“Why Man Creates”
The History of Civilization in 5 minutes. This is ‘The Edifice’, a segment from designer/animator Saul Bass’ Oscar winning short “Why Man Creates” (1968).
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Art, Music and Politics - from a Psychedelic Perspective
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May 11th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
saul bass is most famous perhaps for working with hitchcock, doing his opening credits for vertigo, psycho, north by northwest… movies i love very much.
i give lots of credit to bass for his contribution to hitch’s work. his animated credit sequences give the work a feeling of how myth is created (if not deconstructed). linearity, logic, grand narrative are given their place in hitch’s work by the aid of bass’s grand, exhilirating moves and rythms.
this animated film, which i’ve never heard of til now, is a wonderful almost postmodern cultural text. it follows many start-of-the-century uncertainties and illfeelings re technological progress for one thing. and the feeling that it might all fall down is ultimate suspence.
May 11th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
Excellent analysis Tyson, I like how you tie in millennial anxiety and teleology in your reading of the short. I hope I eventually have a chance to see the whole movie but this clip is the only thing I could find.