John Knecht

In NORTH ON EVERS James Benning takes the road movie seriously, making his circular trip across the U.S. a marvelously photographed, intensely felt, and disturbing portrait of contemporary America. In many ways, this recent film is a departure of Benning’s earlier films which are characterized, at times, by extremely long, carefully planned takes and a minimal narrative approach. In NORTH ON EVERS, the shots are kept short with a narrative that is direct and detailed, like a diary or a long series of postcards to a friend. What this work shares with the other films is a dry wit and a deep interest in the American social landscape.

The Possible Fog of Heaven is a consideration of the dimensionality of metaphysics and the metaphysics of dimensionality. Elvis speaks for the first time from the afterlife, describing in voice over and graphic text, his experience in Heaven. The Structure of the tape follows the King’s last prescription.

The POXIOX Study: Tales of the End of the World is a layering of narratives which describe the moment of rapture at the end of the world on New Years Eve at the dawn of the Third Millennium. Consistent crawling text and voice over provide the primary narrative of multiple characters as they prepare for the blast of the post dimensional afterlife.

A constructed framework used to illuminate a reflection on the color spectrum by means of a complex of 'narrative' cross-references. –J. K.