Oskar Fischinger

Oskar Fischinger was born in Gelnhausen, Germany in 1900. From early studies in engineering, drafting and music, 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 Fischinger 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.Fishchinger’s independent personality was not compatible with the team of the studios, so he turned to painting. Fischinger created layers of grids, 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. His works are part of the collections in the Smithsonian, Guggenheim, Whitney,and Carnegie Museum of Art.