The Parrish Art Museum - East End Stories

Viewers of a certain age respond immediately to the sound of the 16mm projector that T.J. Wilcox uses to show his films. The powerful auditory input triggers memories of 1950s and 1960s paneled rec rooms, shag rugs, and the family vacations and birthday parties that were the main subjects of these reels. Younger viewers may process this as nostalgia-and that is exactly the complex recollection that the artist counts on. Wilcox's own practice, in fact, employs this collage effect. He first shoots in 8mm, then pieces together the work frame by frame, adding found footage and new clips; the film is then copied onto video for editing, and finally transferred to 16mm for projection.
[Alicia G. Longwell, North Fork/South Fork: East End Art Now. Southampton, New York: The Parrish Art Museum, 2004.]