Rethinking Visual Music: The Abstract Moving Image as a Transmedial Art Form
Date of Award
Spring 2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Music
First Advisor
Kreuzer, Gundula
Abstract
While the term “visual music” has gained traction in musicology and film studies in recent years, the concept remains ill-defined. This dissertation promises to clarify the concept by proposing a new and robust definition: the term “visual music” denotes a transmedial art form premised on abstract moving images. The term “moving image” designates a visual art form, one that is perceived through the eyes. It is transmedial, because it can be realized by multiple different visual media, from film to computer software, to other media. The art form is dependent on motion and time; its imagery is abstract, shunning narratives or figurative representation. Due to its abstract and temporal nature, visual music has special affordances resembling those of music. It can emulate formal properties of music, such as form and rhythm. Moreover, it can be combined with sound to create audiovisual art works, and it can be synchronized to create meticulously choreographed effects. To disambiguate the art form’s multifaceted relationships with music, this thesis proposes a four-part typology for abstract moving images: silent non-musicalized (Type 1);silent musicalized (Type 2); sounding musicalized (Type 3); and sounding non-musicalized (Type 4) moving images. These categories have been devised from close readings of abstract films produced between the 1920s and 1960s, when film was a dominant medium, though they also generalize to other media and time periods. This dissertation also brings a historical perspective to visual music. It begins by tracing the coinage of the term to the 1890s, arguing that the concept of abstraction is critical to a historical understanding of the term. It then investigates a range of media that were used in the nineteenth century to produce abstract moving images, such as the kaleidoscope, the chromatrope, and the phantoscope (Chapter 1). The subsequent three chapters all investigate abstract film as a medium for visual music. Chapter 2 discusses abstract films produced during the silent era in Weimar Germany—notably those by Viking Eggeling, Hans Richter, and Walter Ruttmann—which tested the boundaries between painting and music. Chapter 3 investigates the films of Mary Ellen Bute and Oskar Fischinger, arguing that their films blurred the boundaries between high modernism and popular culture. Chapter 4 studies the films of Jordan Belson and James Whitney to show how these artists utilized visual music as a means of portraying mystical experiences. The Epilogue discusses a range of contemporary media that have been used for visual music, such as installation art, live concerts, computer software, and abstract music videos. In doing so, this dissertation promises to uncover a rich history of the moving image and contribute to musicology, film studies, and audiovisual studies.
Recommended Citation
Balme, Henry Brian, "Rethinking Visual Music: The Abstract Moving Image as a Transmedial Art Form" (2023). Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations. 905.
https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/gsas_dissertations/905
