UNE FOIS HABITÉE1992/1999

The colors and breezes of the countryside and house in Normandy. The blue crockery, the yellow lichen, and where the key in the monastery kitchen leads.

Some particular spaces, inhabited a while ago. Looking back into the Parisian courtyard, looking at the ladies at the villa, looking into the secrets of the chapel of the delinquents. Light sculpts space; shadow describes form.

Une Fois Habitée (Once Inhabited) is the final film of the French Film Trilogy. These works were conceived of as postcards to myself and songs to the passion of place. I noticed that the program in France called them “odes” which is a lovely word that seems old-fashioned and quite precise, evoking a sense of both memory and presence. The films emerged quite unlike my other work, as little stories without narratives and recollections of a French appreciation for American jazz. Cinematography concentrates on the spectacular natural light of the places: the films were shot with no special filters, particular technical “effects” or optical printing. I made a game for myself to edit them so that each could be shown separately, standing alone, and also be shown 1 – 2 – 3, as a trilogy form. I am indebted to poet Joanna McClure for her exacting and evocative reading of the vocal texts.