Etsy's Handmade Blog
Camera Obscura: Lotte Reiniger
Story by weirdwolf
Published on June 10, 2009 in Reviews

Camera Obscura is our new blog series spotlighting filmic wonders from the blogosphere. Look forward to  personal favorites of stop motion animations, optical ephemera and forgotten film treasures.

"I believe in the truth of fairy-tales more than I believe in the truth in the newspaper."
— Lotte Reiniger

This week enchanted silhouettes frame the screen with handmade paper puppets from filmmaker Lotte Reiniger. Reiniger transformed the ancient art of shadow-plays by adapting it to cinema and, in the process, made a lasting mark in the history of animated films. 

For some 60 years Reiniger hand cut all of her paper silhouette forms herself with precision and acuity. She held scissors still in her right hand while manipulating the paper at lightning speed with her left hand. Reiniger modestly noted once that, "Even with primitive materials, one can work small wonders."

Lotte Reiniger's wonderfully crafted works remind me of a Czech shadow puppet show I once saw at a Bread & Puppet festival, as well as the brilliant black cut-paper silhouettes of artist Kara Walker. Who is your favorite animator? Tell us in the comments below.

[Animation found via Hello Stranger]

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Tags animation, camera obscura, children, Czech, European, game, giant, Jack and the beanstalk, Lotte Reiniger, monster, paper cutouts, puppet, puppetry, puppets, Reviews, REVIEWS, shadow puppets, silhouette, toys, video
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51 comments     Login to add your own!

June 10, 2009 at 3:48 p.m. beadsandbits

As a vintage paper addict (okay, and beads and buttons, too!) this article certainly piques my curiosity! Off to poke through my cool stash of ephemera and see what treasures I can find :)

June 10, 2009 at 3:48 p.m. Slowshirts

BRead and puppet?! Kara Walker?! You just brought back some great memories to me. I love drawing with my xacto knife and scissors as well, thanks for this article!

June 10, 2009 at 3:54 p.m. beautifulbridget

Absolutely AWESOME! Thanks for such a great article!!

June 10, 2009 at 3:54 p.m. JAdamsDesigns

LOVE IT! More film making inspiration please! Keep it coming!! Love the paper cutting too!! :-)

June 10, 2009 at 3:55 p.m. missindie

I am in love with this article! So nifty! :]

June 10, 2009 at 3:56 p.m. PAINTINGSBYSAM

how cool.

June 10, 2009 at 3:58 p.m. VintageBookStore

The leaf Silhouette is great.

June 10, 2009 at 3:58 p.m. VintageBookStore

Love it!

June 10, 2009 at 4:02 p.m. txbird

I thought you might be interested in this quote regarding Lotte Reiniger. And, it's absolutely true. The film is mesmerizing and amazing."The first full-length animated film (made in 1926) is still hailed as an enchanting masterpiece and one of the great classics: beautiful, mesermizing, and utterly seductive! Director Lotte Reiniger creates pure cinematic magic with her hand-cut silhouettes and, with her elegant and intricate designs, brings characters vividly to life with a rare lyrical quality."

June 10, 2009 at 4:04 p.m. FlanneryCrane

Leaf Silhouette? Wow~ Lovely...

June 10, 2009 at 4:08 p.m. foamywader

Awesome!

June 10, 2009 at 4:16 p.m. MouseTrapVintage

Kara Walker is my favorite! Her black paper silhouettes are amazing, but she's doing wonderous things these days with colored films and overhead projectors:

http://www.redcat.org/images/redcat/g...

http://www.imamuseum.org/Media_Databa...

http://www.thefader.com/ys_assets/000...

Another AMAZING artist and animator is William Kentridge:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmvK7A...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wB4pQ...

June 10, 2009 at 4:16 p.m. allthenumbers

Slightly disappointed that this isn't an article *curated by* Camera Obscura. Wanted to see what My Maudlin Career would have chosen for picks. But lovely anywho.

June 10, 2009 at 4:17 p.m. somewhereinntime

soooo cooollll

June 10, 2009 at 4:17 p.m. simplesong

how gorgeous

June 10, 2009 at 4:21 p.m. BabbidgePatch

interesting ~ enjoyed the picks. I'm partial to the Folk Art Tree..

June 10, 2009 at 4:23 p.m. MouseTrapVintage

OMG! Please go watch this Kentridge video! I saw it in person at a puppet themed show at the ICA in Philly last year and this video is just as mesmerizing to me as it was in person:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wB4pQ...

June 10, 2009 at 4:24 p.m. 5gardenias

this is going to be a real treat--- i can just feel it in my bones.... !

June 10, 2009 at 4:35 p.m. BululuStudio

wow! Cool video! we are ready Etsy with popcorn and such.

June 10, 2009 at 4:35 p.m. jewelryjunk

sweet!

June 10, 2009 at 4:35 p.m. MyJunkyTrunk

Wow! That is pretty amazing! Boy, there is certainly no shortage of talent here on Etsy.

June 10, 2009 at 4:37 p.m. recycledwares

the silhouette art is just amazing - some really talented artist here.

June 10, 2009 at 4:39 p.m. 5gardenias

p.s. the kentridge work is amazing as is reiniger's--thanks for sharing !!!

June 10, 2009 at 4:41 p.m. lovelygifts

Very nice!

June 10, 2009 at 4:44 p.m. weirdwolf

Thanks for the lovely Reiniger quote txbird. And for the suggestions MouseTrapVintage. Keep them coming!

June 10, 2009 at 5 p.m. prettydreamer

What a great article!!

Love all things silhouette, paper cut and scherenschnitte!! I once did a shadow puppet workshop as a visiting artist with several groups of first and second graders in the public schools!! Completely magical for all of us!!

June 10, 2009 at 5:02 p.m. MouseTrapVintage

You're welcome! So glad you liked it, weirdwolf and 5gardenias. Youtube Kentridge and prepare for more amazement!!! :)

June 10, 2009 at 5:05 p.m. MouseTrapVintage

Welp, I just thought of another animator that graduated from my alma matter, Lauren Albert. She was in a show I curated last year in my gallery in Philly, www.midwivescollective.com. She's in Brooklyn now. Check out her website:
http://plslala.com/
and senior thesis animation:
http://plslala.com/artpagenew.html

June 10, 2009 at 5:37 p.m. pengpengs

Lotte is a genius! We recently watched "The Adventures of Prince Achmed", it was mind blowing!!

June 10, 2009 at 6:50 p.m. topsyturvydesign

OOOOoooooOOOooo
As a former shadow puppet artist, I ADORE the pioneering works of Lotte!!!!
Tara - you must must must check out http://www.shadowlight.org/slp/
Larry Reid & Co have taken the art of shadow puppetry to a whole new level

June 10, 2009 at 7:12 p.m. samsstuff

What amazing & interesting work! Thanks for sharing it with us.

June 10, 2009 at 8:08 p.m. princesslotta

It reminds me of my Czech father - when I was a little girl he used to make short stop motion films using my dolls, toys, cars etc and they would move about my sleeping form, eat my sandwiches and make lots of mess.

I didn't ever think about how precious these moments are. Thankyou for showcasing Lotte

June 10, 2009 at 8:28 p.m. JinxMurphyDesigns

Hey Lotta, fancy running into you here, all beautiful silhouettes. The simplicity of a silhouette makes it timeless and I guess I'm a little biased because they're my favorites to make.

June 10, 2009 at 9:33 p.m. noraaoyagi

Oh yes, I love him! I'm a big fan of silhouettes and fairytales.

June 10, 2009 at 10:10 p.m. Mattson

What a cool addition to the blogs of Etsy. I also have a thing for silhouettes; they can describe so much in their starkness.

Favorite animator? Probably Richard Condie, from Canada. If you haven't seen any of his films, look 'em up! They are terrific.

June 10, 2009 at 10:13 p.m. Mattson

(Though Condie is not, actually a stop-motion or cut-paper animator, but still...)

June 10, 2009 at 10:13 p.m. MoolyArt

Yes, 'The Adventures of Prince Achmed' was/is still a beautiful work. I found it on Netflix a few years ago. Make sure you watch the special info on the disc. It has great background on the process and Lotte's life.

June 10, 2009 at 10:28 p.m. LoveAtFirstBlush

Wow it's amazing what you can do with a pair of scissors and a video camera.
Thank you for sharing that film with us.

June 11, 2009 at 12:13 a.m. chocolateandsteel

so inspiring! I can't imagine the amount of work that went into that movie. thanks for sharing with us.

June 11, 2009 at 1:54 a.m. clubviv

such a great article
Love
Love
Love
Love
Love
Love

June 11, 2009 at 4:50 a.m. ZenGarden

Thank You!!

June 11, 2009 at 6:25 a.m. steinschmuckdesign

WOW!

Very Nice!

June 11, 2009 at 8:36 a.m. jasonmseger

Awesome vid

June 11, 2009 at 9:41 a.m. artsyfingers

Unbelievable amount of work! very very much appreciated. LOVE fairy tails ,can't see or read enough of them. Thank you so much for sharing. Great work!

June 11, 2009 at 10:17 a.m. obscurio

Beautiful and fascinating!

June 11, 2009 at 2:20 p.m. gemmawithag

Thank you for this post!
I just watched Lotte's dvd series. Absolutely beautiful work. The love that goes into her work is incredible :)
I like nothing better than to cut lovely things out of paper with my craft knife so can totally appreciate the frustration and pleasure of it all! :)

June 11, 2009 at 3:47 p.m. 1AEON

supercool pick!
very nice work!!!!!!
go Tara!!!

June 11, 2009 at 5 p.m. EJPcreations

Such a great article!!!! Love the 5 little monkies!!!

June 12, 2009 at 10:25 a.m. Nishale

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!
The BEST ARTICLE ON ETSY SO FAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
love everything!

June 12, 2009 at 9:24 p.m. TianaCHE

Absolutely fantastic article! Love all finds!

Aug. 2, 2009 at 11:37 a.m. PawPawsWorkshop

Great article

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