FORMAL ANALYSIS – Week 9 – Cutout 02 November 2020
1. "What do you see?"
Lewis Klahr, Studio Visit with Filmmaker (2010)
A video interview with Lewis Klahr on his animation process and in-depth review of two of his most famous films, “Pony Glass” and “Altair”
Lewis Klahr, Pony Glass (1998)
Superman's pal Jimmy Olsen gets his own story. We discover he has a secret life. In the experimental film we see, Boy meets girl. Boy loses girl. Boy meets boy! Who knew Jimmy Olsen was a very complex character in the Superman story?
Lewis Klahr Altair (1995)
This is an experimental animation film. Altair is an 8-minute collage color -noir culled from late-40s pages of Cosmopolitan, which induces a sense of claustrophobia and dread through its use of Stravinsky’s The Firebird. This short video is an (1998) example of Lewis Klahr cut-and-paste animation.
2. "How did the artist do it?"
I found Lewis Klahr’s films breath taking and very original. I enjoyed his films so much that I went onto You Tube and watch ten more of his short films. His images appear in flashes for only a second or two at a time. A viewer really needs to pay attention to his films or they will miss the larger narrative.
I find his soundtrack enhances the narrative of his films. Many viewers have found his films to be very frustrating. His films have a dream like narrative and do not necessarily follow a linear three act story line. One need to follow and observe his films. Like dreams, his films feel like someone is observing someone’s subconscious. I find this to be a very interesting and deeply emotional experience watching his films.
3. "Why did the artist create it and what does it mean”
Mr. Klahr enjoys the process of create art for its own sake. He prefers to invoke what dreams are like. Klahr states. "In dreams, all kinds of strange things happen, but it feels like it makes sense in the dream. I think that's what true about my films. (Dixon)". He is an artist that works to satisfy himself and his personal creative process. Audience need to do their own homework to appreciate where this artist wants to take them.
4. Is it a good artwork? Yes, this is good artwork because each video uses imagery to tell its story. Using very simple photographs, cut outs from magazines, and drawings, this filmmaker brings movement and life to those objects in his films. Liked the French artist Marcel Duchamp, Mr. Klahr was able to make very high-quality artwork. He is a master to take one medium, (photographs and other materials) to create a more powerful piece of art on film.
Works Cited
Dixon, Guy. Lewis Klahr's trinket dreamscape. 10 April 2012. 28 October 2020. <https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/lewis-klahrs-trinket-dreamscape/article4099202/>.