Obsessed with Light

The Eye International Conference will open with an introduction by Bregtje van der Haak (Director at Eye), Giovanna Fossati (Director Collection & Knowledge Sharing at Eye), and Sarah Kenderdine (Professor of Digital Museology at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne).

This will be followed by a screening of Obsessed with Light (2023) a documentary about dance and light pioneer Loïe Fuller (1862 - 1928), a fabulously original performer and inventor who revolutionised image culture at the start of the 20th century. Fuller’s rise coincided with cinema’s infancy. Her ‘Serpentine Dance’ became iconic among early filmmakers who hand-coloured their films to imitate wonderful lighting effects.

The documentary is not only a meditation on light, but also depicts the influence of Fuller’s work on contemporary culture with examples including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Taylor Swift, Ines van Herpen, Shakira, William Kentridge and Studio Drift from Amsterdam. Combining archival footage (also from Eye’s collection) with artists’ interviews, the film links today’s creative giants to Fuller’s pioneering work. The film contains excerpts from some 26 films from Eye’s collection including The Twenty-four Dollar Island (Robert Flaherty, US 1927), Le charmeur (Segundo de Chomón, FR 1906) and Les Parisiennes (Unknown, US 1897).

The screening will conclude with an exclusive video message by the directors Zeva Oelbaum and Sabine Krayenbühl, talking about their research and production of the film.