Embodied in pure light, the situation is brought into tension with its representation.

Images

DIAGRAMATIC REPRESENTATION OF THE FILM INSTALLATION

DOCUMENTATION OF THE FILMING SESSION

FILM STILL EXTRACT

DOCUMENTATION OF THE FILM INSTALLATION IN THE GALLERY

Description

Filmed in 1975-1976 and shown at the John Gibson Gallery in New York City in 1978, Cause is an installation of a 3’ x 3’ square table whose surface is a projection screen for a looped single cassette film shot in super 8. The image projected onto the table surface is that of the same table surface at the same scale. The film loop was shot with the camera positioned directly above that table recording a simple sequence of events.

The title’s wordplay on the crow’s call and the concept of cause-and-effect hint at the installation’s subject matter: the projected film of the crow’s activity demonstrates how light embodies environmental information.