Contrathemis

Dwinell Grant, Contrathemis, 1941, 16mm film, color, silent; 08:00 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Patricia and Phillip Frost, 1986.92.36, © 1941, Jean O’Hart Grant

Artwork Details

Title
Contrathemis
Artist
Date
1941
Location
Not on view
Copyright
© 1941, Jean O’Hart Grant
Credit Line
Gift of Patricia and Phillip Frost
Mediums
Mediums Description
16mm film, color, silent; 08:00 minutes
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract — geometric
Object Number
1986.92.36
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.92.36

Artwork Description

Dwinell Grant’s pioneering film Contrathemis is a stop-motion animation made from more than 4,000 colored-pencil drawings and paper collages that were individually photographed and sequenced on 16mm film. Geometric shapes swim across pulsating hues of rich color in a stylistic progression Grant labeled “organized field.” A dynamic lighting sequence was constructed using automobile headlights covered with colored gels to backlight each frame. Eager to break free from the margins of the page, Grant drove static compositions into motion, celebrating the infinite potential of shape, color, and time.


Watch This!: Revelations in Media Art, 2015

Works by this artist (16 items)

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Robbert Flick, SV012A/80, Downtown LA between Temple and Fourth, Looking West from Sequential Views, 1980, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the National Endowment for the Arts through the Photography Museum of Los Angeles, 1990.38.31, © 1980, Robbert Flick
SV012A/80, Downtown LA between Temple and Fourth, Looking…
Artist
Date1980
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Robbert Flick, (SV186) At Pinnacles, 1990, 12 gelatin silver prints, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Consolidated Natural Gas Company Foundation, 1991.101A-L, © 1990, Robbert Flick
(SV186) At Pinnacles
Artist
Date1990
12 gelatin silver prints
Not on view
Robbert Flick, Inglewood from Sequential Views, 1980, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the National Endowment for the Arts through the Photography Museum of Los Angeles, 1990.38.39, © 1980, Robbert Flick
Inglewood from Sequential Views
Artist
Date1980
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Robbert Flick, SV009/80, Marina del Ray, 180 Degree Views from Sequential Views, 1980, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the National Endowment for the Arts through the Photography Museum of Los Angeles, 1990.38.35, © 1980, Robbert Flick
SV009/80, Marina del Ray, 180 Degree Views from Sequential…
Artist
Date1980
gelatin silver print
Not on view

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