*Corpus Callosum

*Corpus Callosum

16mm (from DV), black and white, sound, 90 min
The corpus callosum is a central region of tissue in the human brain which passes "messages" between the two hemispheres.
Rental format: 16mm

Stills

About

The corpus callosum is a central region of tissue in the human brain which passes "messages" between the two hemispheres.

*CORPUS CALLOSUM, the film (or tape, or projected light work), is constructed of, de-picts, creates, examines, presents, consists of, and is, "betweens". Between beginning and ending, between "natural" and "artificial", between fiction and fact, between hearing and seeing, between 1956 and 2002. It's a tragi-comedy of the cinematic variables. *CORPUS CALLOSUM juxtaposes or counterpoints a realism of normal metamorphosis (two extreme examples: pregnancy, explosions) in believable, "real" interior spaces with "impossible" shape changes (some made possible with digital animation). First the camera, then we in the audience, observe the observations of the "real" people depicted in the obviously staged situations. What we see and what they "see" is involved in shifting modes of belief. There seem to be (though there is no narrative) a Hero and Heroine. However, from scene to scene they are different people costumed identically or altered lectronically. The sound – electronic like the picture – is also a continuous metamorphosis and as the film's "nervous system", is as important to the film as the picture. Or: the sound and the picture are two hemispheres joined by the artist. *CORPUS CALLOSUM is resolutely "artificial", it not only wants to convince, but also to be a perceived pictorial and musical phenomenon. "Although shot on video and largely computer-produced, *CORPUS CALLOSUM is almost a self-curated retrospective of Snow's career; but with a twist. Everything in this continually self-referential piece,some of which was shown in late 2000 as THE LIVING ROOM, is stretched, squeezed, and flipped – the bodies of Snow's largecast not the least. (At one point, one guy ties another in a knot.) Space is a similarly malleable object. Is the camera panning, or is the image being subjected to some sort of digital taffy-pull? "*CORPUS CALLOSUM, which is titled for the "central region" of brain tissue that acts as a conduit between the two hemispheres, can be appreciated as both a naturalistic animation and an abstract Frank Tashlin comedy. It's the first movie of the new millennium to warrant both a special issue of OCTOBER and a run at the Sunshine Theater – soon I hope." – J. Hoberman, Village Voice

2 reels

 

Films

  • Other films by this artist in our catalogue

  • Read More
    A to Z
    Animation
    Experimental

    A to Z
    Michael Snow

    16mm, black and white, sound, 7 min
    Rental format: 16mm
    • Erotic
  • Read More
    New York Eye And Ear Control
    Experimental

    New York Eye And Ear Control
    Michael Snow

    16mm, black and white, sound, 34 min
    Rental format: 16mm
    • Music
    • Environment / Nature
    • Arts / Artists
  • Read More
    Short Shave
    Experimental

    Short Shave
    Michael Snow

    16mm, black and white, sound, 4 min
    Rental format: 16mm
  • Read More
    WVLNT: Wavelength For Those Who Don't Have the Time
    Experimental

    WVLNT: Wavelength For Those Who Don't Have the Time
    Michael Snow

    color, sound, 15 min
    Rental format: DVD NTSC
    • Films About Film
    • Structural
  • Read More
    Standard Time
    Experimental

    Standard Time
    Michael Snow

    16mm, color, sound, 8 min
    Rental format: 16mm
    • Landscape / Architecture
    • Environment / Nature
  • Read More
    Wavelength
    Experimental

    Wavelength
    Michael Snow

    16mm, color, sound, 45 min
    Rental format: 16mm
    • Arts / Artists
    • Structural
  • Read More
    Back and Forth
    Experimental

    Back and Forth
    Michael Snow

    16mm, color, sound, 52 min
    Rental format: 16mm
    • Philosophical
    • Psychology / Mental Health
  • Read More
    One Second In Montreal
    Experimental

    One Second In Montreal
    Michael Snow

    16mm, black and white, sound, 26 min
    Rental format: 16mm
    • Structural
  • Read More
    Side Seat Paintings Slides Sound Film
    Experimental

    Side Seat Paintings Slides Sound Film
    Michael Snow

    16mm, color, sound, 20 min
    Rental format: 16mm
  • Read More
    La Region Centrale
    Experimental

    La Region Centrale
    Michael Snow

    16mm, color, sound, 190 min
    Rental format: 16mm
    • Psychology / Mental Health
    • Philosophical
    • Environment / Nature
  • Read More
    Rameau's Nephew by Diderot (Thanx to Dennis Young) by Wilma Schoen
    Experimental

    Rameau's Nephew by Diderot (Thanx to Dennis Young) by Wilma Schoen
    Michael Snow

    16mm, color, sound, 267 min
    Rental formats: 16mm, DVD PAL
    • Political / Social Activism
    • Films About Film
    • Arts / Artists
    • Structural
    • Ethnographic
  • Read More
    Breakfast
    Experimental

    Breakfast
    Michael Snow

    16mm, color, sound, 15 min
    Rental format: 16mm
    • Psychology / Mental Health
  • Read More
    Presents
    Experimental

    Presents
    Michael Snow

    16mm, color, sound, 98 min
    Rental formats: 16mm, DVD PAL
  • Read More
    So Is This
    Experimental

    So Is This
    Michael Snow

    16mm, color, silent, 48 min
    Rental format: 16mm
    • Arts / Artists
    • Political / Social Activism
  • Read More
    Seated Figures
    Experimental

    Seated Figures
    Michael Snow

    16mm, color, sound, 40 min
    Rental format: 16mm
    • Structural
  • Read More
    See You Later/Au Revoir
    Experimental

    See You Later/Au Revoir
    Michael Snow

    16mm, color, sound, 18 min
    Rental format: 16mm
  • Read More
    To Lavoisier, Who Died in The Reign of Terror
    Experimental

    To Lavoisier, Who Died in The Reign of Terror
    Michael Snow

    16mm, color, sound, 52 min
    Rental format: 16mm
    • Science / Medicine
  • Read More
    The Living Room
    Experimental

    The Living Room
    Michael Snow

    16mm, color, sound, 20 min
    Rental format: 16mm