Oskar Fischinger

Oskar Wilhelm Fischinger (22 June 1900 – 31 January 1967) was a German-American abstract animator, filmmaker, and painter, notable for creating abstract musical animation many decades before the appearance of computer graphics and music videos. He made over 50 short films and painted around 800 canvases, many of which are in museums, galleries, and collections worldwide. 

'Everything in the world has a spirit which i released by sound.'

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

http://www.centerforvisualmusic.org/Fischinger/OFProcess.htm

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/oskar-fischinger-google-doodle-today-best-animations-who-is-he-a7802926.html

Opus 2, 3 & 4 - Walter Ruttmann

After 'discovering' Walter Ruttmann only today i am now pretty infatuated with his work and i have decided to watch more and have found the rest in the 'Opus' collection of works. As expected numbers 2,3 and 4 are more advanced and perhaps complexed in comparison to the first one. Which is understandable be it for technological reasons or because his methods were adapting. I find the music more intriguing as well in these other ones which helps the visual spectacle come to life more as well. 

Tame Impala - audiovisual example

From my recent research and new found love of audiovisual artists and pioneers such as Walter Ruttmann and Jordan Belson it got me thinking about contemporary examples especially in the music video department. Im sure there are tonnes of examples but one i immediately thought of was the videos to coincide with the band Tame Impala, a big favourite of mine and the work of music genius Kevin Parker who effectively is Tame Impala. Its Beatles but with even more influence of the psychedelia in my opinion. 

The first video which is one of my all time favourites is for the song 'feels like we only go backwards' and after a quick search i discovered that it was made by Becky and Joe who are most commonly known as the 'Don't hug me i'm scared' creators so i am amazed by that and who are also part of the Blink-ink collective i believe. 

In this i can see the influence of the early animation techniques that i have eluded to from Ruttmann or Belson and it is a wonderful example of the audio and visual becoming one in effect which is what i am very fascinated by as a result of my whole project. 

http://beckyandjoes.com/tame-impala/

The second one is for 'Mind Mischief' and its the kind of simple yet incredibly effective type of aesthetic that i am after in my work. This isn't the official video as that was released in 2012 but this is either an incredible fan video or it was what they used before the proper one. Still amazing stuff though. 

Walter Ruttmann - Lichtspiel Opus 1 (1921)

Below is an abstract audio visual film which was made by abstract painter/amateur musician Walter Ruttmann in 1921. The film entitled Lichtspiel (lightplay) Opus 1 was originally in black and white but was reconstructed in colour in 2005. The film was undoubtedly groundbreaking at the time and has been heralded as marking the beginning of experimental and abstract films. 

The critic Bernhard Diebold commented 'a new motion art' and 'painting and music have wed'. Max Butting one of Ruttmanns friends provided the score for the film (opus 23 for string quartet) which allowed this 'marriage' of the audio and visual to come to life. 

The film is made from over a thousand paintings and were coloured by hand on the filmstrip itself. The numerous shapes that can be seen in the film showcase a wide range of movement and fluidity. They are often seen battling one another with harsh quick-fire movements which is intensified with the orchestrated soundtrack. 

I discovered this in one of the books i have used for my essay and research which is 'See This Sound - Audiovisuology Compendium - edited by Dieter Daniels and Sandra Naumann.'

The Planets (Mars) digital work

After the 'experiments' i have put together with my textures of the brusho and watercolour i have this time made some images in relation to Mars (the bringer of war) by of course Gustav Holst. Each image works with the same principle and the same aim of trying to visually portray the mood and tone of the music. I say this because thats the main aim of my essay. 

The music itself is a tensed affair which reflects pretty much any piece of science fiction based music such as Star Wars or the work of composer John Williams in general. Thats one thing i've learned from listening, the fact that i can hear how much influence he has had on the contemporary world of film scores and the composers of today. 

The Planets digital work

These are a couple of warm up examples for responding to 'The Planets' for my Practical work. I have incorporated the textures i have created and have put something together on Photoshop, reflecting a mock up album cover for these examples, in a compositional sense. 

Experimenting - Watercolour and Brusho

This is my first real step in making work in response to the Planets by Gustav Holst and i have to say i rather enjoyed making these examples and they didn't take long as well which is encouraging. I have used a mixture of watercolour and brusho and sometimes just the two on their own to make all of the images below. Two very effective mediums i believe for creating the spacey, celestial aesthetic that i am looking for. 

These planets are made from varied watercolour samples/textures that i have drawn out and cut into circular planet shapes. Im really pleased with the textures that they have in them and i'm sure i can definitely apply the same techniques again.

Below are the Brusho samples. I really need to make more of these and just basically need to get stuck into more experimenting with them as i think they've come out as quite effective. 

Gustav Holst - The Planets research

Here is some notes i have taken on the Planets by Gustav Holst which i have decided to be the basis of my visual/practical investigation. 

The notes have been taken from  - http://www.good-music-guide.com/reviews/013_holst.htm

- Before it was finally named 'the planets' it was known as a 'series of mood pictures' -(Which is very interesting considering they are pieces of music but it goes to show how Holst was mentally picturing imagery alongside the music in his head)  

- The seven movements each portray the astrological traits of the seven known planets at the time (prior to the discovery of Pluto)

Mars - The Bringer of War 

The Planets starts with the relentless march of jackboots, in its famous 5/4 time, culminating in the merciless horrors of war. It was written before WW1.

Venus - The Bringer of Peace 

The calm after the thunderous storm. Venus is peaceful, languid and lovely. French horns, flutes a harp and violin solos slide throughout beautiful melodies. 

Mercury - The Winged Messenger 

The mythological mercury, fleet footed and happy, carries a message from Scheherazade ( a suite composed by Nikolai Korsakov) 

Jupiter - The Bringer of Jollity 

With the majestic hymn-like melody in the middle. Jupiter symbolises hedonism, generosity and good nature. 

Saturn - The Bringer of Old Age 

Holst's favourite movement and his most original. A threatening clock ticks inexorably as the baseline, revealing both the dignity and frailties of old age. 

Uranus - The Magician

The mood ominous and threatening, then cheeky and humorous, the story tells of an eccentric magician putting his upstart apprentice in his place. 

Neptune - The Mystic

Of all the movements, this is the most other-worldly. Eerie sliding pianissimo (to be played softly) and the wordless women's choir makes this a hypnotic, transporting ending to the suite. 

Sketchbook 'experimenting' (initial stages)

These are a couple of pages from my sketchbook which show examples of my thought processes so far with working and listening to music. There isn't anything i'm particularly pleased with at this stage however i am aware that i am only in the initial stages. 

I tried thinking in an experimental and almost scientific sense in terms of how i approached the mark making. 

In one of my tutorials Jamie suggested a musician that goes by the name of CFCF and his real name is Michael Silver. So i gave him a go and tried one of his many albums, in fact his debut album Continent. On this album is an incredible aptly named track called 'You hear colours' so i decided to use it as my basis for initial visual investigation.  


I have used oil pastel to create the three following images. I quite like the resulting textures and the variant of marks that you can see however i don't think it was the most effective medium for working alongside music as there is not much variety in responding to the sounds as eventually you just get a full blocked in page. Especially when the track is fast paced and five minutes long, so i would have looked like a mad man whilst doing these. 

Aura - Instagram Post - Kristian Hammerstad

Saw this really interesting Instagram post this morning. What was most intriguing was the fact i looked at it purely as an image and it made me think of my project, with the idea of the visual representation of sound. Obviously the colours reflect a somewhat psychedelic aesthetic and the fact that it involves figurative work within it is reassuring. Which made me think perhaps my practical work can focus on figurative subjects as a way of focusing a theme within it. 

The other interesting part was when i looked down at the hashtags of the post and it mentioned 'synesthesia' and amazingly 'aura' i.e aura of an image. So perhaps if i look into it further i might find it linked/related to an article on such a topic. 

Rough Essay Plan

Essay Plan

Title –

 How can Illustration be used to communicate the emotional resonance of music?

Chapter 1 - Introduction – (400 words)

Chapter 2 - Main body 1 – Context & Themes – (2000 words)

·      Walter Pater - ‘the condition of music’

·      Walter Benjamin – ‘the aura of an image’

·      Music and its emotional resonance

·      Musical Aesthetics

Chapter 3 - Main Body 2 - Case Studies of Practice - (1500 words)

·      Stanley Donwood

Chapter 4 - Main Body 3: Reflective Practice - (700 words)

·      Responding to ‘instrumental’ music (possibly Philip Glass – Glassworks)

Chapter 5 – Conclusion - (400 words)