Page 64 - Studio International - January February 1975

flippancy and mockery of art work, this are very like Duchamp's 'Rotoreliefs' of is unable to compile this smattering of
film is a serious and coherent the '20S and '3os. Circles are drawn on material into visualized images
development of the same set of concerns them in non-concentric patterns which in representing cinematic representation, or
found in his other major works. From rotation create the illusion of spiralling to inflect these words with the linear
ANEMIC-CINEMA, it is possible to motion, squeezing in toward its centre transition of the normal sentence
make the connection to the sense of a and dilating out toward the edge of the structure.
urinal submitted in 1917 as an objet d'art, discs, and of a perspective which In ANEMIC-CINEMA, definition is
or to enjoy a very phallic object made in simultaneously recedes into space and implied by orthography and consonance,
1951 entitled objet dard—dard being projects from the screen toward the and yet the film has no sound. The
common French slang for penis. viewer. Duchamp wrote that he would be viewer (voyeur) reads, hears the words
Duchamp gave a ready-made disappointed if these discs were taken as subjectively, and makes associations,
thorough consideration and then its `anything but optics' and it seems as well perhaps not even consciously. The
actual creation was to him a 'sort of that the words of ANEMIC-CINEMA individual perceiver is in a room darkened
rendezvous : ... by planning for a should be taken face-value as simply for projection, and since some of the film's
moment to come (on such a day, such a words. But at the same time, one must implications are heavily sexual, he or she
date, such a moment), to inscribe a ready- reckon with the ironic humour of may feel scandalized and not even know
made.' In 1916 he wrote a series of four Duchamp. It is for instance characteristic why.
postcards in which he followed that he would describe himself as 'a Thus, while the viewer creates a
established syntax but substituted words breather' when the French for breathe subjective experience of the film, at the
which would result in the sentences respirer implies also aspirer 'to aspire' and same time he or she remains subject to
having no meaning. This he said was a en spirale 'in a spiral'. Duchamp who has created the film.
considerable task, since every time a word The title of the work is consistent with The artist has control, the perceiver
suggested a meaning, he had to choose the ambivalent motion and perspective of does not. Consistent with the
another in its place. Significantly, he the spiralling images. ANEMIC is nearly developments of the twentieth century,
called these post-cards Rendezvous du CINEMA spelled backwards; in the Duchamp has recognized that an artist
dimanche or Sunday Rendezvous. film's first picture, the two graphic words may no longer claim to present a static
Duchamp was fascinated by language incline towards each other around a `picture' but instead must deal with
and had several plans for the creation of vertical axis, mirroring each other back ambiguity and motion and with the
an entirely new one. He wrote that one of and forth like the motion of the spiral. perceiver as socially conditioned to see
these was based on consonance: 'If what Duchamp thought of simultaneous selectively, to categorize and interpret.
you want is a grammatical rule: the verb reflection as a representation of infinity But Duchamp goes much further, for in
agrees with the subject in consonance: and often used glass or mirrors in his anticipating various subjective
for instance, le nègre aigrit, les négresses work as relevant to this idea. He reactions in the perceiver as participant
aigrissent ou maigrissent, etc.' The film constructed a special screen for the first and creator in the work of art, Duchamp
ANEMIC-CINEMA is one realization showing of the film, which was a piece of retains the upper hand and is actually
of such a plan. translucent glass, like that used for a exploiting even the perceiver. Here
Each word Duchamp chooses for the bathroom window, with a reflective again, one must reckon with the humour
film has been used before, and they mirror-silver backing. The projected of Duchamp.
therefore function as objets trouves. In light would penetrate some into the ANEMIC, part of the title, does not
ANEMIC-CINEMA, Duchamp follows screen before being reflected toward the exist in French except as an anagram of
regular syntax, but the apparent reason viewer, and the light then actually does CINEMA. Anémique, however, means
for his word choice has more to do with what the film's image suggests : it travels anaemic or unhealthy. Animé, another
alliteration and consonance than with any in-out with an infinite dimension. pun, means animated.
clear referential meaning. To a French- Toby Mussman has written that the
speaking person, these phrases appear as optics are based on: `. . . the concept that BAINS DE GROS THE POUR
nonsense, yet the viewer will try to deal two different people watching the film at GRAINS DE BEAUTE SANS TROP
with them as he/she is used to dealing the same time would not be perceiving it DE BENGUE.
with language. To the human animal, in exactly the same way all the time. One's This noun phrase may be divided into
words are more than orthographic perception of the film would oscillate three word groups :
pictures or phonetic entities, and because according to one's optical faculties, which Bains de gros the
of the inevitable linguistic convention of we can assume are as widely variable as pour grains de beauté
words as symbolic, language is inseparable any of the other physical characteristics.' sans trop de bengué.
from some referential meaning. The The same variety must be given to The sounds as they build upon each
perceiver of ANEMIC-CINEMA will perception of the language. Meaning is other are like a spiral. The associations
struggle to read and so will create a perceived as it strikes or pleases the build upon each other as well and the
subjective inflection for the words. Since viewer, according to his or her own most appropriate diagram of this would
consonance is already emphasized in the particular set of linguistic associations. be their own revolving spiral.
phrases, it sets off a gestalt of free Mussman has also written that : `. . . the The consonant sounds are juggled in
association, and Duchamp is enacting a beholder does not have sufficient groups of three: b-, gr-, t-, gr-, b-, t-;
new use of the pun. The words spite opportunity to categorize the optical play. tr-, b-, g-. The vowel sounds are also
themselves as non-referential, and the Nor does the viewer have time to adjust juggled, the first two phrases repeating
artist's opaque language ingeniously himself physically to the ambivalence the (rhyming), the last phrase varying the
exploits traditional definition. eye is experiencing.' The language too, order of the same sounds. The entire
A pun itself is already a subtle richly complex and suggestive, is shown phrase is thus three times three, a
comment on the function of language, for a limited time, and given the seven- number and a set which fascinated
where the consonant arrangement of the minute duration of the film and the Duchamp and for him expressed
words suggests an infinity of potential persistency of the elusively spiralling infinity — one is the unit, two is the
meaning and at the same time mocks any motion, the beholder probably will not be couple, and three is 'Taken as a refrain
conclusive definition. By dealing with able to elucidate an experience of the film. in duration — (number is mathematical
language as an overall, concrete phonetic Fragments of inflected meaning are duration).'
entity, the pun questions the value of drawn toward the surface of A literal if somewhat ridiculous
language as an abstract metaphor. consciousness, yet attempts to name and translation would be: Baths of vulgar
The film's nine linguistic control remain frustrated, and all these tea for beauty marks without too much
configurations are written in spiral form micro-thoughts remain jumbled in the BENGUE.
on rotating discs and shown separately matter the brain processes continuously. The first phrase is already an example
between each of ten 'optic discs' in The wide variety of meaning Duchamp's of vulgarity implied and not actually
revolution. In 1926, this spiralling image language understates recalls many present. From the phrase BAINS DE
alternating between graphic and verbal different images, but these are like the GROS THE, the word GROS as a noun
is itself a pun on the alternating images individual frames of a film which cannot is slang for defecation, as in the idiom,
and titles of silent film. The optic discs be distinguished separately. The viewer faire son gros. Crotte, which sounds a lot

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