Hapax Legomena
In corpus linguistics, a ''hapax legomenon'' ( also or ; ''hapax legomena''; sometimes abbreviated to ''hapax'', plural ''hapaxes'') is a word or an expression that occurs only once within a context: either in the written record of an entire ...
'' series.
Summary
The film is composed of black-and-white still photographs taken by Frampton during his early artistic explorations which are slowly burned on the element of a hot plate, while the soundtrack offers personal comments on the content of the images, read by fellow artist Michael Snow. Each comment/story is heard in succession before the related photograph appears onscreen, thus causing the viewer to actively engage with the 'past' and 'present' moments as presented within the film.
Legacy
In 2003, ''Nostalgia'' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
The
Librarian of Congress
The Librarian of Congress is the head of the Library of Congress, appointed by the president of the United States with the advice and consent of the United States Senate, for a term of ten years. In addition to overseeing the library, the Libra ...
, James H. Billington described it (along with ''
Film Portrait
''Film Portrait'' (1972) is a full-length autobiographical film directed by, and about, the life of Minnesotan film-maker and artist, Jerome Hill.
Summary
Jerome Hill died shortly after the completion of ''Film Portrait'', and so the work is oft ...
'' by
Jerome Hill
James Jerome Hill II (March 2, 1905 – November 21, 1972) was an American filmmaker and artist known for his award-winning documentary and experimental films.
Career
Hill was the child of railroad executive Louis W. Hill.
He was educated at Ya ...
) as "avant-garde classics considered eloquent and evocative explorations of memory and family". The film is part of
Nostalgia
Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a learned formation of a Greek language, Greek compound, consisting of (''nóstos''), meaning "homecoming", ...
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Still image film
A still image film, also called a picture movie, is a film that consists primarily or entirely of still images rather than moving images, forgoing the illusion of motion either for aesthetic or practical reasons. These films usually include a stand ...