Viking Eggeling - Symphonie Diagonale, 1924

Made in 1924 by Viking Eggeling, "Symphonie Diagonale" is the best abstract film yet conceived. It is an experiment to discover the basic principles of the organization of time intervals in the film medium. This version was restored by Gösta Werner in 1994 in collaboration with The Swedish Filminstitute. Music by Olga Neuwirth, 2006.

Viking Eggeling (21 October 1880, Lund – 19 May 1925, Berlin) was a Swedish artist and filmmaker.[1] His work is of significance in the area of experimental film, and has been described as absolute film and Visual Music. At the age of sixteen, the orphaned Eggeling moved to Germany to pursue an artistic career. He studied art history in Milan from 1901 to 1907, supporting himself with work as a bookkeeper. He lived in Paris from 1911 to 1915; he was acquainted with Amadeo Modigliani, Hans Arp, and other artists of the time.[2] In Zurich in 1918, he was introduced to Hans Richter by Tristan Tzara. Richter wrote that "The contrast between us, which was that between method and spontaneity, only served to strengthen our mutual attraction...for three years we marched side by side, although we fought on separate fronts."[3] In 1920 they began experimenting with film. In collaboration with Erna Niemeyer, Eggeling made a film called Symphonie Diagonale, which was completed in 1924 and first exhibited in May 1925, just before his death.

Fonte: http://en.wikipedia.org/