Color is an integral part of the cinematic experience. Filmmakers worldwide use color to shape narratives, evoke mood, or establish time and location. For audiences, colors elicit emotional responses, transcending logic to resonate with the subconscious mind. Introduced in the 1930s, Technicolor IV became the prevailing color technology choice for Hollywood productions through the mid-1950s. The influential process came to define the look of studio pictures thanks to its crisp images and vibrancy. Technicolor and its color consultants advised on all aspects of production, from costume design to art direction and cinematography. Even later pictures shot on color film stocks such as Eastman, including Vertigo (1958) and Cabaret (1972), would often be printed in glorious Technicolor. This screening series, programmed to accompany the museum’s exhibition Color in Motion: Chromatic Explorations of Cinema, celebrates the vibrant and indelible impact of Technicolor on Hollywood productions and audiences.
Programmed by K.J. Relth-Miller.
Notes by Hyesung ii and K.J. Relth-Miller adapted from Color in Motion exhibition texts.
Academy Museum film programming generously funded by the Richard Roth Foundation.
Color in Motion: Chromatic Explorations of Cinema is curated by Senior Exhibitions Curator Jessica Niebel with Assistant Curator Sophia Serrano, Research Assistant Alexandra James Salichs, and former Curatorial Assistant Manouchka Kelly Labouba, Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Special thanks to the project advisory group: Barbara Flueckiger, Ranjani Mazumdar, Kirsten Moana Thompson, and Joshua Yumibe.
Color in Motion: Chromatic Explorations of Cinema is among more than 70 exhibitions and programs presented as part of PST ART. Returning in September 2024 with its latest edition, PST ART: Art & Science Collide, this landmark regional event explores the intersections of art and science, both past and present. PST ART is presented by Getty. For more information about PST ART: Art & Science Collide, please visit pst.art. Generous support also provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Program in Public Understanding of Science and Technology and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture. Additional support provided by Howard and Mirjam Berger and Emma Koss. Academy Museum Digital Engagement Platform sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Technology solutions generously provided by Christie®.
