As I first watched Stan Brackage’s STELLAR [1993], I took down adjectives in order to describe what I was seeing and feeling:

Dark, rich, deep, quick,

Ominous, haunting, repeated,

Splattered, no rhythm chosen or catchable,

Erratic (but purposeful), pounding

Distorted images…

I watched the film a few more times, and after reading the end credits (where it states that it is composed by a “visual musician”) and after reading the reactions in the Youtube comments (some questioned, “Is this art?!”, while others described it as the “visions” of Brackage), I saw this spectacle as more of a piece than a random assortment of images.

One user who commented on the video recommended music to be played along with it (such as the band Joy Division, which I played along with it one of the times). But there is something about the silence that accompanies the onslaught of visual imagery that gives it its purpose and edge. It is its own music, in a way, composed of film, color, distortion, and speed/movement. I interpret it as music for the eyes.