Schriftfilm (1959)

Overview

Schriftfilm functions according to the principle of the cadavre exquis or that of a textual machine that one finds in well sorted bookstores: On screen we see alternating nouns on top, and alternating verbs underneath. Some actually ‘fit’ such as “man walks”... ; while others might only ‘fit’ in a more extended sense “man burns,” “water breaks”... ; while others only ‘fit’ poetically “water screams,” “stone runs,” “sun falls”... ; and in this context the conventional language=meaning-logic disappears behind the pure word=meaning-presence. “Stone runs” is exactly as significant as “man walks,” whereby “man walks” through the very presence of “stone runs” appears to be something extraordinary, and “stone runs” becomes something entirely true and possible.

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