The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles offers a fascinating chromatic exploration of more than a century of cinema.

Now is perhaps the perfect time to spend a few hours at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences museum in Hollywood. The stunning retrospective "Color in Motion" offers a sensory, hands-on, and educational experience through the history and evolution of color. More than 110 internationally acclaimed films, dynamic cinematic installations, and nearly 150 objects spanning from the silent era to the digital age are showcased. The California institution explores 130 years (1894-2024) of colorimetric possibilities in cinema, organized around six major themes: the choreography of color, technologies and spectacle, the installation of monochrome films, color as character, experimentation, and the color arcade.

A MULTICOLORED VISUAL FEAST

The exhibition, curated by Jessica Niebel, thus gives way to a vast in-depth study of the role of color: from technological advances to its psychological impact on the public. On the program? Objects classified according to the colors of the rainbow. Examples include the ruby ​​slippers designed by Gilbert Adrian for The Wizard of Oz (1939), the green dress created by Edith Head for Kim Novak in Vertigo (1958), a Wonka chocolate bar in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1971), a blue suit worn by Jamie Foxx in Django Unchained (2012), Jack Nicholson's red velvet jacket in The Shining (1980), and a model of the yellow house from Up (2009).

The exhibition opens with "Choreographing Color," illustrating the connection between color, music, and movement. This gallery notably features The Serpentine Dance (circa 1894), one of the earliest examples of color in film history. Among the costumes are the ballet slippers from The Red Shoes (1948), made by Hein Heckroth, and the red ensemble worn by Maggie Cheung in Hero (2002), designed by Emi Wada.

HIGH-TECH AND PIONEERING WOMEN

The following space is dedicated to "Technologies and Spectacles", presenting equipment that covers the advances and the growing importance of color technologies (Technicolor camera, Kinémacolor projector, digital colorimetry console, 35 mm hand-cranked color camera, etc.).

This section highlights the essential role of women in the evolution of cutting-edge techniques and the development of film color. Pathé serves as an example. The French production and distribution company, founded in 1896, is renowned for having employed hundreds of young women, notably to " hand-paint films at the turn of the century, before transitioning to a more industrialized stencil process in 1903, with over 200 female talents on its workforce by 1906. "

The same can be said of Disney's Ink & Paint department, founded in 1923 in the United States, which was the first to be made up entirely of women in the animation industry.

LOOK, LIVE AND FEEL

The exploration continues with "Monochrome Film Installation," which awakens our emotions through the power of color. Three large screens project excerpts from tinted films of the silent era, showcasing "the hallucinatory, vibrant, and sometimes supernatural quality of monochrome film colors."

“Color as Character” focuses more on case studies, centered on its use by directors, production designers, costume designers, and cinematographers. Using objects, the gallery shows how color can be used to “ drive a film’s narrative, create meaning, determine character traits and moods, and establish time and place .”

Finally, the "Color Arcade" section pushes the boundaries and focuses on interactivity. This participatory space immerses visitors in a futuristic design inspired by neon cinema, allowing them to physically interact with color through body movement. This magnificent curatorial experience concludes with a nod to the Stargate corridor from Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), transporting the audience into a colorful universe.

“COLOR IN MOTION: CHROMATIC EXPLORATIONS OF CINEMA”
ACADEMY MUSEUM OF MOTION PICTURES
6067 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles (USA)
UNTIL JULY 13, 2025
ACADEMYMUSEUM.ORG