On the Semiotic of Material and Apparatus in Film Art

In the field of cultural studies, discussion of the trend away from analog media and toward digitalized forms has been excessively one-sided, concentrating on the primacy enjoyed by electronics. As a complement to the concept of virtualization, Wolfgang Welsch suggests the term "revalidation." This tendency toward reevaluation of non- electronic experience is of similar importance and has advanced to a stage comparable to the electronics trend. In contemporary fine arts, the tendency toward revalidation is manifested in a return to the use of physical materials; in contemporary film art, the celluloid strip is regaining its importance as a vehicle. This "reconquest of the material" is progressing parallel to the appearance of new and cutting-edge media in museums. The position of the contemporary art scene in a field of tension between materialism and immaterialism also involves a problematic aspect, as the projected image (both analog and digital) is generally subsumed under the concept of the immaterial in a far too sweeping manner. As a consequence, the broad spectrum covering both classic and contemporary film art, which elevates the medium in its material dimension to the status of a scholarly subject, is excluded. In contrast to electronic images, film exists in a dual dimension, as an immaterial, projected image and as a material roll of celluloid. Proceeding from these preliminary considerations, four types of material film will be examined in the proposed project: 1) Handmade Film, 2) Expanded Cinema, 3) found-footage film and 4) Structural Film. The proposed project`s methodological framework is that of film semiotics and its variant, Apparatus Theory, which is critical of ideology. Though both areas are concerned with the aspect of representation, Apparatus Theory is intended to expose film`s symbolic character and promote recognition of its neglected material basis, and these goals coincide with the intentions of avant-garde filmmakers. At the same time, the theories produced on the basis of Apparatus Theory have generally been limited to narrative film. Through a combination of the subject of avant- garde film and the analytical methods of semiotics and Apparatus Theory, new pathways are being explored with regard to methodology. Additional methodological points of reference include Louis Hjelmslev`s development of the form/substance dichotomy into a four-level model and the "ecriture" model suggested by Marie-Claire Ropars, in explicit reference to Jacques Derrida`s "Grammatology." "Ecriture" would seem to be quite suitable for illuminating the production of meaning in avant-garde films. The intention of the proposed project is to reconsider the significance of the material for both classic and contemporary avant-garde film, to assess the cultural and ideological implications of this topic, and to take stock of the modern period in the context of film studies. In spite of the project`s perspective, which is that of cultural history, the aspect of the medium`s future-the role of analog film in the digital age-will also be examined. As an overview of current research will show, academia has Produced virtually no systematic and methodologically grounded investigations of material film, exceptions being the work of Christine N. Brinckmann (Zurich) and Joachim Paech (Konstanz). Furthermore, there have been neither examinations of the relevant semiotics nor reevaluations of the experiences of artists who do not work with electronics in the context of contemporary film production. The proposed research project is intended to provide theoretical models in the fields of film and cultural studies. This project is also relevant with regard to educational politics. As a result of the dearth of film-studies graduates in Austria, university students who would like to write a thesis in this area are facing a lack of adequate advisors. Of equal importance is the role played by the field of film studies in the integration of women. Internationally, female film-studies scholars play important roles as instructors, researchers and theoreticians in comparison to other disciplines. As an academic discipline which has established itself in the relatively recent past, film studies has often proven to be open to and therefore an attractive field for female scholars.