I'm not usually the sort of person who goes for this style of abstract, experimental film-making. However, if only for the odd gem like 'Composition #1: Themis (1940),' I continue to give avante-garde a try, and generally find myself satisfactorily intrigued. This four-minute colour animated film from Dwinell Grant adds the elements of time and motion to the typically-static art of abstract composition, making for a genuinely hypnotic array of rotating patterns and colours. Though IMDb lists this film as Grant's sole directorial credit, the information booklet with the 'Treasures from American Film Archives' DVD {on which this short can be found} indicates that he progressed towards 'Composition #4: Stereoscopic (1945)' and subsequently returned to film-making in the 1980s. Grant originally trained as a nonobjective painter at the National Academy of Design in New York, but later learned to employ stop-motion as a extension upon his earlier, more-restricted work on a canvas. The creative opportunities afforded by utilising motion were obviously an advantage, even when dealing with such abstract ideas.
I can't quite put my finger on why 'Themis' ultimately works as a film. There's just something about the look of it the gently-coloured post-modern shapes seemingly have no place in a film from 1940, and the fractured animated movement of the geometric figures is almost dream-like, particularly as the background colours regularly rotate. The short film's original soundtrack no longer survives, and so the clip has been restored with a loosely-based adaptation of a fugue by Czech-born composer Antonin Reicha (1770-1836). This musical piece is quite appropriate, fittingly understated with a rhythm that complements the pacing of the animation. All in all, Dwinell Grant's short film is a peculiar piece of abstract artwork that may or may not appeal to fans of abstract art, and, as my patronage has shown, may or may not appeal to those not quite so appreciative of the style. I don't think I understood what point if any there was to it, but I can nonetheless happily recommend 'Composition #1: Themis' for its captivating visuals.