Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a drawing by Paul Sharits. It dates from 1969 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
It functions as a schematic for a performative film concept, capturing a mechanical arrangement with minimal detail and annotated instructions.
Created in 1969, this drawing by Paul Sharits is executed in felt-tip pen on paper and resides in The Museum of Modern Art’s collection. It functions as a schematic for a performative film concept, capturing a mechanical arrangement with minimal detail and annotated instructions. The work reflects Sharits’ interest in the physical relationship between projection equipment and the human body within experimental cinema.
Subject & Meaning
The drawing depicts a projector suspended above a screen on the floor, with a person lying beneath, their head connected to the projector’s power cord. This setup implies a feedback loop: bodily movement alters the projected image. The sketch suggests a durational performance where physical exertion directly influences visual output, blurring boundaries between operator, machine, and image.
Technique & Style
Rendered in loose, rapid strokes, the drawing uses minimal linework to convey structure rather than detail. Scribbled annotations—likely technical notes—dot the surface, indicating functional relationships between components. The raw, unpolished quality mirrors the immediacy of an idea in development, prioritizing conceptual clarity over aesthetic finish.
History & Provenance
Made in 1969, the drawing entered The Museum of Modern Art’s collection as part of its broader documentation of experimental film practices. It was likely produced during Sharits’ active period of exploring the materiality of projection, alongside his 16mm film works. Its preservation underscores its role as a critical artifact of process, not merely a finished artwork.
Context
Sharits was part of a 1960s avant-garde movement that treated film as a physical medium, not just a narrative vehicle. This drawing aligns with contemporaneous experiments in performance-based cinema, where bodily action, machinery, and light interacted in non-traditional ways. It reflects a broader shift toward dematerializing the cinematic experience through direct, embodied intervention.
Legacy
The drawing survives as a tangible record of Sharits’ conceptual approach to film, influencing later artists who explore the mechanics of projection and the body’s role in media. It remains a quiet but significant document of how experimental filmmakers used drawing not for representation, but as a tool to prototype and interrogate the conditions of seeing.
Artist & collection
Artist
Paul Jeffrey Sharits was a visual artist, best known for his work in experimental, or avant-garde filmmaking, particularly what became known as the structural film movement, along with other artists such as Tony Conrad, Hollis Frampton…
