''Adebar'' is a 1957 Austrian avant-garde short film directed by Peter Kubelka. It is the first entry in Kubelka's trilogy of metrical films, followed by ''
Schwechater
''Schwechater'' is a 1958 experimental film, experimental short film by Austrian filmmaker Peter Kubelka. It is the second entry in his trilogy of metrical films, between ''Adebar'' and ''Arnulf Rainer (film), Arnulf Rainer''.
Originally commiss ...
'' and ''
Arnulf Rainer
Arnulf Rainer (born 8 December 1929) is an Austrian painter noted for his abstract informal art.
Rainer was born in Baden, Austria. During his early years, Rainer was influenced by Surrealism. In 1950, he founded the ''Hundsgruppe'' (''dog gro ...
''. ''Adebar'' is the first film to be edited entirely according to a mathematical rhythmic strategy.
Description
''Adebar'' uses footage from only eight unique shots that show dancing silhouettes, arranged in 16 rigidly structured sequences. Each sequence spans 104 film frames and consists of four shots lasting 13, 26, or 52 frames. The shots always alternate between positive and negative images. Some freeze on the first or last frame of the shot. The film's soundtrack is a 26-frame loop of Pygmy music.
Production
Kubelka was commissioned to create a commercial for Café Adebar, a dance bar in Vienna. He filmed dancers against a white wall, using extreme backlighting to create silhouettes. Compared to the production of his first film ''Mosaik im Vertauen'', Kubelka was less concerned with composition during production. He waited until after filming and selected images that fit what he wanted for use in ''Adebar''.
Release
Upon ''Adebar''s completion, Café Adebar rejected it as an advertisement. Kubelka exhibited the film in 1958 at the
European Forum Alpbach
The European Forum Alpbach (EFA) is an Austrian nonprofit organisation and foundation based in Vienna, Austria. It is best known for hosting the event of the same name in the village of Alpbach. It is an interdisciplinary platform for science, po ...
. The film strip had ripped in a projector, so he turned it into a sculpture by cutting it and attaching it to haystack posts so that viewers could examine it and cut off pieces. ''Adebar'' is now part of