Mirage1981

"Abstraction in Gehr behaves like an X-ray, revealing unexpected patterns of order under the skin of things.  A film like Mirage, one of those most sensuous of Gehr’s abstract films may resemble superficially a strip painting by Kenneth Noland.  But it is essential to realize that the bands of color Gehr captures come from the world, shot through a simple clear tube that strips away form and lets only chromatic patterns and motion come through.  Even in his most abstract films, Gehr is relating to a world outside his consciousness and trying to stake out a relation to it, testing its order and chaos, its beauty and its threats."

                        – Tom Gunning “Placing The Films of Ernie Gehr”, Serene Intensity, The Films of Ernie Gehr, MOMI l999