Oskar Wilhelm Fischinger Born: June 22, 1900 , Gelnhausen Germany

Died: January 31, 1967, los Angeles California

He was a German-American abstract animator, filmmaker, and painter, notable for
creating abstract musical animation many decades before the appearance of computer
graphics and music videos “ music is not limited to the world of sound , there exists a
music of the visual world “ is one his famous quotes
His most famous piece, Motion Painting Number 1 (1947), combines images of oil paint being applied to
acrylic glass with the music of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto
His technique was to hang hundreds of paper shapes on invisible wires, shooting and then stitching together
single frames to mirror, in painstaking detail, the rhythm of Franz Liszt's 2nd Hungarian Rhapsody. The stop-
motion film was a work of love
Some American abstract animators were inspired or influenced by the European abstract animators. For
instance, Robert Bruce Rogers was under the influence of Oskar Fischinger by incorporating music into his
“motion painting” when he presented his film 'Motion Painting No. 3 – Rhapsody' (1951).

In 1924, Fischinger formed a company with American entrepreneur Louis Seel to

produce satirical cartoons that tended toward mature audiences. One survives in his film
estate, Pierrette I. He also continued to make abstract films and tests of his own, trying
new and different techniques, including multiple projector performances. "In 1926 and
1927, Fischinger performed his own multiple projector film shows with various musical
accompaniments. These shows were titled Fieber (Fever), Vakuum, and Macht(Power)'".[3]
Facing financial difficulties, Fischinger borrowed from his family, and then his landlady.
Finally, in an effort to escape bill collectors, Fischinger decided to surreptitiously depart
Munich for Berlin in June 1927. Taking only his essential equipment, he walked 350 miles
through the countryside, shooting single frames that were released many decades later
as the film Walking from Munich to Berlin.