Lapis 1963-1966
James Whitney
16mm film, color, sound, 10 minutes

Unpublished work copyright 1966, James Whitney
Restoration copyright 2018, Whitney Editions, LLC

James Whitney's Lapis is a classic work of abstract cinema, a 10-minute animation that took seven years to create using mechanical analogue computer equipment. In this piece, smaller circles oscillate in and out in an array of colors evoking a metaphysical meditation while being accompanied by Indian sitar music. The patterns become hypnotic and trance-inducing. This work clearly correlates the auditory and the visual and is a wonderful example of the concept of personal abstract filmmaking. 

Image courtesy of Whitney Editions, Los Angeles, CA