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Oskar Fischinger / Oskar Wilhelm Fischinger

Abstract Art

July 21, 2013

Decades before computer graphics were developed, American-German artist Oskar Fischinger created his signature abstract musical animations. The painter, animator, and filmmaker created over 800 paintings and over 50 short films throughout his career. Today his works are part of numerous international collections, museums, and galleries, including Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, CA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Yale University's Art Gallery, Solomon Guggenheim Museum in New York, and Smithsonian American Art Museum. The artist's short film Motion Painting No. 1 from 1947 is currently listed on the National Film Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress.

The Absolute Cinema

As a young boy, Oskar Fischinger (born in 1900 in Gelnhausen, Germany) wished to be a musician. He worked as an apprentice organ-building firm and studied violin. Once WWI began, he lost his job, as everyone in the firm was drafted. Unable to serve because he was too young, he turned to architecture and ultimately received a diploma in engineering.

Fischinger had his first glimpse into the world of cinema in 1920 when he met film critic Bernhard Diebold. The following year, he attended the Light Play Opus I screening, created by abstract experimental filmmaker Walter Ruttmann. The film left such a deep impression on the young man that he decided to pursue a career in movies and create the "absolute cinema." He found that the non-narrative style of this experimental film would perfectly fit his graphic art and musical skills. Fischinger said:

Music is not limited to the world of sound. There exists a music of the visual world.

Animation

Fischinger's early films were highly experimental as he sought to do something never seen before. Among his many influences were also the meditative mandala structures of Tibetan Buddhism, as seen in the film Wax Experiments and Spirals. The artist created a Wax-Slicing Machine which helped the creation of abstract imagery on film and was used by Lotte Reiniger in the animated fairytale film The Adventures of Prince Achmed.

The special effects in Fritz Lang's Woman in the Moon, the first sci-fi film, were created by Fischinger. The artist's most celebrated work is the film Motion Painting No. 1. Frustrated with the movie business, he turned to non-objective oil painting and sought a way to document the process. The artist created the animated piece by taking a single frame shot every time he made a brush stroke. Animated to the sound of Bach music, Motion Painting No. 1 (1947) was received with a standing ovation at Brussels International Experimental Film Competition and won the Grand Prix.

Oskar Fischinger's Legacy

In several decades-long career, Fischinger had numerous major exhibitions, including at the San Francisco Museum of Art, the Pasadena Art Museum, and the Frank Perls Gallery in Beverly Hills. He also participated in group shows at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Guggenheim. Even though he never enjoyed wide popularity, his works influenced generations of young artists.

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