Interior Scroll - The Cave

1975-1995

1995, 7:31 min, color, sound

In a vast underground cave, Schneemann and seven nude women perform the ritualized actions of Interior Scroll — reading the text as each woman slowly extracts a scroll from her vagina. The scroll embodies the primacy of an extended visual line shaped as both concept and action. The extracted text merges critical theory with the body as a source of knowledge. Beatty's camera moves from the naked group actions into close-ups of the unraveling text.

Edited and Produced by Maria Beatty. Cave Participants: Lilah Friedland, Jade, Jackie Lipton, Sativa Peterson, Naomi Schechter, Carolee Schneemann. Voices: Maria Beatty, Kathy Brew, Cynthia Gaasch, Carolee Schneemann. Camera: Maria Beatty, Abigail Child, Caroline Koebel, Ethan Mass, James Schaeffer. On-Line Editor: Karen Heyson.