Whether a given viewer likes or dislikes James Whitney's film LAPIS, it would be unimaginable that anyone can argue against the incredible achievement this experimentally animated piece presents.
After having worked with his brother John on several notable and award-winning abstractionist-film pieces, the two split, and James set out to continue with film while his brother began to steer towards early computer animation. With a deep interest in spiritual studies and concerns, as well as Quantum Physics, Whitney proceeded to incorporate both in LAPIS, utilizing one of the first converted analogue computers (donated by his brother) in conjunction with images of thousands of precise points of light that would form the outlines of a mandala, a Tibetan Buddhist spiritual meditation aid. At three years in the making the result is an incredibly intricate and complex film where the constantly spiraling and pulsating circular forms of the mandala rotate around a central core accompanied by a beautiful piece of classical East Indian music. LAPIS becomes not only visually encompassing to take in, but in the best viewing situations (and mind-frame) a very emotionally serene experience. This is one of those films that has you asking yourself, "How on Earth did he do that?!", or at the very least just muttering, "Wow..." The only problem I can find with the picture over-all is that it may be so calming as to put a viewer to sleep with it's hypnotic pacing.
8/10. A masterpiece of the eye and the mind, or the mind's eye.
After having worked with his brother John on several notable and award-winning abstractionist-film pieces, the two split, and James set out to continue with film while his brother began to steer towards early computer animation. With a deep interest in spiritual studies and concerns, as well as Quantum Physics, Whitney proceeded to incorporate both in LAPIS, utilizing one of the first converted analogue computers (donated by his brother) in conjunction with images of thousands of precise points of light that would form the outlines of a mandala, a Tibetan Buddhist spiritual meditation aid. At three years in the making the result is an incredibly intricate and complex film where the constantly spiraling and pulsating circular forms of the mandala rotate around a central core accompanied by a beautiful piece of classical East Indian music. LAPIS becomes not only visually encompassing to take in, but in the best viewing situations (and mind-frame) a very emotionally serene experience. This is one of those films that has you asking yourself, "How on Earth did he do that?!", or at the very least just muttering, "Wow..." The only problem I can find with the picture over-all is that it may be so calming as to put a viewer to sleep with it's hypnotic pacing.
8/10. A masterpiece of the eye and the mind, or the mind's eye.
