The Fine Thread of Deviation

A delicate silk screen, designed and woven by Low forms the unique projection surface for the film shot, written, and edited by Williams. Using written text, still images, blocks of color, and original and found footage, the film draws together three connected lines: the Paterson, New Jersey silk workers strike of 1913; the use of moving images in time and motion studies used to regulate and accelerate the pace of mechanized work; and a toxic magenta dye called Rhodamine B, once used by rebelling workers to sabotage production and now fed directly to silkworms, turning their bodies themselves into miniature dye houses. Synopsis © Arsenal - Institut fûr Film und Videokunst e.V.