Action Artist – British Pathè (1957)
Knightsbridge, London.
L/S of the National Gallery in London, three buses drive past in front of it. A fountain is in the foreground. L/S of the Tate Gallery.
Interior. M/S of 23 year old artist William Green, a student at the Royal College of Art. He follows the school of Action Painting where anything can be used to create a picture. He is sat at a desk in his studio with various paint pots and cans. He pours some liquid paraffin into a pot of black bitumen and stirs it with a stick. C/U of his face as he stirs the mixture, C/U of his hand stirring the pot. L/S of the room, various paintings are propped up and there is a bicycle leaning against the wall. In the foreground there is a big white canvas on the floor, William gets up from his desk in the background and throws the pot over the canvas. He then takes the bicycle, which has flat tyres, and runs it over the canvas. Various shots of him using the bicycle to smear the mixture. L/S as he puts the bicycle to one side and starts sliding over the canvas in his shoes. C/U of his feet smearing the picture, C/U of his face. Various shots of his feet and face while he spreads the mixture about.
L/S as he picks up a pot containing sand and gravel and throws it over the canvas, this is to add texture. He uses a brush to work the sand into the picture. L/S as another student, Michael Brown from New Zealand, walks into the room carrying an artist’s palette. C/U of William brushing the sand over the canvas. L/S as he puts the brush back in the pot and walks over to Michael. M/S of the two discussing the painting. M/S from a high angle looking down over their heads to the painting as they discuss it. M/S of another of his abstract pictures, it is a mixture of different coloured random patterns. C/U of another picture made up of different lines and textures. C/U of a pot of paint brushes and some bottles on the table.
FILM ID:67.12
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British Pathé also represents the Reuters historical collection, which includes more than 136,000 items from the news agencies Gaumont Graphic (1910-1932), Empire News Bulletin (1926-1930), British Paramount (1931-1957), and Gaumont British (1934-1959), as well as Visnews content from 1957 to the end of 1984. All footage can be viewed on the British Pathé website. https://www.britishpathe.com/
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