unbearable vision

Filmstudie (Hans Richter, 1926)

Hans Richter’s Filmstudie (1926) stands on the brink between traditions. Based in part on abstract rectangles and disks and partly on photographically real yet almost geometrically-shaped objects, the film tries to solder the aesthetic thresholds between photography and animation, erasing some differences and accentuating others. A number of devices drawing attention to the technical specificity of photography–multiple exposures, negative images–are also included and enter into a successful fusion with the remaining elements.

“I conceive of the film as a modern art form particularly interesting to the sense of sight. Painting has its own peculiar problems and specific sensations, and so has the film. But there are also problems in which the dividing line is obliterated, or where the two infringe upon each other. More especially, the cinema can fufill certain promises made by the ancient arts, in the realization of which painting and film become close neighbors and work together.” – Hans Richter via U B U W E B

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Posted 12 years ago & Filed under film stills, film gif, hans richter, filmstudie, 1920s, dada, surrealism, 3,798 notes