Anémic cinéma
1925
Anémic cinéma
1925
A film made with the help of Man Ray, apparently simple in concept and mechanics, Anémic cinéma presents images of rotating discs on which abstract motifs alternate with spiral texts. A succession of static shots of an apparatus contrived by Marcel Duchamp, it seems to parody the silent film’s alternation of image and intertitle. Optical effects generating depth are commented on, as it were, by the coiling words that return the viewer to flatness. The slow rotation of the discs produces an effect of swelling out and shrinking in on which the punning and suggestive texts confer erotic connotations.
| Domain | Cinéma | Film |
|---|---|
| Techniques | Film 16 mm noir et blanc, muet |
| Duration | 8 minutes 32 secondes |
| Acquisition | Achat, 1976 |
| Inventory no. | AM 1976-F0127 |
Currently at
Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico (Mexique)
as part of The Forms of Energy. Emblematic Works from the Centre Pompidou (Clin d’œil. Œuvres optiques et cinétiques de la collection du Centre Pompidou), 12 November 2026 - 28 February 2027
See on the Centre Pompidou's loan map in France and worldwide
Detailed description
| Artist |
Marcel Duchamp
(1887, France - 1968, France) |
|---|---|
| Main title | Anémic cinéma |
| Creation date | 1925 |
| With | Assistance technique : Man Ray et Marc Allégret |
| Domain | Cinéma | Film |
| Description | Le film alterne dix disques optiques réalisés en 1923 et neuf contrepétries en spirales |
| Techniques | Film 16 mm noir et blanc, muet |
| Duration | 8 minutes 32 secondes |
| Acquisition | Achat, 1976 |
| Collection area | Cinéma |
| Inventory no. | AM 1976-F0127 |