JoAnn Elam Movies

Filmed in extreme close-up, the lit-up pine needles of a Christmas tree are abstracted into forms of line and contrast. “Christmas Tree”...

Lie Back & Enjoy It is a dialectical film about the politics of representation. Its image track consists of technologically manipulated images of...

In this footage by JoAnn Elam, almost nothing is discernible, with the exception of buildings sometimes emerging in the dark and stripes of orange...

A myriad of purple and blue markings flicker hypnotically across the screen in “Filmabuse.” Periodically a blue screen flashes,...

“Windows” documents the views of and out from windows around JoAnn Elam’s Logan Square neighborhood in Chicago. The first section...

This footage by JoAnn Elam was probably shot in San Francisco, where Elam spent the “Summer of Love” in 1967 and which she perhaps...

This footage is almost entirely black, save for a few shots possibly showing electric poles outside.

Contrasting environments, in and outside.

Filmed during the 52nd National Convention of the American National Association of Letter Carriers in August 1980.

A covered bridge and the nature surrounding it.

Two pumpkins.

Abstract direct animation film made by JoAnn Elam.

Farm work and nature.

Optical printing experiments of a 16mm pornographic film.

Chicago streets.

Elam films her close friend, Chuck Kleinhans.

Two women gardening on a sunny day.

Elam's husband prepares vegetables at the sink.

Elam records several men moving boxes and furniture as they track across her backyard.

JoAnn Elam's unfinished project, EVERYDAY PEOPLE (filmed from 1979 to 1990), is based on her experiences as a letter carrier for the US Postal...