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EXPERIMENT 120
Playlist of experimental films for kids
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EXPERIMENT 120 is a YouTube playlist proposed by the artist and curator Marie-Pierre Bonniol, presenting 120 years of experimental films for children and young people in 22 films, most of them being very short (between 1 and 4 minutes), and which can be watched from the age of 7. The films can be enjoyed by people of all languages.
Intended for a primary school and a creative centre for young people in the Berlin district of Neukölln during the schools closure period April 2020, as it can be watched from any home, this playlist explores several researches of the experimental abstract cinema, essentially in animation, whether in the form of arrangements and compositions of forms (René Jodoin), or shorter stories, with a magical treatment, where humour is present (Georges Melies, La Linea). Film, the mythical cinematographic medium, is also present, with experiments carried out by several artists directly on tapes in the 40s, 50s and 60s (Harry Smith, Stan Brakhage).
Often, the treatment of the image with sound is extremely important, as in the compositions of Norman McLaren. The poems are optical (Oskar Fischinger), the colours are hypnotic (Len Lye) and with the apparition of the computer, new forms of works are appearing in the 70s.
This playlist, which is historical and established with the collaboration of a 7 years old child, goes right up to the most recent years in a panorama showing many varieties of writings and treatments which is, we hope, poetic and inspiring, inviting in turn to make one’s own films, offering another relationship to images.
EXPERIMENT 120 is a playlist established by Marie-Pierre Bonniol (ZKM entry), in collaboration with Walter Duncan, April 2020. It’s presented by Studio Walter, a creative structure based in Berlin Neukölln, in partnership with Cool Marbles Stuff, computer animation creative programme for children.
This playlist Experiment 120 is a not-for-profit proposition.
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The playlist
Short link: https://bit.ly/3bHWXpL
The films
1898 Georges Melies, The Four Troublesome Heads, 1’19
1922 Walther Ruttmann, Der Sieger, 3’01
1923 Hans Richter, Rythmus 23, 3’22
1930 Laszlo Moholy Nagy, Ein Lichtspiel Schwarz Weiss Grau, 6’34
1936 Len Lye, Rainbow Dance, 1’20
1938 Oskar Fischinger, An Optical Poem, 7’12
1940 Norman McLaren, Dots, 1’37
1947 Harry Smith, Film No. 3: Interwoven, 3’23
1948 John Halas, The Magic Canvas, 9’39
1955 Art Clokey, Gumbasia, 3’10
1959 Robert Breer, Eyewash, 6’17
1961 Jordan Belson, Allures, 7’17
1963 Stan Brakhage, Mothlight, 3’25
1966 René Jodoin, Notes on a triangle, 4’46
1967 Tony Pritchett, The Flexipede, 2’04
1971 Norman McLaren, Synchromy, 7’27
1971 Osvaldo Cavandoli, La Linea #1, 4’26
1976 Sesame Street Pinball Number Count, 12’12
1979 Voja Antonic, Computer animation, 0’06
1984 Robert Abel and Associates, High Fidelity, 1’45
2010 Space is green, White lines, 2’20
2017 Circle, Motion Graphics, 1’17
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Images credits
Len Lye, Oskar Fischinger, Art Clokey, Robert Breer, Walther Ruttmann, John Halas, Osvaldo Cavandoli, Voja Antonic, Tony Pritchett and René Jodoin.
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Acknowledgements
Alma Alloro, France Auda, Emma Balkind, Daniel Beban, Érik Bullot, Isabelle Carlier, Théo Deliyannis, Tommy Dennys, Guillaume Derinchy, Melissa Dullius, Keith Duncan, Olivia Earle, Sally Golding, Marie Graftieaux, Wayne Grim, Patrick Gyger, Marko Hoffman, Fielding Hope, Gustavo Jahn, P.G.Lee, Constance Legeay, Laida Lertxundi, David Le Simple, Guy Maddin, Gaëlle Mignot, Guido Möbius, Jean-Sébastien Nicolet, Marion Orel, Ela Orleans, Giulia Palombino, Sinziana Paltineanu, Olivier Prieur, Lauren Reid, Nicolas Rotenberg, Rumpus Room, David Sanson, Joel Stern, Brian Turner, Gloria Vilches and Mark Williams.