Animator’s films not your typical cartoons

Robert Breer has been accused of ruining the vision of those who have watched his films. Some… Robert Breer has been accused of ruining the vision of those who have watched his films. Some have even said they could inflict epilepsy upon viewers.

Breer’s animation is not what you’d expect in a Saturday morning cartoon. His films are short in length and experiment with both traditional geometrics and cartoon-like animation, using 24 frames per second.

He spoke and showed several of his films Saturday as a part of the Carnegie International Lecture Series. His art is on display at the Filmmakers Galleries until April 8.

The first film Breer showed, “Recreation,” was the one accused of causing eye and possible brain damage. By using a dramatically different image on each frame, the film flashed by with 24 pictures each second, in what he considered to be a collage of the film world.

“You can always stop the film and make it a painting,” he said.

Brady Lewis, a former student of Breer, introduced him to the audience. He reminisced about a course in animation he had taken from Breer years earlier.

“While I didn’t learn much about cartooning, I had my eyes opened to a whole new world of what filmmaking could be,” Lewis said.

Breer then took the stage to explain how he became a filmmaker. Originally a painter, he described a small revelation that occurred at a 1955 art show in Brussels. Breer watched as the people who came to see his work walked by it, chatting with their friends.

He soon realized that he could demand his audience’s attention much more successfully through film.

“Film is accessible to everybody,” he said.

Breer also explained that when people bought his paintings, he felt a sense of remorse at giving them away and not knowing whether they would decorate a wall or if they would be stashed in a dusty basement.

“I thought [filmmaking] was more democratic,” he said. “I could make film, and everyone could see it.”

Though he has now turned totally to filmmaking, his work can still be found displayed in galleries across the world. One of his films, “Man and Dog Out For Air,” was on exhibition in a New York City art gallery. He noted that it was not displayed traditionally, though. Each frame of the film was hung on the wall in succession.

“It doesn’t have the aggressive violence the film itself has,” Breer complained of the display.

Breer told the audience that in one year, he usually makes no more than two films. But films are not the only form of animation he has attempted. Breer also drew cartoons for children’s playing cards in attempt to learn conventional animation. Conceding that they weren’t his best work, he laughed and told the audience that he hoped no one would ever see them.

Swiss army knives, pigeons, rats and Mount Fuji have all been subjects of some of his other films. Breer uses his own animations, concrete images, blackouts and sounds to create his art.

Breer insisted that “silence creates a space that is unnatural,” which is why he chooses to use different means of sound in the background of his films. The sound is usually in sync with the images but never the same from one film to the next.

A French poem written and recited by his friend was played as the background to “Recreation.” Another film was accompanied by a bird whistle, which Breer bought off the street outside where he was working.

“I didn’t want traditional composed sound to go with images that weren’t traditional and composed,” he said.

Explaining that he goes into a film with an idea, Breer said that it was not always an idea with a clear beginning and a clear end. He emphasized the importance of spontaneity in his artwork.

“It might be arbitrary what I’m doing, but it ends up being not arbitrary,” he said.