credit: Light Moves

Visual Music Panel

Description

Although narrative film was the dominant cinematic form in the early years of the 20th Century, many pioneering filmmakers were exploring moving image languages that consisted of abstract forms, colour and light. Their works challenged the assumptions of film and introduced ways of thinking about the moving image that shared many values with music; hence the term “Visual Music” (though many such works are silent). The influence of these filmmakers and artists, including Viking Eggeling, Hans Richter, Len Lye, Mary Ellen Brute and Norman McLaren, can be seen in the languages of abstract animation and digital video artists today and their contribution has received particular attention over the past two decades.

That these works share many traits with screendance and choreography has however received little attention. This programme presents a selection of rare historical Visual Music works alongside more contemporary examples plus two screendance films in order to highlight an affinity between dance and the abstract film form of “Visual Music”.

The announcement is available on Visual Artist Ireland and the programme can be downloaded

Light Moves Festival ran from 23-26 September 2021.