Nathaniel Dorsky: The Arboretum Cycle

"These seven films spontaneously manifested as the stages of life: early childhood, youth, maturity, old age, and death. ELOHIM was photographed in early spring, the week of the lunar new year, the very spirit of creation. ABATON was photographed a few weeks later in the full ripeness of spring, the very purity and intoxication of passion. CODA was photographed in late spring, in the aftermath of this purity, the first shades of mortality and knowledge. ODE, photographed in early summer, is a soft-textured song of the fallen, the dissonant reds of death, seeds, and rebirth. SEPTEMBER is indeed, Indian summer, the halcyon swan song of earthly blessings. MONODY, shot in the fading autumnal glory, is an energized declaration of the end. And EPILOGUE, photographed in early December, rests in quietude, the garden's energy now descending into the dark, damp earth."

Reel One:
Elohim (31 min.)
Elohim, or divine beings, the energy of light as creation. N.D.
Abaton (19 min.)
Abaton, a sacred place, a sanctuary for dreaming and healing. N.D.
Reel Two:
Coda (16 min.)
Coda is an afterword to Elohim and Abaton, the first shades of death and knowing. N.D.
Ode ( 20 min.)
Ode is the fourth section of the cycle. There is now the presence of death and dying as the dry summer begins. N.D.
Reel Three:
September ( 20 min.)
September's ripeness, a blessing on earth, our Indian summer... N.D.
Monody (16 min.)
A monody is an ode sung by a single actor in a Greek tragedy, a poem lamenting a person#s death. In this case, the sixth section of this Arboretum Cycle, the death of the garden itself. N.D.
Epilogue (15 min.)
Epilogue is the seventh film in the Arboretum Cycle, a descent into the dark damp earth, a period of dying. N.D.

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