The Loom1986

A multiple-superimposition hand-painted visual symphony of animal life on earth. THE LOOM might be compared to musical quartet-form ( as there are almost always 4 superimposed pictures), but the complexity of texture, mulipicity of tone, and the variety of inter-related rhythms suggest symphonic dimensions. The film is very inspired by George Melies: the animals exist (in Jane's enclosure) as on a stage, their inter-relationships edited to the disciplines of dance, so therefore one might say this film hardly represents animal life on earth; but I would argue that this work at least epitomizes theatrical nature, magical creature, and is the outside limit, to date, of my art in that respect. (The balance of light was so perfectly realized in making the neg. of this print that I wish to credit Western Cine Lab's timer Loise Fujiki as creative collaborator in the accomplishment of this work.) A deceptively simple film, this strikes me as the strongest, most ambitious non-narrative Stan Brakhage has made since THE TEXT OF LIGHT. Although plotless, THE LOOM is doubly theatrical performance. Its stars are scurrying animals in an enclosure and the film-maker's subtly sensational use of multiple super-imposition. – J. Hoberman, Village Voice, 1/21-27/87