"Early Abstractions" Pt. 1 (1946-57)

I watched this scratch film and thought it was really incredible. I got it from a previous blogger. Is the work really during the 1940s through to the 50s? It's spectacular. In the beginning it looked like someone was using chopsticks to form a square. Then slowly it moved into an amazing picture that looked as thought it was being filmed. Around the four minute mark he uses a number of geometric styles with bright colors and it looks really amazing. The filmmaker really did an incredible job. 

EARLY ABSTRACTIONS BY HARRY SMITH+soundtrack

Ah, yes, Meet the Beatles, that's almost 50 years ago! A controversial choice among many indeed and one which some purport to be a certain sort of 'folk music',...but for soundtrack variants, of which there were several, see these versions on youtube with score by Teji Ito (of 'Meshes' soundtrack fame)

EArly Abstractions part one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wYJ51nSXRQ
EArly Abstractionspart two
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRJAoJVp8cU
EArly Abstractionspart three
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrZxw1Jb9vA

for more information on Harry Smith:
The HARRY SMITH ARCHIVES
WIKIPEDIA ENTRY
SENSES OF CINEMA ARTICLE

In The Wake of the Beatles 9/9/08

The first film we screened today in class was In the Wake by A. Curtis. This film consisted of found footage with animated text scratched into the emulsion of the film. Because this is a scratch film, it leaned on the short side, but for the tone and feel of the piece it was ideal. The words appeared as if they were scratched and then written over with some sort of marker or paint. It is unclear what specifically he used to achieve this effect. The words, originally written by James Joyce, supplimented the images upon which they were scratched. As far as scratch films go, this was not my favorite... it was somewhat like the hiaku of scratchfilmland; short, poingnant free, and over almost as soon as it starts.

Next we screened a series of films by Harry Smith. These consisted of animated geometric design and collage, depending on the film. Because all of the films have a Beatles song as it's soundtrack, all of them had the same feel for me. It seems as if he used a variety of techniques, from handpainting to live action shapes moving, to computer assisted image generation. Very entertaining, but little higher meaning or substance. Im sure all of these were very time consuming to complete.

After Thought

I, personally, have nothing to say about these films...

Of all the three I enjoyed Early Abstractions the most. I thought that Smith's formal outlay of shapes and colors strung together beautifully, although at times I felt that he was still trying to figure out the material. I was more entranced with the painted films, than with the shapes and colors; aesthetically is appealed to me more. It was unfortunate that a soundtrack was just slapped on there for no apparent reason, other than to keep an onlooker from falling asleep.

I could not grasp In the Wake at all. Everything was fairly fleeting, especially the words that would appear for either side of the frame or from no where. James Joyce's words seemed to hit the film with less integrity that if it were on paper. His language may be fleeting, but the film is too dependent on just copying the style.

In The Wake..., Early Abstractions, Abrasions

Of the three I was most drawn to the animated nature of Early Abstractions the most, although, myself not being a massive fan of insects, especially those from across any ponds, I was kind of more put into a trance watching a kaleidoscope or standing in the middle of a lightshow than oulled into any deeper thinking. This was fine--the colors, man, the colors! And I was jazzed by the dancing on the moon sequence, but all in all they seemed more like excercises in color and shape than an attempt at anything with depth, although, still, that may have been the pop music. I did enjoy it, though.

Abrasions, again, was cool, though it very much embodies the title and I really don't like the anticipation of when the next bulleted sounds and white smodge would appear. It's like watching a horror movie for the second time--you know it's coming, and for some reason that just makes it worse.

I am not so sure what I feel about In The Wake....I was equally torn between a funeral wake, and imagining myself water skiing. The words were very well formatted. They hardly jumped around at all. By the use of the peaceful words of James Joyce, I'm think this is intended, but the effect was to lull me a bit into sleepiness. I guess I just wish he'd done something more.

In the Wake of early Absractions with Abrasions

The sound of the boys from liverpool infects my head at the moment, but even though the soundtrack of Early Abstractions could have been....better...the images were amazing.  Moving through different works by Harry Smith we can see an advance in style and complication; from paint and ink, to very interesting collage, including images of which I remember; tarot cards and Buddhist symbols and a very cool skeleton.  Can you say mind altering substances?  And I can't forget to mention the excitement of S&M in Abrasions--who knows what's going on behind that black screen and flickering noise...In the Wake seems to fall a little short in deviance, but I was never one for poetry.