Elizabeth Webb is an artist and experimental filmmaker doing a residency right now at the Works on Water House on Governors Island.
Last week, she shot a film of the Red Hook Marine Terminal from across the water, thinking about her grandfather who worked there in the 1950s.
She wanted to unspool the film into the water, letting it span the Buttermilk Channel.
This is part of the concept of the film, a record of a line of sight, but also bearing evidence of the water in between.
I was amazed that the plan worked, the film unspooled out into the water and followed our exact path like a snake.
At first there was so much tension on the film, we were afraid that it would snap,
but the entire thing remained intact,
even when a boat passed over it.
We hung out near the marine terminal for a while and talked about Elizabeth’s grandfather, the subject of the film.
He was a longshoreman here in the 1950s and it has been difficult to get a full picture of his life in New York.
A representative from her grandfather’s Union was happy to talk, provide records, even to address his racial identity, but then he stopped returning emails. Elizabeth’s grandfather was black, and even within her own family, there are areas of silence.
In her research, Elizabeth has been thinking about lines of sight, part of the landscape over time, but also how they can be used as signals for wayfinding.
At some point, Elizabeth rowed and I held the film. I was amazed at the tension on the line. I could feel the current and the waves, the speed of the boat, all registering minute changes in pressure on the film.
I thought about how family histories reach back in time, tugging on us, connecting us, and the delicate care it takes to hold them.
I worried that maybe the salt water would just glue the entire spool of film together or wash the emulsion off entirely.
We got back to shore and Elizabeth packed up the film.
A few hours later, she sent me this picture, showing what the salt and seaweed had done to the film.
If you want to see the results and hear more about the project, visit Elizabeth’s studio at the Works on Water House on Governors Island on July 31!
I will see you there!
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