The Catcher In The Rye, Nigel Tomm, and My Interest in Experimental/Avant-Garde Film: Part One

This summer, I read The Catcher In The Rye for the first time. Over the years, I had heard stories of J. D. Salinger's unwillingness to have his book adapted for the screen, and the claims of it being "unfilmable." Despite this, I googled 'catcher in the rye imdb' out of curiosity to see if there were any current or failed projects listed. What I found was this: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1206286/.



The Catcher In The Rye, created by Nigel Tomm, is a silent 75 minutes and 6 seconds of blue screen. When I first discovered this film, my initial reaction was that this had to be a joke. I read what information I could find about him online, and it appears that Tomm takes himself and his work completely seriously. I'd like to believe that this is a hoax to try to ensnare art snobs who worship the god of all things abstract and avant-garde, but it doesn't appear to be the case. Also, I found that Tomm had also released at least six others in different colors. (He was generous enough to let us view them free of charge. Imagine that.)

A positive outcome from this discovery is my very questioning of what defines art, as well as the line between good and bad art. While I honestly beleive that Nigel Tomm's films aren't 'good art' (if there is such a thing as that), I feel that this had led me to search out truly innovative and rich abstract art. And so begins my journey.