Oscuro

“Oscuro” emerges as a generative work of art, intrinsically inspired by the abstract cinema of the 1920s. Through the incorporation of videos, the piece seeks to highlight the movement and dynamism characteristic of this type of cinema. In this sense, I find the following quote especially interesting and relevant to my artistic search: “(..)the objective of replacing the static character of painting with the dynamism of cinema, they applied the practical and theoretical foundations of an art in movement.” (Fricke,1999, p. 579).

Technical, aesthetic and conceptual development

As previously mentioned, abstract cinema was a key reference in the development of this work, taking as its main inspiration the creations of Hans Richter, in particular his film “Filmstudie” (1926), and Oskar Fischinger with “An Optical Poem” (1938). What influenced my work was the dynamism of cinema and the movements of geometric figures. Although my intention was not to completely replicate his works, they functioned as a fundamental starting point. However, it was impossible to completely separate myself from its influences, as César Aira expresses in On contemporary art: “The work of art always carries with it its own reproduction. When it proposes itself to perception and memory, it is inevitable that it gives off ghosts in time and space.” On a conceptual level, the piece developed intuitively and fluidly as the work progressed, maintaining a formal approach at all times. However, my goal was to explore movement through videos, so Fricke’s text “New Media” led me to further investigate abstract cinema and discover the works of Hans Richter. In turn, César Aira’s analysis of “reproduction technology” allowed me to delve deeper into the concept of artistic reproduction. Aira argues that the reproduction of works of art has inevitably evolved, incorporating elements such as sound, movement, and more recently, digitization, which allows large amounts of information to be compressed into a minimal space. In short, my work does not seek to imitate Richter or Fischinger, but rather their works served as inspiration for me to explore the visual dynamism and possibilities of reproduction in contemporary art, as Aira describes it. Technically, the piece was created using the p5.js code editor, combining videos and primitive geometric figures in motion. Aesthetically, it is presented entirely with a black and white color palette. This choice is not accidental, but rather responds to the aforementioned reference to abstract cinema from the 1920s, seeking to establish a visual connection with that era.

Literature

FRICKE, Christiane. (1999). “Nuevos Medios”. En “AAVV. Arte de siglo XX. Vol. II. München: Taschen. pp.576-590.

AIRA, César. ([2013], 2016). “Sobre el arte contemporáneo” en Sobre el arte contemporáneo. Buenos Aires: Literatura Random House, pp. 11-56.