RAPS Reading Response 5 / Hoiyan Guo

The pursuit after abstraction had been a major theme of Modernism which traveled from Europe to America and lasted till the last decades of the twentieth century. Both Jordan Belson and the Whitneys brothers – James Whitney and John Whitney, were filmmakers who had the vision to further innovate abstraction which was a major theme for especially painters. The central idea of abstract art is to discover a new state of being or consciousness – being in a “metaphysical, weightless, egoless state”, in order for a connection with the spiritual world. Inspired by Eastern metaphysics, both Belson and the Whitneys were well aware of the limitation of painting as a medium because the materiality of canvas and paint greatly hindered the experience of a non-physical and ideal world but only reminded spectators of the material world. Belson and the Whitneys chose to work with the medium of film to liberate abstraction from a two-dimensional surface into a three-dimensional experience that had the potential to overwhelm the mind.

While Belson were open to both new and old technology in his filmmaking process, utilizing techniques and tools including “standard animation, optical printing, lasers, liquid crystals”, the Whitneys were enthusiastic about contemporary technologies including the invention of their own optical printer and a system of creating sound from the motion of a pendulum. Their specific approach to generate sounds from motion resulted in the full integration of music and sounds in their works, inviting their audience to experience their art as synesthete. Impacted by the obsession with science, the Whitneys featured atomic-like particles in their works and their aesthetics appeared to be “electronic, aggressive, grating, ruthless” while Belson’s works convey a more organic and natural feeling. Belson cleverly cut off his spectators’ mental connection between his working materials or approach and the visual outcome.

The Vortex concerts were performances of abstract film/light art and other art forms including music and literature. Its center contribution to contemporary events is its combination of lighthearted entertainment and serious high art. The pop concerts and dance music events today commonly feature abstract visual content as a background and usually take place in a closed space which aims to a distance the event or the celebration from the familiar social setting. Despite any apparent nature of being amusement, the experience provided by most music events today is also a pursuit after a different state of being, which was the main vision of abstract art.

Leave a Reply