Encounter
1970
Not on view
“Metamorphoses are unavoidable,” Lassnig wrote in 1973, reflecting on both the nature of drawing animated films and the scope of human experience. In just under a minute, this deceptively simple drama offers a concentrated meditation on individuality, conflict, desire, and difference—central aspects of the life experienced by the film’s pair of abstract forms. A loose and lumpy fuchsia-toned shape encounters an angular blue interlocutor. A standoff ensues until the loosely structured form glides over its rigidly pronged opponent and causes its spikes to wither, suggesting either union or defeat.
Vital Signs: Artists and the Body, November 3–February 22, 2024
Explore more
From MoMA Design Store
Licensing
Artwork or archival images
If you would like to reproduce an image of a work of art in MoMA's collection, or an image of a MoMA publication or archival material (including installation views, checklists, and press releases), please contact Art Resource (publication in North America) or Scala Archives (publication in all other geographic locations).
Audio and film clips
MoMA licenses archival audio and select out of copyright film clips from our film collection. At this time, MoMA produced video cannot be licensed by MoMA/Scala. All requests to license archival audio or out of copyright film clips should be addressed to Scala Archives at [email protected]. Motion picture film stills cannot be licensed by MoMA/Scala. For access to motion picture film stills for research purposes, please contact the Film Study Center at [email protected]. For more information about film loans and our Circulating Film and Video Library, please visit Circulating Film and Video Library.
Text from a publication or the archives
If you would like to reproduce text from a MoMA publication, please email [email protected]. If you would like to publish text from MoMA's archival materials, please fill out this permission form and send to [email protected].
Feedback
This record is a work in progress. If you have additional information or spotted an error, please fill out this feedback form.