Speaking of Abstraction: A Universal Language

Speaking of Abstraction: A Universal Language

1999 · 48 min · Documentary

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, abstraction - that most quintessentially modernist innovation - maintains a peculiarly contradictory position. Used, on one hand, by post-modernist artists as just one more quotable style amongst many, it is on the other hand still considered an elitist or hermetic language by audiences intimidated by its lack of recognizable subject matter. Yet ultimately, abstraction continues to be a viable creative path for contemporary artists of all generations, many of whom embrace it as the most inclusive and fundamentally resonant of artistic languages. Filmed at the artists' studios, the Dia Center for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Museum during their exhibition, "Abstraction in the Twentieth Century."

Directed by Michael Blackwood · Written by Sasha Newman

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Rent or Buy

Cast

Make it a double feature

1h 46m together

Speaking of Abstraction: A Universal Language

Louis Kahn: Silence and Light

Both from Michael Blackwood.

More from Michael BlackwoodSee all →

Japan: 3 Generations of Avant-Garde Architects

Japan: 3 Generations of Avant-Garde Architects · 1989

Japan: 3 Generations of Avant-Garde Architects

MovieDocumentary

Japan's establishment as an economic superpower led to a Golden Age of Japanese architecture. Six innovators stand out particularly, fusing Japanese traditions with modern materials and technology.

Louis Kahn: Silence and Light

Louis Kahn: Silence and Light · 1996

Louis Kahn: Silence and Light

MovieDocumentary

As an architect, educator, and philosopher, Louis Kahn played a prominent role in the history of 20th century architecture. An examination of six of his most significant buildings: The Salk Institute; the Kimbell Art Museum; the Center for British Art; the library at Philips Exeter Academy; the Indian Institute of Management; and the Parliament Buildings of Bangladesh.

Empire City

Empire City · 1985

MovieDocumentaryHistory

A film essay contrasting the modern metropolis with its "golden age" from 1830-1930, with the participation of some of New York's leading political and cultural figures. Made at a time when the city was experiencing unprecedented real estate development on the one hand and unforeseen displacement of population and deterioration on the other. Empire City is the story of two New Yorks. The film explores the precarious coexistence of the service-based midtown Manhattan corporate headquarters with the peripheral New York of undereducated minorities living in increasing alienation.

Butoh: Body on the Edge of Crisis

Butoh: Body on the Edge of Crisis · 1990

Butoh: Body on the Edge of Crisis

MovieDocumentary

"Butoh: Body on the Edge of Crisis" is a visually striking film portrait shot on location in Japan with the participation of the major Butoh choreographers and their companies. Although Butoh is often viewed as Japan's equivalent of modern dance, in actuality it has little to do with the rational principles of modernism. Butoh is a theater of improvisation which places the personal experiences of the dancer on center-stage. By reestablishing the ancient Japanese connection of dance, music, and masks, and by recalling the Buddhist death dances of rural Japan, Butoh incorporates much traditional theater. At the same time, it is a movement of resistance against the abandonment of traditional culture to a highly organized consumer-oriented society.

Hütet eure Töchter!

Hütet eure Töchter! · 1964

Hütet eure Töchter!

A film consisting of seven episodes directed by young West German filmmakers, some of whom were signatories of the famous Oberhausen Manifesto. The film focuses on the sometimes highly dramatic fates of young girls.

Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol · 1972

MovieDocumentary

With a rambling, unstructured style that echoes Andy Warhol’s own approach to filmmaking, this documentary profiles his career, showing him to be a brilliant manipulator, dedicated voyeur and person of astute commercial judgment.

Gregory Crewdson: The Aesthetics of Repression

Gregory Crewdson: The Aesthetics of Repression · 2005

Gregory Crewdson: The Aesthetics of Repression

MovieDocumentary

Crewdson is observed and questioned closely during his work on ten new images in as many different sets.

Mies

MovieDocumentary

No understanding of the modern movement in architecture is possible without knowledge of its master builder, Mies van der Rohe. Together with documentation of his life, this film shows all his major buildings, as well as rare film footage of Mies explaining his philosophy. Phyllis Lambert relates her choice of Mies as the architect for the Seagram building. Mies's achievements and continuing influence are debated by architects Robert A.M. Stern, Robert Venturi, and Philip Johnson, by former students and by architectural historians. Mies is seen in rare documentary footage.

Hans Bethe꞉ Prophet of Energy

Hans Bethe꞉ Prophet of Energy · 1980

Hans Bethe꞉ Prophet of Energy

MovieDocumentary

A portrait of the eminent Nobel Prize winning physicist who greatly advanced our knowledge of the atom. Bethe discusses the milestones of his career: his student work in Germany, his flight from the Nazis, his work on the Los Alamos Atomic Bomb project under Robert Oppenheimer, and his research on the energy production in stars. In working to help solve the energy crisis of the 1970’s, Bethe established himself as one of the country’s leading spokesmen for a safe way to use nuclear energy. Speaking in support of a sensible use, he represents a side of this controversial issue that deserves more attention. The film provides crucial insight into this complex issue by one of the world’s authorities.

George Segal

George Segal · 2016

MovieDocumentary

George Segal constructs a type of human form and vulnerability that feels rare in the world of sculpture. As we follow his process at the isolated New Jersey farmhouse that serves as his studio, the intimacy between Segal and his art is contagious. He casts people who he knows, respects and admires, making the final outcome of the piece seep with personality and humanity. Segal is focused on creating a mold that does not necessarily subscribe to society’s notion of beauty. Originally released in 1979.

David Chipperfield: Form Matters

David Chipperfield: Form Matters · 2012

David Chipperfield: Form Matters

MovieDocumentary

When the Tuscan city of Pisa commissioned David Chipperfield to create a master plan that would bring new vitality to this historic spot on the Arno, an exhibition of selected works produced by him in the last 25 years was also invited. "David Chipperfield: Form Matters" documents the architect as he leads the way through his models, drawings and photographs, explaining his designs in the process. Chipperfield's vast array of international work spans over Europe, China, Japan, the United States and Mexico and as he guides us through his career Chipperfield offers a detailed accounts of his creative direction at every stop.

Peter Eisenman: Building Germany's Holocaust Memorial

Peter Eisenman: Building Germany's Holocaust Memorial · 2009

Peter Eisenman: Building Germany's Holocaust Memorial

MovieDocumentary

This documentary explores the creation of the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin as designed by architect Peter Eisenman. Reaction of the German public to the completed memorial is also shown.

Deconstructivist Architects

Deconstructivist Architects · 1990

Deconstructivist Architects

By the end of the 1980's a new architectural sensibility challenged the prevailing post-Modern attitude and brought forth new and daring designs. Driven by the philosophy and theory of Jacques Derrida, the architects of Deconstructivism are rooted in a movement that urges us to examine the space we move through. Deconstructivist Architects documents explosive and seemingly chaotic structures from Vienna to L.A., and interviews those who pursue its aesthetic issues. Filmed on location with the architects and at the Museum of Modern Art's exhibition Deconstructivist Architecture, which was curated by Philip Johnson.

You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You

You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You · 1964

You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You

MovieDocumentary

Description by D.A Pennebaker: "This movie is something of a mystery. Timothy Leary was getting married to a model named Nena Von Schlebrugge up in Millbrook, New York at the Hitchcock house, where Leary had been carrying on his hallucinogenic revelries for the past year or so after leaving Harvard. It was rumored that this was going to be the wedding of the season, the wedding of Mr. And Mrs. Swing as Cab Calloway put it. Blackwood took me downtown to meet Monte Rock III who was singing at Trudy Heller’s but who was also a very pricey and off-the-wall hairdresser and was in fact going to be doing the bride’s hair. Nena’s brother, Bjorn, known as the “Baron” was a friend of the Hitchcock’s, as was I, and the idea of going along and filming the wedding seemed not unwarranted. I’ve always wanted to film someone getting married."

Tadao Ando

Tadao Ando · 1988

MovieDocumentary

Tadao Ando, a self-taught architect, proposes an international architecture that he believes can only be conceived by someone Japanese. His architecture mixes Piranesian drama with contemplative spaces in urban complexes, residences and chapels. This film presents the formative years of his impressive career before he embarked on projects in Europe and the United States.

4 Artists: Robert Ryman, Eva Hesse, Bruce Nauman, Susan Rothenberg

4 Artists: Robert Ryman, Eva Hesse, Bruce Nauman, Susan Rothenberg · 1988

4 Artists: Robert Ryman, Eva Hesse, Bruce Nauman, Susan Rothenberg

4 Artists: Robert Ryman, Eva Hesse, Bruce Nauman, Susan Rothenberg acts as a collective portrait of creators linked only by their stated intention of expressing ideas through art. Unconnected to traditional concepts of beauty, storytelling or pictorial representation, the artists discuss the context of their art and how their work and the public's perception of it have changed over time. This film offers the rare opportunity to see a large body of work in their studios.—Michael Blackwood Productions

More Like This

The Lost Leonardo

The Lost Leonardo · 2021

The Lost Leonardo

MovieDocumentaryHistory

London, England, 2008. Some of the most distinguished experts on the work of Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) gather at the National Gallery to examine a painting known as Salvator Mundi; an event that turns out to be the first act of one of the most fascinating stories in the history of art.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter