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The Space Image

By Holly Willis
November 10, 2008
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"I think of film as a 'space image' which is presented for a certain amount of time," said celebrated animator Robert Breer in an interview in 1962. "My approach to film is that of a painter -- that is, I try to present the total image right away, and the images following are merely other aspects of an equivalent to the film and final image."
REDCAT kicks off a stunning three-program retrospective Breer's work tonight with 14 35mm shorts recently restored by Anthology Film Archives, several of which showcase Breer's background as a painter.
The two-minute film Recreation from 1956, for example, looks like a Rauschenberg collage in motion. Still images of lines, blocks of bright colors, bits of text, pieces of string and a few frames of moving images all combine to create a dynamic experience of graphic form unfolding in front of you. Breer is fascinated by the movement back and forth between stillness and motion, and the boundaries between what viewers can perceive consciously and subconsciously. Recreation shows all of this -- the film barrels forward so fast that it's impossible to "see" everything. Instead, the film happens to you in a kinetic explosion.
Each of Breer's many and varied animations offer similar pleasures as the artist explores time, space, color, motion, patterns and more. Filmforum and UCLA will present the second and third part of the series, and this is a rare chance to see these beautiful films onscreen -- with the artist available at all three programs to answer questions.
the details:
Moving Figures: The Animated World of Robert Breer, organized by Steve Anker
Part I
REDCAT
Mon., Nov. 10, 8:30 p.m.
213-237-2800

Part II
UCLA Film & Television Archive
Billy Wilder Theater, Hammer Museum
Sat., Nov. 15, 7:30 p.m.

Part III
Filmforum at the Egyptian Theatre
Sun., Nov. 16, 7:00 p.m.
323-466-3456

Image: fragment of a still image from Recreation

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