Ernie Gehr holds a special place in the world of avant-garde film. Critics such as P. Adams Sitney and J. Hoberman have written extensively on his work, Hoberman calling him “a filmmaker's filmmaker...whose movies are so lucid and tough-minded they could serve as primers of motion picture perception.... Like Michael Snow, Paul Sharits and others, Gehr has addressed himself to the fundamental qualities of film as film: the paradox of apparent motion, the ‘anxiety' arising out of three-dimensional representation on a two-dimensional plane, the tension between the photographed image and its material base.” (in American Film)
History
“Gehr dispensed with the lens altogether, exposing the film through a piece of black cheesecloth. The result was...seething grain patterns, organized by the viewer's eye into a kind of cosmic vista. (‘At last, the first film!' wrote Michael Snow.)” (J. Hoberman)   (1970, 25 mins, Silent (18-24 fps))

Serene Velocity
One of Gehr's best-known works. “Gehr created a stunning head-on motion by systematically shifting the focal length of a stationary zoom lens as it stared down the center of an empty, modernistic hallway. Without ever moving the camera, Gehr turned the flourescent geometry of this institutional corridor into a sort of pistol-powered mandala.... A literal ‘Shock Corridor...'” (J.H.)   (1970, 23 mins, Silent (18 fps))

Table
“A celluloid equivalent of a cubist still life--with an uncanny element of Vermeer as well. The subject is an ordinary kitchen table, a homely clutter of crockery and utensils...(transformed) into a stuttering, hypnotic shuffle.” (J.H.)   (1976, 16 mins, Silent (18 fps))

Shift
“The film is Gehr's first to employ extensive montage.... Table is pure visceral sensation; Shift is more dramatic. The actors, however, are all mechanical--a series of cars and trucks filmed from a height of several stories as they perform on a three-lane city street.” (J.H.)   (1972/74, 10 mins)

Behind the Scenes
The first public screening of this 1975 film. (1975, 5 mins)
• All films by Ernie Gehr. (Total running time: 80 mins plus discussion. Prints from Filmmaker)