as an heir to early filmmakers who went around the world with projectors under their arms," Beloff said to the audience of about 30 on Saturday.
Beloff's films are not just projections on a two-dimensional screen, but interactive multimedia with slides, 3D glasses and the sound of 16mm film reels spinning in the background. Beloff shows her films on a small screen through stereoscopic vision.
Stereoscopic films, or ghost shows, first became popular in the late 19th century. Slides were projected onto a glass wall so the virtual images hover on stage and actors interact with the 3D images.
Stereoscopic films made a short-lived come back in the 1950s. It was thought they would replace home videos, but they were difficult to use and the idea flopped. Beloff found her vintage, two-lens projector on e-Bay for $200.
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"What I'm interested in is what people desired, wished for and how people conceptualized virtual images," Beloff said. "In the 19th century, people thought of the screen as a window into another world."
Beloff's stereoscopic film, "Shadowland, or Light From the Other Side" is based on the 1897 autobiography of Elizabeth D'EspÇrance. It explores the psyche of a lonely, young girl who sees imaginary friends floating in space. As she grows older, her visions are no longer accepted, and she is diagnosed as mad for seeing things that aren't there. "Shadowland, or Light From the Other Side" is a frighteningly realistic portrayal of the late 1800s, which Beloff achieves through language, authentic costumes and casting actors who have a certain look about them.
In addition to using old equipment, Beloff uses obscure footage she finds at flea markets. Her second installation, "Claire and Don in Slumberland" consists of separate films which explore psychological issues of the unconscious and identity.
"Child Analysis- Psychoanalytical Sanitarium" is a bizarre psychology film from 1926 that shows a boy's identification with his mother and is followed by two early animation pieces by the Fleischer Brothers, "Mysterious Mose" and "Bubbles." These three found footage pieces are followed by Beloff's film, "Claire and Don in Slumberland."
What is most fascinating about this piece is that the sound is taken from two educational psychology films from 1949, "Hypnotic Behavior" and "Unconscious Motivation" about two students who are hypnotized to reveal thoughts from the unconscious. Beloff's context and colorful images reveal more about the unconscious of mid-20th century American culture than the psychology films ever intended.
The soundtrack is put to Beloff's images of Claire and Don, who are much like cartoon characters that morph into different shapes and colors and are put into displaced settings. They relate to the two animation pieces she shows prior to the film.
"'Mysterious Mose' is funny, but not a narrative," Beloff said. "It is not a conventional story. He can transform into anything. I'm exploring why cartoons can get away with what conventional movies cannot."
Beloff ends her installation with a two-and-a-half minute home movie of a family on vacation at Mount Rushmore.
Beloff said she thinks of her films as philosophical toys to play with and explore the unconscious with.
"I'm interested in how people represent what isn't really there," she said. "My films attempt to represent the unrepresented."
