Film Experiments Outside the Mainstream

"You can't turn film into a work of art by augmenting and exalting it with 'quality'. You can gather together the best mimes in the world, you can let them perform in the most exquisite paradise, you can adorn the programs of your film dramas with the names of the most eminent poets - art will never result that way. A work of art will result only if it is born of the possibilities  and demands of its matierials." - Walter Ruttmann

 We as an audience never quite understand the rich history of experimental film and its significance. The method of experimental is precisely why we struggle to digest what is put in front of us. The more this class goes on and the more I personally have been exposed to and delve into experimental/non-objective art, the more I see the appeal.

Ruttmann's words comes from the idea of opposing the idea of film as an art form in the sense that film is only considered art when it has substance from culture, like literature; that the art should speak for itself. It is a line of thought very much in tune with the movements of the time, like dadaism or abstract art. When applying this kind of thought to animation, it invites a very liberating feeling. I had always obsessed with making any artwork I made have some kind of substance, whether it contained subject matter that was allusions to some kind of myth or literature or that the technique was mastery. Through the methods of abstracted or experimental art, I am free to let go of those restrictions. Does that mean that I as an artist let go of all meaning or tact when I create? No, it just means that I am not trapped in a mold that I usually feel I must fit into.  Experimental art, to me, is about the experience. For the artist, it is about the journey that goes into creating the piece. For the viewer it is about the experience. I believe that even those who see no point or relevance in experimental films cannot deny that they felt an affect when they viewed a film. I realize that for all the symbolism or story I try to fit into the works I make, there is a struggle I feel because I am "augmenting" the piece with truly extraneous elements. Once again, Ruttmann is talking about film in this quote and it is not film I am interested in so much as visual images and animations, like the "moving paintings" that he and artists like Hans Richter would produce.

I stumbled across this abstract animation about three years old from animator Takashi Ohashi. It has that atmosphere in experimental/abstract animation that I admire in how minimalist forms of light on a dark background create this playful and strange symphony with a hint of a narrative.

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/shorts/kou-kou-is-fantastic-abstract-animation-from-japan-80092.html