Tue, 03/20/2007 - 10:54am

Moving Pictures: American Art & Early Film, now showing at the Phillips Collection*, is certainly worth its price in admission to see. This intelligent show, which draws parallels between art and the emergence of moving pictures as a new genre of art, is certainly relevant to all of us who live in a society in which moving images serve as main sources of news and information, entertainment, inspiration and have been generally incorporated into our innate perceptions of reality. This show, which is broken down themes by subject matter, focuses on the first twenty years of moving film – a time before Hollywood mattered. The many subjects which were a focus for the pioneers of early moving film included nature, portraiture, animal forms and urban life. The primary position of the show is to develop a dialogue between film and its contemporaneous art, however what becomes more striking when one goes through the show are the ideas which inspired artists and filmmakers alike – and more importantly how their products were received by a society already quickly changing due to technological advances.

If you can imagine what it might have been like to go to a “movie” theatre in 1896, it might be to arrive at the theatre, at any given time, find a seat, and for however long you want once you are seated, view a moving picture which was projected on a large screen with a large and ornate gold frame around it. Most of these moving pictures, such as Niagara Falls, Horseshoe Falls by Cinématographe Lumiere, 1896, were about one and a half minutes long and were played in a loop. There was hardly a semblance of story arch, characters, themes, ideologies, jokes, romances, battle scenes, special effects or any of the other commonalities of a modern day movie, yet it was fascinating and awe-inspiring in its own right. Clearly, it is was as though fine art had been taken one step further to, fine art – that moves, as is obvious once you see Niagara Falls, Horseshoe Falls displayed prominently right next to William Morris Hunt’s painting, Niagara Falls of 1878, the two looking almost identical save for the fact that one moves.

The concept of the moving picture was not a hard for most to imagine at the time of its conception. Simply a series of still photographs flashed in a certain consecutive order, the progression of the technology used to create these moving images rapidly developed due to the international popularity of the medium. The concept of the moving picture consequently changed the ways in which artists could perceive their subjects for their more traditional non-moving works. No longer forced to examine a Renaissance drawing of what the anatomy of a horse may or may not look like while it is in a full speed run, artists could actually use film stills to capture the intricacies of muscle structure, proportion and body position of horses and other animals in motion for reference and went even so far as to use film stills as models for the human figure, rather than actual human beings. Animal Locomotion, featured in the show, by Eadweard Muybridge, is a famous collection of studies of human and animal forms, and was directly inspired by this concept; his detailed drawings are still used as a cornerstone life drawing for aspiring artists today.

Equally inspired by moving film were artists of Philadelphia’s famous Ash-Can school. The motion of factories and city life became a prominent theme in the art of the Ash-Can students as well as many early films such as Panorama Waterfront and Brooklyn Bridge from East River, by Edison Manufacturing Company of 1903. But that’s not to say that human beings weren’t the subjects of many moving pictures. Perhaps the most controversial “movie” of the time was The May Irwin Kiss, also by the Edison Manufacturing Company, of 1896, which features a silent romantic interaction between and man and a woman and ends, as the title suggests, with a kiss.

Overall, the show, which contains more than 100 works, including over 60 films, is a well organized and comprehensive study of the first twenty years of the moving picture – the very roots of what was to become one of the most important of media to the twentieth century and beyond. This exhibit makes prominent the differences between what film meant to our society more than a century ago and consequently forces its audience to examine their own relationship with film. Its careful organization and informative readings inspire the audience to think theoretically about what film means to us, how it manipulates our realities by controlling what we see, how it broadens our imaginations by forcing us to consider what we don’t see and how powerfully it can affect millions of people through its existence as a third party perspective. There are so many directions to go in the realm of film and the Phillips was smart enough to narrow its directive to the modest twenty year span of 1890-1910. This certainly was the key to producing a thorough and intelligent show. This show is highly recommended and visitors should plan on no less than an hour to view it (not to be missed while you are already there is the wonderful permanent collection including major hits such as Luncheon of the Boating Party by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1881.)

* This show will be on view until May 20, 2007. The Phillips Collection is located at 1600 21st Street in the Dupont Circle neighborhood. It is open Tues. – Sat. 10am- 5pm, Thur. from 10am – 8:30pm and Sun. 11am-6pm (closed Mondays). Admission is $12 for adults and $10 for students and free for the last ½ hour the museum is open. For more information about the Phillips Collection, this exhibit, and upcoming shows, visit http://www.phillipscollection.org/html/exhibits.html

About the author
Yasmin Tasan has been living in Washington, DC since 2001. She studied art history in college and is committed to furthering her understanding of fine art through the exploration of the many unique and interesting shows and exhibits Washington continually offers. When not roaming the halls of a museum you can most likely find her exploring a new or favorite restaurant with friends, running in Rock Creek Park or making a fool of herself at Bikram yoga.

Photo courtesy of the Phillips Collection website

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• Arts