{{Short description|Film cycle by Nathaniel Dorsky}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} The '''Arboretum Cycle''' is a seven-part film cycle by American experimental filmmaker Nathaniel Dorsky. The films—''Elohim'', ''Abaton'', ''Coda'', ''Ode'', ''September'', ''Monody'', and ''Epilogue''—were shot in 2017 at the Strybing Arboretum in San Francisco. Dorsky made the series to capture the interaction between light and plants in the garden.
==Works== ''Elohim'', the first film in the cycle, captures a sense of stillness and is dominated by muted green, yellow, and brown shades. ''Abaton'' shows the garden in late winter, with red and purple colors just beginning to emerge.<ref name="goldberg-brooklyn-rail">{{cite magazine|last=Goldberg|first=Max|date=May 2018|title=The Sacred Wood: Nathaniel Dorsky's ''Arboretum Cycle''|url=https://brooklynrail.org/2018/05/film/The-Sacred-Wood-Nathaniel-Dorskys-Arboretum-Cycle|magazine=The Brooklyn Rail|page=3|access-date=June 7, 2022}}</ref><ref name="coldiron-mubi">{{cite web|url=https://mubi.com/notebook/posts/light-on-leaves-nathaniel-dorsky-s-arboretum-cycle|title=Light on Leaves: Nathaniel Dorsky's 'Arboretum Cycle'|last=Coldiron|first=Phil|date=May 11, 2018|website=Notebook|publisher=MUBI|access-date=June 7, 2022}}</ref>
''Coda'' and ''Ode'' show spring and summer. Red and purple become most prominent as the flowering plants bloom.<ref name="coldiron-mubi"/><ref name="turner-bfi">{{cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/features/nathaniel-dorsky-arboretum-cycle-golden-gate-park-photosynthesis-film|title=Nathaniel Dorsky's Arboretum Cycle: the photosynthesis of film|last=Turner|first=Matt|date=July 31, 2018|website=Sight & Sound|access-date=June 7, 2022}}</ref>
''September'' showcases the deep green of leaves and trees, with some late blooms still remaining.<ref name="coldiron-mubi"/> It and ''Monody'', filmed in autumn, feature a large tree in the arboretum.<ref name="turner-bfi"/>
''Epilogue'' is the final film in the cycle. Because it was shot in winter, it has naturally low light.<ref name="turner-bfi"/>
==Production== {{multiple image|perrow = 2|total_width=300 | image1 = Rhodocoma capensis kz3.jpg | image2 = Trachycarpus fortunei kz2.jpg | image3 = Fremontodendron californicum kz7.jpg | image4 = Artemisia californica 'Canyon Grey' kz2.jpg | footer = Plants from the arboretum in September 2016 }} Dorsky visited the Strybing Arboretum on the Lunar New Year of 2017.<ref name="mcginnes-sfmoma">{{cite web |url=https://openspace.sfmoma.org/2018/06/the-light-fantastic-nathaniel-dorskys-arboretum-cycle/|title=The Light Fantastic: Nathaniel Dorsky's ''Arboretum Cycle''|last=McGinnes|first=Mac|date=June 5, 2018|publisher=San Francisco Museum of Modern Art|access-date=June 7, 2022}}</ref> The area had recently had heavy rains following a five-year drought.<ref name="carlson-artforum">{{cite web|url=https://www.artforum.com/interviews/nathaniel-dorsky-on-celebrating-light-and-celluloid-78602|title=Nathaniel Dorsky on celebrating light and celluloid|last=Carlson|first=Matthew|date=February 8, 2019|website=Artforum|access-date=June 7, 2022}}</ref> He began meditating in the gardens during afternoons and felt a connection to the space, which was located close to his home.<ref name="turner-bfi"/><ref name="mcginnes-sfmoma"/> Dorsky decided to "make a film about the way the plants there manifest in light or vice versa."<ref name="carlson-artforum"/>
He began shooting footage in February 2017 for what became ''Elohim''.<ref name="turner-bfi"/> After editing ''Elohim'', Dorsky noticed the garden looked "more adolescent" and made a second film, ''Abaton''.<ref name="carlson-artforum"/> ''Coda'' was intended to end the series, but he ended up working in the same location through December. The resulting seven films show one annual cycle for the plants in the arboretum.<ref name="turner-bfi"/><ref name="carlson-artforum"/>
Dorsky shot on Eastman Color Negative film using a Bolex 16 mm camera. He edited the footage at his home studio in the Richmond District. Editing was performed manually with a film viewer and splicer, without digital equipment.<ref name="mcginnes-sfmoma"/>
==Style== The content of the films focuses on capturing light in different ways rather than reproducing the pro-filmic object.<ref name="coldiron-mubi"/> The actions depicted, such as swaying in the wind, have an uncertain sense of time without definite beginning and end.<ref name="goldberg-brooklyn-rail"/> Dorsky's compositions use strong shadows, often as a dominating element in the foreground.<ref name="coldiron-mubi"/>
The Arboretum Cycle marked a shift away from the style of polyvalent montage Dorsky had developed in his previous films and toward in-camera improvisations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mubi.com/en/notebook/posts/nathaniel-dorsky-shimmering-golden-music|title=Nathaniel Dorsky: Shimmering Golden Music|last=Proctor|first=Maximilien Luc|date=February 15, 2022|website=Notebook|access-date=November 17, 2023}}</ref> While filming, he used changes in focus to create shifts within individual shots. For example, one shot of dark branches covering a sunny meadow give the resemblance of a landscape at night or a starry night sky.<ref name="mcginnes-sfmoma"/> Dorsky also oscillated the aperture to create fluctuations in light intensity, which he likened to a musical vibrato.<ref name="goldberg-brooklyn-rail"/> His extreme use of underexposure gives some images the illusion of day for night.<ref name="coldiron-mubi"/>
The subtle shifts within each shot mean that cuts between them are a larger source of action.<ref name="turner-bfi"/> Dorsky uses darkened images to make cuts between shots less noticeable.<ref name="goldberg-brooklyn-rail"/>
==Release== [[File:Nathaniel Dorsky 3.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Nathaniel Dorsky at a screening of ''Elohim'' and ''Abaton'']] The first four films of the cycle premiered at the Harvard Film Archive on October 15, 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://harvardfilmarchive.org/calendar/2017-10|title=Arboretum Cycle|publisher=Harvard Film Archive|access-date=June 7, 2022}}</ref> The Arboretum Cycle in its entirety premiered on February 5, 2018, at Duke University.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cinematicarts.duke.edu/sites/cinematicarts.duke.edu/files/screensociety-archive/events/screensociety-18-18-nathaniel-dorsky-duke-program-4-world-premiere-arboretum-cycle.html|title=Screen/Society--18 at 18: Nathaniel Dorsky at Duke--Program 4: World Premiere of the 'Arboretum Cycle'|publisher=Duke University|access-date=June 7, 2022}}</ref> An adjunctive film, ''Colophon (for the Arboretum Cycle)'', premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/comment/festivals/toronto-tiff-2018-wavelengths-cosmic-landscape-highlights|title=Cosmic curiosities: umpteen highlights of Toronto's 2018 Wavelengths showcase|last=Cronk|first=Jordan|date=October 2, 2018|publisher=British Film Institute|access-date=June 7, 2022}}</ref> Dorsky only presents the cycle on 16 mm film; it is not distributed on digital media.<ref name="coldiron-mubi"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://nathanieldorsky.net/post/171173173488/final-stills-and-quotes-for-the-seven-sections-of The Arboretum Cycle] at Nathaniel Dorsky's official website *[https://canyoncinema.com/catalog/film/?i=4927 The Arboretum Cycle] at Canyon Cinema
{{Nathaniel Dorsky}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arboretum Cycle}} Category:2017 American films Category:2010s avant-garde and experimental films Category:American film series Category:Avant-garde and experimental film series Category:Film series introduced in 2017 Category:Films directed by Nathaniel Dorsky Category:Films shot in 16 mm film Category:Films shot in San Francisco Category:Non-narrative films Category:Silent films in color Category:Surviving American silent films