A selection of films related to the Bauhaus school will be shown during the Design Evening. It gives examples of the wide range of experimentations of film practice, media and stage art at the time, such as various abstract films and later reconstructions of dance and stage performances.
Reflecting Light Games
Kurt Schwerdtfeger, 1922–1923 / 17 min
This film shows an early example of light art, which was first shown during the Lantern Festival at the Bauhaus school in 1922. The abstract patterns were created by light illuminations by hand and cardboard shapes.
The Heroic Arrow
Kurt Kranz, 1930 (D, 1972) / 8 min
The drawn images of the ´form series´ were developed as a film concept. The arrow refers to a graphic motif, which was often at the Bauhaus, among others by Paul Klee.
Variations of a Geometric Theme
Kurt Kranz, 1955 (D, 1972) / 22 min
Graphic picture series by Kranz, that examines forms in motion.
Rhythmus 21
Hans Richter, 1921/1923 / 4 min
An example of an early abstract film, examining the motion and rhythm of geometric forms. The first part of Richter’s so-called film experiment ”film is rhythm”.
The Mechanical Ballet
Kurt Schmidt, 1923 (D 2009) / 35 min, 15 min ote
Reconstruction on the Bauhaus stage in Dessau by Theater der Klänge, based on ideas and figure design by Kurt Schmidt and Georg Teltscher. The stage work was first performed at the Jena Theatre in 1923 as part of the Bauhaus week. Through the movements of the figurines and their geometric shapes Kurt Schmidt aimed to create new and changing abstract forms.
The Triadic Ballet
Oskar Schlemmer, 1922 (D 1970) / 30 min
A film in three parts based on the dances of Oskar Schlemmer. The Triadic Ballet is probably the most known dance project by Schlemmer, in which was first performed in Stuttgart in 1922. The film shows a reconstructed version of the figurines and the stage ideas of Schlemmer, dealing with questions such as abstraction and mechanization in theatre.
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