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OSKAR FISCHINGER (1900-1967)

From early studies in engineering, drafting and music, Oskar Fischinger gravitated towards the arts. He earned acclaim for his abstract animation films as art form and in commercial commissions.  With Hitler’s denigration of abstract art, Fishinger left Germany for Los Angeles at the invitation of Hollywood’s film industry.  Though he painted at his home easel, he worked on animated films for Paramount, MGM and Walt Disney Studios creating Allegretto, Fantasia and An Optical Poem, among others.  But, his independent personality was not compatible with the team mentality of the studios! 

Fischinger turned increasingly to his easel painting.  Relating painting to his work on film, he created layers of grids and biomorphic and geometric forms in pulsating color.  His abstractions are concerned with a third dimension, of cosmic depth in light, space and rhythm.  Fischinger achieved the visual unification of sound and movement through time and space.

Oskar Fischinger, Composition 44
Click to view images by Oskar Fischinger

Oskar Fischinger Chronology

Expanded Biographical Essay

Exhibitions at Tobey C. Moss Gallery:

1988 Oskar Fischinger: A Retrospective
1982 Oskar Fischinger: Paintings and Watercolors

For more images and biographical data, email us at tobeymoss@earthlink.net