Apart from the familiar world of feature films, there exists a lesser-known world of industrial films, instructional and informational sponsored short films that were shown in schools, at corporate events, in the workplace, and at commercial theaters before features. Documentary filmmaker Caroline Martel's installation Industry/Cinema takes an illuminating journey through film history by juxtaposing industrial images with those from popular or canonical films made between 1903 and 1991. With headphones and channel switches, visitors can toggle back and forth between the soundtracks. Images and sounds comment on each other, often in surprising ways, allowing for a singular interactive experience. Scenes from films by Thomas Edison, Charles Chaplin, François Truffaut, and Stanley Kubrick are shown alongside such archival gems as How Business Girls Keep Well, Along These Lines, and The Speech Chain, an AT&T film with a computer singing "Daisy Bell," which was sung by the computer HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Made possible with support from the General Delegation of Quebec in New York.

Program information:

Industry/Cinema: An Installation by Caroline Martel

Related Articles:
Dream Factory by Aaron Cutler posted May. 16, 2012