One of those great short films that explore human nature,Balance is a classic Oscar winning animation from brothers Cristoph and Wolfgang Lauenstein. Five men are on a pivoting platform that requires they move in unison to remain in balance. However, when one of them brings up a chest from the unseen mist below it becomes apparent that, should they wish to, any one of them can slide the chest towards them and force the others to move. (1989)
Category Archives: Blog
The Power of Concentration & Balance by Miyoko Shida Rigolo
Miyoko Shida Rigolo interprets the Sanddorn Balance in a mysterious, almost mystical way. It is immediately clear how profoundly Miyoko Shida Rigolo touches people with her performance. After just a few performances she received invitations to Russian circus festivals and won prizes there (the Silver Medal and the Special Prize from the Russian State Circus at the 5th International Festival of Circus Art in Izhevsk, Udmurtia, Russia, 2012). Her first appearance in Spain was immediately broadcast on television and the clip of her performance became an internet sensation: more than 10 million clicks within a few days. The whole world was talking about Miyoko Shida Rigolo and the art of the Sanddorn Balance.
The Clues to a Great Story by Andrew Stanton
Filmmaker Andrew Stanton (“Toy Story,” “WALL-E”) shares what he knows about storytelling – starting at the end and working back to the beginning. Contains graphic language …
The Private Life of Plants – BBC Timelapse
The series utilises time-lapse sequences extensively in order to grant insights that would otherwise be almost impossible. Plants live on a different time scale, and even though their life is highly complex and often surprising, most of it is invisible to humans unless events that happen over months or even years are shown within seconds. (BBC 1995)
Tango by Zbigniew Rybczyński
Thirty-six characters from different stages of life – representations of different times – interact in one room, moving in loops, observed by a static camera. Rybczynski had to draw and paint about 16.000 cell-mattes, and make several hundred thousand exposures on an optical printer. It took a full seven months, sixteen hours per day, to make the piece. (1980)
Inspiration for the Bonobo video ‘Cirrus’ (2013)
A New Look at Jean Tinguely’s Work
The Swiss artist Jean Tinguely is especially known for his art machines and considered as one of the main protagonists of kinetic art. He belonged to the Parisian avantgarde and the Nouveau Réalisme (New Realists) in the mid-twentieth century. Tinguely was born in Fribourg, Switzerland, in 1925, but grew up in Basel, where the Museum Tinguely presents his work since 1996.
Flurry Screensaver for 10 minutes
Lotus Flower by Radiohead, choreographed by Wayne McGregor
Wayne McGregor is a multi-award-winning British choreographer and director, internationally renowned for his physically testing choreography and groundbreaking collaborations across dance, film, music, visual art, technology and science.
TED.com Tips for thinking like a dancer, from acclaimed choreographer Wayne McGregor
Sculptor of Air – Alexander Calder
nique modern artist Alexander Calder (1898-1976) revolutionized the art of sculpture with his distinctive modernism, freeing sculpture from its stand and adding movement to the art itself.
He rose to fame in the 1930s with his renowned Miniature Circus, but his modernist creativity skyrocketed with his wire sculptures, an invention he dubbed “drawing in space”.
Contemporary and friend with Duchamp, Miro, and Mondrian, who have greatly influenced his evolution, this genius tinkerer, too often limited to his Mobiles, was fueled by artistic renewal, creating such unexpected shapes as his huge stabile sculptures now exhibited worldwide.
In light of the artist’s life, this film retraces this unique quest and explores the masterpieces that have marked the history of 20st century art.
Plastic bag scene from the film ‘American Beauty’
“It was one of those days, when it’s a minute away from snowing, and there’s this electricity in the air. You can almost hear it, right? And this bag was just dancing with me, like a little kid begging me to play with it, for fifteen minutes.
That’s the day I realized there was this entire life behind things, and this incredibly benevolent force, that wanted me to know there was no reason to be afraid, ever. Video’s a poor excuse, I know, but it helps me remember. I need to remember.
Sometimes there is so much… beauty… in the world, I feel like I can’t take it, and my heart is just going to cave in.”
Giant Steps by Michal Levy
A music animated short film (2:15 minutes) to John Coltrane’s masterpiece.
Star Guitar by Michel Gondry
“Star Guitar” is the second single from The Chemical Brothers 2002 album Come with Us. The music video, directed by Michel Gondry, features a continuous shot filmed from the window of a speeding train passing through towns and countryside. However, the buildings and objects passing by appear exactly in time with the various beats and musical elements of the track. The video is based on DV footage Gondry shot while on vacation in France; the train ride between Nîmes and Valence was shot ten different times during the day to get different light gradients. The Pont du Robinet as well as Pierrelatte’s station can be seen. Gondry had experimented with a different version of the same effect in his video for Daft Punk’s “Around the World”, where he had represented each element of the music with a dancer.
Gondry actually plotted out the synchronization of the song on graph paper before creating the video, eventually “modelling” the scenery with oranges, forks, tapes, books, glasses and tennis shoes.
The Johnny Cash Project
A UNIQUE COMMUNAL WORK, A LIVING PORTRAIT OF THE MAN IN BLACK
Through this interactive website, participants may draw their own portrait of Johnny Cash to be integrated into a collective whole. As people all over the world contribute, the project will continue to evolve and grow, one frame at a time.
Submit your drawing to become a part of the new music video for the song “Ain’t No Grave”. Strung together and relayed in sequence your art, paired with Johnny’s haunting song, will become a living, moving, and ever changing portrait of the legendary Man in Black.
Kinetic Art by Willem van Weeghel
Dynamic Structure 29117
by Dutch artist Willem van Weeghel
Kinetic object with 32 independently moving lines. Controlled by an integrated computersystem. The video shows some of the constantly changing ordered and random structures that appear and disappear.
The Writing’s On the Wall by OK Go
The clip for their new single The Writing’s On The Wall might just melt your brain with its onslaught of optical illusions.
OK Go – All Is Not Lost
An older clip from OK Go (2011) based on optical illusions.