Zorns Lemma

Zorns Lemma is a 1970 American structural experimental film by Hollis Frampton. It is named after Zorn’s lemma (also known as the Kuratowski–Zorn lemma), a proposition of set theory formulated by mathematician Max Zorn in 1935. Zorns Lemma is prefaced with a reading from an early grammar textbook. The remainder of the film, largely silent, shows the viewer an evolving 24-part “alphabet” (composed initially of street signs photographed in New York City) which is cycled through, replaced and expanded upon. The film’s conclusion shows a man, woman and dog walking through snow as several voices read passages from On Light, or the Ingression of Forms, by Robert Grosseteste.