Kurt Schwerdtfeger Reflektorische Farblichtspiele

Synopsis

Kurt Schwerdtfeger's 1922 Reflektorische Farblichtspiele (Reflecting Colour-Light-Play) was originally conceived as a play for one of the famous Bauhaus Lantern Festivals. It premiered at the Wassily Kandinsky home and revolutionised the spatial aspect of 20th century sculpture. It equals the German abstract films of the early 1920s and is a predecessor of performance art, light shows and expanded cinema. The Play was re-discovered and re-staged in the 1960s and has been in demand ever since. This DVD includes footage of the re-staged 1966 performance (no recordings of the 1922/23 ones exist), a short documentary about the apparatus used for the Play and a documentary featuring Kurt's son Stefan Schwerdtfeger, a Professor of Architecture who was instrumental in the 1966 re-staging.

Film Listing

- Reflektorische Farblichtspiele (1968, 18 mins)
- Making Reflektorische Farblichtspiele (1968, 5 mins)
- Talking Backgrounds (2009, 50 mins)