Fade to Memory

An homage to the 35mm Film Era

This artwork explores the intersection of fine art and cinema, two major themes throughout my life. It is a memorial to 35mm photochemical cinema and to my previous career as a Hollywood film producer.

As the digital revolution has decimated the use and sale of film stocks, in both still photography and motion pictures, I mourn the end of the celluloid era with this work. For the three or four generations of filmmakers who have hand cut film, pulled shots from trim bins, spliced together film pieces and run sequences through optical viewers, the look and feel of film stock carried with it a sensuous experience that computer editing can never replicate.

In this artwork, a crank on the side of the walnut box beckons the viewer. Once turned, vertical bands of 35 mm film leader and processed film strips begin flowing like a slow motion waterfall, becoming, in effect, a moving painting. Hand-stamped words and images of the 35mm film production era move asynchronously on ten rows of side-by-side sprocketed 35 mm film, which together form one large continuous loop. Ironically, the sprocketed film rollers that I purchased to create this loop were the last batch sold by the last remaining U.S. supplier. 

Mixed media: framed walnut box, paints, dyes on 35mm film in a loop, sprockets, rollers, film reels and editing equipment. 60" H x 48" W x 6" D 2022. 3 versions plus 1 AP. $20,000

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