Harry Smith was an American animator of abstract art who's most known work occurred from the 1940s into the 60s. During that period, he produced a series of short, avant-garde animated snippets of about 2-6 mins each, every one receiving a different number from the order they were made in. In 1987, these short animations were edited into a twenty-three minute movie entitled "Early Abstractions", and the clips are best remembered as being part of this half-hour sequence.
"Number 1" (also known as "Number 1: A Strange Dream") is obviously the first of these snippets and is also the very first animation Smith did. As is the case with all of his work, this is really in the end the sort of short that certain people would be entertained by while others simply don't get the idea--and that's because it really depends on what you expect of it. The animation consists of a series of shapes and objects moving around themselves, merging, changing color, and creating a generally interesting effect which keeps your attention throughout. (It's hard to tell whether the static all over the picture was intentional or if that's deterioration from age). You don't know what you're looking at because you weren't supposed to: if you want a story of sorts, this will not deliver because it is only an artful work; if you are a fan of abstract animation, this will not disappoint.
From what I've gathered, this film was actually hand-painted and hand-drawn on 35mm film-stock and photographed on 16mm. That definitely explains why nothing stays in place and the color shifts around throughout each frame. In my personal opinion, this just adds to the artful aspect of the work and is one of the best things about it, although others may argue differently. An eye-catching diversion for three minutes and outstanding for being hand-painted.
"Number 1" (also known as "Number 1: A Strange Dream") is obviously the first of these snippets and is also the very first animation Smith did. As is the case with all of his work, this is really in the end the sort of short that certain people would be entertained by while others simply don't get the idea--and that's because it really depends on what you expect of it. The animation consists of a series of shapes and objects moving around themselves, merging, changing color, and creating a generally interesting effect which keeps your attention throughout. (It's hard to tell whether the static all over the picture was intentional or if that's deterioration from age). You don't know what you're looking at because you weren't supposed to: if you want a story of sorts, this will not deliver because it is only an artful work; if you are a fan of abstract animation, this will not disappoint.
From what I've gathered, this film was actually hand-painted and hand-drawn on 35mm film-stock and photographed on 16mm. That definitely explains why nothing stays in place and the color shifts around throughout each frame. In my personal opinion, this just adds to the artful aspect of the work and is one of the best things about it, although others may argue differently. An eye-catching diversion for three minutes and outstanding for being hand-painted.
