'Walter Ruttmann viewed his abstract films, among the first ever made, as both ‘painting in time’ and ‘the music of light’ . . . Using an animation table and the single-frame technique, Ruttmann completed Lichtspiel Opus 1 by early 1921, calling it an ‘optical symphony’ that ‘aspires to a purity comparable to music’. Lauren Hebert and Heather McGuire Throughout his career, Hans Richter used painting and film to depict the movement of forms and the succession of time . . . On discovering Cubism in 1914, Richter conceived the rhythmic possibilities of visual form and began incorporating musical concepts into his paintings.' Lauren Hebert and Heather McGuire
Light Play: Visual Music Pioneers All ages 49 Minutes
Sat 19 Apr 3.00pm / Cinema A
Opus 1 (Lichtspiel) 1921
35MM, Colour, SILENT, 7 MINUTES, GERMANY / DIRECTOR: WALTER RUTTMANN
Diagonal Symphony / Rhythm 21 1921
35MM. BLACK AND WHITE SILENT, 8 MINUTES, GERMANY / DIRECTORS: HANS RICHTER, VIKING EGGELING
Filmstudie 1926
35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 4 MINUTES, GERMANY / DIRECTOR: HANS RICHTE
Ghosts Before Breakfast 1927
35MM, BLACK AND WHITE MONO, 7 MINUTES, GERMANY / DIRECTOR: HANS RICHTER
Race Symphony 1928
35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 5 MINUTES, GERMANY / DIRECTOR: HANS RICHTER
Twopence Magic 1930
35MM, BLACK AND WHITE, MONO, 5 MINUTES, GERMANY / DIRECTOR: HANS RICHTER
Richter on Film 1971
16MM, COLOUR, MONO, 13 MINUTES, GERMANY / DIRECTOR: CECILE STARR
Film prints for ‘Light Play’ provided courtesy of the National Film and Video Lending Service at the National Film and Sound Archive, Canberra.
