[Editor's Note—Welcome to the inaugural post of "I'm Short, Not Stupid," a weekly column focused on highlighting rare and obscure short films under one unifying theme, which will shift on an arbitrary basis. When the curator, Jeffrey Bowers, told us the inaugural theme was "Phallic Fever," we got really excited because we love wieners and so should you. Enjoy this flick and check back next week for another short vaguely related to major bonage!]
Removed is the ultimate cocktease. Made back in 1999 by director Naomi Uman, the short attempts to examine the female form through the reappropriation of vintage 16mm porno. But before you break out a bottle of Jergens, you should know that you don't actually see any sexed-up women at all. Using a number of household products, Naomi physically strips the objectified woman down to a blank object and subverts our collective carnal gaze. The void where all the lady-parts usually would be turns into a perfect space to project our own fantasy woman.
Jeffrey Bowers is a tall mustached guy from Ohio who's seen too many weird movies. He currently lives in Brooklyn, working as an art and film curator. He is a programmer at the Hamptons International Film Festival and screens for the Tribeca Film Festival. He also self-publishes a super fancy mixed-media art serial called PRISM index.