James G- Zoe Beloff: The Somnambulists

From September 2^nd to October 4^th, the Bellwether Gallery in New York City presented an exhibition by Zoe Beloff entitled The Somnambulists. I visited on October 3^rd. The exhibition consisted of four miniature wooden theaters and a fifth slightly larger “theater” where two short films implementing 3D glasses were shown in a separate room. In the smaller theaters, each built to look like a different setting, a small monochrome moving image was projected onto a piece of glass. The images, according to the information in the gallery, were short loops of people suffering from hysteria filmed over a hundred years ago.

The larger mini-theater showed two films based on case studies of a pre-Freudian psychologist named Pierre Janet. Utilizing stereoscopic technology in which 3D glasses must be worn, the two short films, named A Modern Case of Possession and History of a Fixed Idea, were about 10 minutes each. A narrator, Dr. Janet, discussed and tried to correct an individual’s hysteria. Both films featured Dr. Janet entering the dreams of the patients and eventually curing them while they sung songs about their delusions. Musical and comedy, the films brought up questions about acting and theater, as well as dreams and psychology.

After leaving the show, I found that somnambulist is a synonym for sleepwalker. The somnambulists, as is evident from watching the films, are the patients, who constantly live in their nightmares. The decision to show these films in a very modern technology, while so clearly referencing 19^th century acting and information, is an interesting dichotomy. The relationship between science and theater is an interesting one to bring up while talking about hysteria, which seems to reference a similar sort of idea. The hysteric is so deeply ingrained in fantasy, while a scientist tries to crack at that façade. The metaphor seems to be very fitting.

Overall I thought the exhibition was great. I had never seen 3D glasses used in such a way, and I was blown away by how seamless they were and how they enhanced the work. The relationships between the different aspects, such as the use of technology and the subject matter, were very intriguing.

James G