Watch T,O,U,C,H,I,N,G,

"If you take the facts of the retina, the flicker mechanism of film projection," Paul Sharits wrote, "then you can make films without logic of language." T,O,U,C,H,I,N,G assaults language rather more directly with its single-word soundtrack ("Destroy") and the image of poet David Franks holding a pair of scissors to his tongue. In spite of this violence, the film's blasts of pure color suggest a measure of transcendence in keeping with Sharits' interest in modeling his motion-picture works after mandala wheels. The glittery images are pure pop. But the flicker effect perforates the viewer's defenses. - Max Goldberg