Absence in Cinema

Absence in Cinema is about mysterious gaps and thwarted expectations. Starting from the idea that every absence is a presence in disguise , Justin Remes combines aesthetic analysis with psychology, neuroscience and Buddhist philosophy to construct a powerful theory of erasure in experimental film culture. Taking in invisible art, soundless music and wordless poetry, Absence in Cinema is as incisive and radical as its subject matter. -- Holly Rogers, author of <i>Sounding the Gallery: Video and the Rise of Art Music</i> This theoretically sophisticated book about a set of exemplary avant-garde films during which there is either nothing to see or nothing to hear, or both, is a remarkably fun read. Justin Remes is a magician who makes Nothing in cinema Something! -- Scott MacDonald, editor of <i>Avant-Doc: Intersections of Documentary and Avant-Garde Cinema</i> Absence in Cinema is a dazzling, meticulously detailed, even revolutionary work. Remes's style is so assured with such a light and knowing touch that the reader is propelled through the book from first page to last. -- Wheeler Winston Dixon, author of <i>Synthetic Cinema: The 21st Century Movie Machine</i> An enchanting, endearing feature of this detailed and serious study of four films by Walter Ruttmann, Stan Brakhage, Naomi Uman and Martin Arnold is that it advances through a series of anecdotes, conversations, diversions, cross-references and speculations, capturing the spirit of the avant-garde in critical writing, a feat at once difficult and joyful. -- Brinda Bose * Telegraph India *