# Paul Sharits [wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Sharits) (1943–1993) ## Description American filmmaker whose flicker films — built from single-frame alternations of solid colour rather than photographic imagery — pushed structural film toward an embodied, physiological experience of the film strip itself; he later extended this frame-based colour structure into multi-projector "locational" film installations. ## Key Tags #structural #expanded-cinema #fluxus #buffalo #flicker ## Essential Works - [Ray Gun Virus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Sharits) (1966) - early flicker film composed entirely of single-frame colour alternation - [T,O,U,C,H,I,N,G](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Sharits) (1968) - flicker film combining colour frames with a repeated spoken word and a tongue being cut - [S:TREAM:S:S:ECTION:S:ECTION:S:S:ECTIONED](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Sharits) (1970) - four-screen "locational" film installation extending flicker structure into gallery space ## Details Studied painting before turning to film, developing flicker technique as an extension of hard-edge abstract painting's optical concerns into a literally embodied, physiological viewing experience — early screenings reportedly left some audience members nauseated or disoriented. Taught at SUNY Buffalo's Center for Media Study from 1970 alongside [[Hollis Frampton]], and later extended flicker structure into gallery-based, multi-projector "locational film" installations using synchronized sound loops. ### Concepts and Theories - [[Flicker and Entoptics]] - his flicker films directly engage retinal and entoptic effects as a structuring principle of the work ### Creative and Technical Practices %% none yet %% ### Collaborators %% none yet %% ### Institutional Affiliations and Associated Movements - State University of New York at Buffalo - taught in the Center for Media Study from 1970, alongside [[Hollis Frampton]] and other core Buffalo avant-garde faculty ## References ### Primary Sources Bibliography Sharits, Paul. "Words per Page." *Afterimage*, no. 4, 1972. ### Secondary Sources Bibliography %% none yet %%