Lumières Y2K
Lumières Y2K in Swedish

The history of experimental film is as old as film itself. In the 1880's and 1890's both Muybridge and Edison experimented with stills and technical solutions to solve the problems of moving pictures. But it was the LumiËre brothers who first showed film to a paying audience. Soon after, George MeliËs had his own camera constructed and started using the media. He experimented freely and created films that continue to surprise and inspire.

Moving pictures as an art had its beginnings in the early part of this century. Then came video art and now, during the past few years, various forms of digital art have come onto the scene. Whether its about projected experimental film, video art shown on a monitor or on TV, installations with video projections or computer generated moving images on CD-ROM or the Internet, they have one thing in common: They are moving images as art. This in itself gives them a special relationship to time and space and often demands that the viewer be in a certain space for a certain amount of time.

The first films where documentary in character, simply a technical tool. Today, with the giant film industry surrounding us we know that film has more potential impact. Within experimental film different aspects of the media have been investigated. Just to name a few examples, one has worked with the photographic characteristics of film by letting in light in different ways, using chemicals and colors, burying film underground to see how it will effected by bacteria. Other areas of experimentation have been editing technique, narrative technique, projectors, projection surfaces, the significance of the projectionist, etc. There have been many movements in film as media. It goes without saying that film has has a central position in the arts.

When the portable video camera was introduced on the market in the mid 1960's video art was born. Nam June Paik was a pioneer in this field and used this new tool, among other things, to problemitize TV. Over time video art has left the questions of television and the object "TV" behind. Images are projected onto different surfaces and have become a part of installations which include objects in relationship to the moving image. Video has made it possible to make images that to be shown directly. For example, the surveillance camera and its possibilities and problematics is an area that has been widely investigated and is specific for video.

Todays digital art has clear connections to video art, but even to the growing digital game industry, and to Internet. To store information digitally gives the possibility to create work that has no beginning and no end. The viewer is not forced to take part of the work during a certain time period. Experimentation and research of the possiblities within this media have just begun.

It is important to put contemporary digital art into perspective with the help of moving picture history. Currently, in Sweden, there is no regulary scheduled platform for taking part in this history or taking part in new work. In Paris one can go to a club called "Scratch" once a week to see new work. Information about the weekly programming can be found through the distributor Light Cone in Paris. In London work is shown regulary at Lux Cinema, Hoxton Square. Information about the showings through London Electronic Arts.

Swedish Filmform has started showing work of both historic and new material in Stockholm, Göteborg, and filmfestivals abroad. Soon, in Stockholm, there will be showings on a regular basis.

Translation by Melinda Bergman