Dreamlands: Immersive Cinema and Art, 1905–2016

In Line Describing a Cone, film occupies a three- dimensional presence in space. A large white circle, hand-animated by Anthony McCall, gradually appears against a black background. The projector beam, made visible by a fine mist (originally cigarette smoke), evolves from a line to a hollow cone which we can move physically into and around, reorienting ourselves within the film itself rather than passively observing it. McCall’s combination of volume and temporality fuses the properties of film, sculpture, performance, and conceptual art, creating a spatial analogue for the experience of time.