Scenes in America Deserta – Two Lines Three Circles on the Desert + Ride in the Whirlwind

Two Lines Three Circles on the Desert, Gerry Schum and Walter De Maria, 1970, 5’ Walter De Maria filmed a segment of a collective film organized by the German director Gerry Schum for his Fernsehgalerie project. Much like its American counterpart, the Dilexi Series, it saw television as a means of extending the dissemination of contemporary art. Shot in the Mojave Desert, De Maria’s segment is called Two Lines Three Circles on the Desert and shows him tracing on the ground and walking alongside two parallel lines. He is followed by the camera, which turns completely around three times in a row after about twenty steps; the artist walks further and further away until he disappears in the shot.

Ride in the Whirlwind, Monte Hellman, 1965, 82’ A stagecoach is attacked by a troop of bandits. During the altercation, a man is killed and one of the bandits seriously injured. The gang finds refuge in an inn, where three cowboys stop to rest. They quickly understand, despite the friendly welcome, that their hosts are running from the law. The next morning, gunshots ring out. A vigilante hanging party attacks the inn, not knowing the difference between the thugs and three innocent people.