Tuesday, 31. January 2023, 20:30
Misterioso Jazz Club
The Institute, Zurich
theinstitute.ch/programm
Lichtspiel: Opus I
Walter Ruttmann, Germany, 1921, 12 min
Lichtspiel: Opus II
Walter Ruttmann, Germany, 1923, 4 min
Lichtspiel: Opus III
Walter Ruttmann, Germany, 1924, 4 min
Lichtspiel: Opus IV
Walter Ruttmann, Germany, 1925, 4 min
Influut (Alto Saxophone, Voice, DIY Instruments, Electronics)
Painting with Time
Ruttmann’s “Opus 1”, which premiered in 1921, is the first abstract or ‘absolute’ work in film history. It contains no images of reality, but consists only of colours and forms, as Ruttmann had already formulated in his manifesto for a “painting with time”. In 1919, he wrote that it took him almost ten years to “master the technical difficulties” that stood in the way of his idea, formulated as early as 1913, that one should be able to “work with film as with brush and paint”.
Influut is a Geneva duo that plays electroacoustic post-jazz. The essence of their music comes from two opposing yet complementary approaches that meet in the exploration of instrumental harmonies and algorithmic synthesis. Influut’s approach to composition leaves room for improvisation and electronically randomised sound events to build a musical narrative that follows organic processes with a technological component.