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Abstronic

Mary Ellen Bute  

1952

Film/Animation

Digital file

Film and Animation NotAComputer

Description

Mary Ellen Bute’s Abstronic pioneers the fusion of music, light, and electronics, translating rhythmic sound into dynamic visual forms. Collaborating with the engineer Ralph Potter of Bell Labs, the artist developed an oscilloscope-based system in which a beam of light could be manipulated as freely as a paintbrush. Using this new drawing instrument, Bute choreographed abstract shapes and Lissajous curves to recordings of “Hoe-Down” from Aaron Copland’s ballet Rodeo (1942) and “Ranch House Party” by Don Gillis (1940), hand-coloring the resulting imagery for depth and vibrancy.

As the artist wrote: “The figures and forms on the oscilloscope can be made to move…toward or away from the spectator…luminescence and shadow can be deployed; and the illusion of 3-dimensional space can be aroused.” Bute’s work builds on her training in painting and early experiments with color organs—early 20th-century electromechanical devices that produced visuals to accompany music. _Abstronic demonstrates the expressive potential of electronic media, creating immersive experiences that anticipated contemporary digital art. Its title _is a portmanteau of “abstraction” and “electronic.”

Related Works

Four-Panel Oscilloscope Photo Mary Ellen Bute / Ted Nemeth 1958-1959 (c.) Oscilloscope/Light Photo

Untitled Double Oscilloscope Photograph… Mary Ellen Bute / Ted Nemeth 1951-1952 (c.) Oscilloscope/Light Photo

Abstronic Production Material Mary Ellen Bute 1952 Photograph

Abstronic Sketch #2 Mary Ellen Bute / Ted Nemeth 1951-1952 (c.) Oscilloscope/Light Photo

Untitled Oscilloscope Photograph (negative #2) Mary Ellen Bute / Ted Nemeth 1951-1952 (c.) Oscilloscope/Light Photo

Untitled Double Oscilloscope Photograph (negative… Mary Ellen Bute / Ted Nemeth 1951-1952 (c.) Oscilloscope/Light Photo

Untitled Oscilloscope Photograph (negative #1) Mary Ellen Bute / Ted Nemeth 1951-1952 (c.) Oscilloscope/Light Photo

Abstronic Set Mary Ellen Bute / Ted Nemeth 1951-1952 (c.) Oscilloscope/Light Photo