The Infernal Dream

Zoe Beloff

2011, 11:54, b&w, Sound

Beloff’s three-channel film incorporates staged reenactments and two archival films—Motion Studies Application and Folie a Deux—both industrial productions from the early 1950’s. Motion Studies teaches workers to maximize their efficiency through small movements, and Folie a Deux demonstrates how to identify the titular psychiatric disorder. Together, the films present the extremes of the productive and unproductive body and study their respective choreographies. A third sequence, inspired by slapstick productions, sets the two previous films into dialectical motion by depicting an office setting wherein objects take on a life of their own. As the materials mysteriously float, spin, and spill over, they disrupt the order of capitalist productivity.

Waje’s Cockabunnies

Sophie Breer 

1981, 14:44 min, color, sound

Waje’s Cockabunnies is structured like the mid-century children’s television show “Romper Room,” in which the host leads children through activities and craft demonstrations. Breer captures Wojarowicz’s creative process as he sits at a child’s desk, cuts out bunny ears and tails, and secures them to the cockroaches with Q-tips and rubber cement. The audience, comprised of Breer, her sister and filmmaker Emily Breer, and Emily’s boyfriend David Baillie, frequently interjects with amused commentary and laughter.

Zoom Room

Mike Smith 

2022, 10:51 min, color, sound, HD video

From Michael Smith: “Mike emerges from pandemic isolation to discuss repainting the office break room with his less-than-enthused colleagues over Zoom. The tone of the meeting is underscored by his co-workers’ minimal engagement and their growing resentment to Mike's prolonged absence from the office.”