[Frameworks] Sharits question

[Jonathan Walley]

Hello Frameworkers,

This might be a lot to ask, but here goes. I’m trying to hunt down a factoid, which, while a mere jot of information, would be a big help to me as I finish an article with a deadline looming. I have catastrophically misplaced my beloved copy of the Paul Sharits issue of Film Culture (1978, 65-66), which contains the treasure. In “Paul Sharits and the Critique of Illusionism: An Introduction,” Annette Michelson makes reference to Sharits’ calculation of how long it would take for one of his installations (I believe Shutter Interface) to run through every possible permutation of frame relations - that is, given the number of frames on each of the four reels running in loops, and the fact that the four projectors are not actually running in perfect sync (and the loops are not all the exact number of frames in length), how long would it take for every possible four-frame combination to be projected, thus effectively “ending” the piece (see attached image for clarification, I hope). 

To make this even trickier, the reference might be in a footnote. Michelson refers to a letter from Sharits that does the math, and comes to the conclusion that the piece could, theoretically, run for some massive amount of time like millions of years or something. 

If there are no takers on this little research project, I completely understand. But if anyone has the Film Culture issue handy and feels like skimming it for me, I’d be forever in your debt. BTW, I cannot find a copy of the Michelson article anywhere online. I know it also appears in a catalog for Projected Images (Walker Art Centre, 1974), but I can’t find that online either.

Like I said, it’s a factoid, but it’s a key for me to unlock some other, bigger point, hence my mania to find it.

Thank you everyone,
Jonathan



 

Dr. Jonathan Walley
Associate Professor and Chair
Department of Cinema
Denison University
https://denison.edu/people/jonathan-walley <https://denison.edu/people/jonathan-walley>



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