Painter and Poet No. 3

1951
Sound
6m

Henry Moore is among the contributors to this experimental mix of verse and illustration, commissioned by the BFI for the Festival of Britain

Hello darkness my old friend. The four-part 'experiment in word, music and paintings' that was made by the BFI for the 1951 Festival of Britain did have more shade than light. But the mood in this episode is positively black. Thomas Nashe's 'In Time of Pestilence' is illustrated by Michael Ayrton, but star billing goes to Henry Moore who created some remarkable illustrations for Kathleen Raine's The Pythoness.

Drawings accompanying readings of poems. 'In Time of Pestilence' (Thomas Nashe) narrated by Robert Harris, drawings by Michael Ayrton. 'The Pythoness' (Kathleen Raine) narrated by Mary Morris, drawings by Henry Moore.

The Animator's Art

Free from commercial restraints, animators explore their art

After WWII, animation was increasingly recognised as a vital art form in its own right. Commercial work put food on their plates, but animators longed for creative freedom, and many production companies and determined animators created independent works in between paid gigs. Unshackled from commercial concerns, the resulting films were often daring in their pursuit of abstraction or personal expression. Meanwhile, many artists from other media have found that animation adds a vital new dimension to their work. But while such films were celebrated in their community they were rarely shown more widely. This collection showcases often hard-to-see examples of the animator's art at its purest and most individual.