Using the New Age idea of a 'dimensional shift' as inspiration, Shift combines science fiction themes through abstract, stop motion animation of objects and colour.
- Third Prize, Reykjavík Visual Music - Punto y Raya Festival, Reykjavik, Iceland, 2014
- First Prize, Prize Simona Gesmundo for Animated Short Films, Cetraro, Italy, 2012
- Best Experimental Film, TOFUZI, Batumi, Georgia, 2012
- Vimeo Staff Pick, 2012
SHIFT solo exhibition at Tenderpixel Gallery, 2012 (installation view).
SCREENINGS AND EXHIBITIONS 2015-2023
- Relentless Melt No. 30, Clockenflap Festival, 1-3 Dec 2023 (programme of experimental animation co-curated by Max Hattler and Jay Hofmann-Forster)
- Beyond the Space, Art Gwangmyeong, Gwangmyeong-si, South Korea, 21 Oct - 10 Nov 2022 (public screen exhibition curated by Shirley Sehee Kim. Artists included: Max Hattler, Ina Conradi, Mark Chavez, Tate Egon Chavez, Shirley Sehee Kim)
- AV: Artist Videos at the Drive-In, Westwind Capitol Drive-In, San Jose, CA, US, 1 Nov 2020, (screening presented by Exploratorium San Francisco and San José Museum of Art)
- Strangelove Festival, Folkestone, UK, 20 Mar 2020 (POSTPONED) (Animate Projects screening)
- Taichung International Animation Festival, Taichung, Taiwan, 11-20 Oct 2019 (Director in Focus 1)
- Anifilm, Trebon, Czech Republic, 7-12 May 2019 (Max Hattler Retrospective)
- 26th Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film, Metropol 3, Stuttgart, Germany, 17:00 Fri 3 May 2019 (In Persona: Max Hattler screening)
- La Casa Encendida, Madrid, Spain, 13 and 14 Apr 2019 (Punto y Raya Junior screening)
- 100 Years Bauhaus: Designing the Future, The Hong Kong University, Hong Kong, 12 Apr 2019 (paper: 'Experimental Animation Film: The Bauhaus and its Legacy')
- CREATE! MakerSpace, CityU Library, City University of Hong Kong, 3 Dec 2018 (Guest Lecture 5.0: Max Hattler: Audio-Visual Abstraction: Animation as Fine Art Practice)
- Melbourne International Animation Festival, Australia, 16 Jun 2018 ('Dan Torre: Process, Cognition And Actuality' screening)
- Animation x Experimental: International Experimental Animation Exhibition 2018, Fuzhong 15 Animation and Story Gallery, New Taipei City, Taiwan, 2 Jun - 11 Nov 2018 (Shift multi-screen + object installation)
- KLEX, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 25 Nov 2017 (Max Hattler Retrospective)
- EXiM Experimental Animation Festival, Macao Museum of Art, Macao, 18 Nov 2017
- Western Universities Students Animation Festival Academic Proseminar, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu, China, 12 Nov 2017 (lecture: 'Materiality and Representation in Animation: Approaches to Abstraction')
- 56 Moon Animation Festival, Chengdu, China, 11 Nov 2017 (Max Hattler solo screening)
- 36th Uppsala International Short Film Festival, Uppsala, Sweden, 23-29 Oct 2017
- Ars Electronica Festival, Linz, Austria, 7-11 Sep 2017 (Max Hattler: In Persona screening)
- Expo 2017, Astana, Kazakhstan, 14 Jul 2017 (Max Hattler Retrospective presented by Visual Music Award and German Pavilion)
- Anifilm, Trebon, Czech Republic, 2-7 May 2017
- Filmfest Dresden International Short Film Festival, Dresden, Germany, 4-9 Apr 2017 (Animated: Max Hattler Retrospective)
- Ciné Tambour, Rennes University, Rennes, France, 8 Mar 2017 (Oodaaq screening)
- Institute for Media and Communication Studies, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany, 24 Oct 2016 ('Animation Art and Video Activism' lecture)
- Punto y Raya Festival, ZKM Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, Germany, 23 Oct 2016 (masterclass)
- Secret Monsters, Grenland filmklubb, Spriten Kunsthall, Skien, Norway, 9 Sep 2016
- Mini Block Community Art Festival, Findars, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 20 Aug 2016 (KLEX screening)
- Bellevue College Animation and Film Festival, Seattle, WA, 12 May 2016
- Imagine Science Film Festival, New York City, NY, USA, 16-24 Oct 2015
- Indie-Anifest, Seoul, Korea, 17-21 Sep 2015 (Max Hattler screening)
- Friends of Volda, Norwegian Animation Center, Volda, Norway, 17-19 Sep 2015
- visionXsound 2015, GRAF+ZYX TANK 203.3040.AT, Neulengbach, Austria, 5 + 20 Sep 2015
- on top. 21. Triennale Ulmer Kunst, Kunsthalle Weishaupt, Ulm, Germany, 24 Jul - 20 Sep 2015
- Melbourne International Animation Festival, Australia, 24 Jun 2015 (Max Hattler screening)
- FILE - Electronic Language International Festival, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 16 Jun - Aug 2015
- Hongik University, Seoul, Korea, 19 May 2015 (lecture)
- Open Source Art Forum, WCO Korea, Seoul, Korea, 17 May 2015 (lecture)
- Resonate, Belgrade, Serbia, 17 Apr 2015 (lecture)
- 27th Festival Les Instants Video, Videodrome 2, Marseille, France, 8 Apr 2015
- DAF - Deviant Art Festival, La Reliure, Geneva, Switzerland, 1-5 Apr 2015 (Festival Miden screening curated by Ioanna Dimitrakopoulou-Koutava & Terpsi Kontargyri)
- Mid-America Science Museum, Hot Springs, AR, USA, since March 2015 ('Animation Theatre' permanent exhibition)
- Tehran International Animation Festival, Tehran, Iran, 8-12 Mar 2015
- Adelaide Festival, Australia, 27-28 Feb 2015 (Animate Projects screening)
- Animac, Lleida, Spain, 19-22 Feb 2015
- DongTaiDu Music Festival 'AUTONOMOUS', Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 18 Jan 2015 (KLEX screening)
2014
- IMM - Institut für Musik und Medien, Düsseldorf, Germany, 11 Dec (lecture)
- Cologne Game Lab, University of Applied Sciences, Cologne, Germany, 10 Dec (lecture)
- ZKM, Karlsruhe, Germany, 10 Dec (The Best of Punto y Raya 2014)
- Middlesex University, London, 2 Dec (lecture)
- Echo Park Film Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 21 Nov (retrospective)
- 27th Festival Les Instants Video, Marseille, France, 7-11 Nov
- Aalborg University Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark, 16 Oct (lecture)
- London Animation Club, Green Man, Fitzrovia, London, 7 Oct (artist talk)
- Video Art and Experimental Film Festival, New York City, USA, 2-4 Oct
- Last Friday Shorts, TAP Gallery, Southend on Sea, UK, 26 Sep (curated by Michaela Freeman)
- Angel Canal Festival, London, 7 Sep (Animate Projects screening)
- BUSHO, Budapest, Hungary, 2-7 Sep
- ChiFouMi & Cie, Saint-Claude, France, 25 Jul
- Village Green Festival, Chalkwell Park, Southend on Sea, UK, 12 Jul
- Revelation Film Festival, Perth, Australia, 3-13 Jul
- Audiovisual Abstractions. Max Hattler's Doctorate in Fine Art Exhibition, Moving Image Research Centre, University of East London, London, UK, 19-24 Jun
- Fest Anca, Zilina, Slovakia, 18-22 Jun (Profile: Max Hattler)
- Animafest, Zagreb, Croatia, 3-8 Jun
- 12th Kinofilm International Short Film Festival, Manchester, UK, 31 May
- Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, Caracas, Venezuela, 14 May (lecture)
- Northwest Animation Festival, Portland, Oregon, 12-18 May (EFFPortland screening)
- School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 28 Apr (lecture)
- Time is Love.7, Pink Gallery, Seoul, Korea, 25-26 Apr (curated by Kisito Assangni)
- Jenseits der Sprache – Language and beyond, Galerie B, Stadtbibliothek, Stuttgart, Germany, 4 Apr - 24 May (Thorsten Fleisch, Max Hattler, Michel Kloefkorn, Robert Seidel 4-person ITFS exhibition)
- Time is Love.7, Galerie Talmart, Paris, France, Fri 21 Mar (curated by Kisito Assangni)
- Monstra Festival, Lisbon, Portugal, 13 - 23 Mar
- Kino Muza, Poznan, Poland, 13 Mar (The Best of Punto y Raya 2014)
- Anima Festival, Brussels, Belgium, 28 Feb - 9 Mar
- Sint-Lucas, Ghent, Belgium, 18 Feb (lecture at Digital Design International Day)
- Reykjavík Visual Music - Punto y Raya Festival, Reykjavik, Iceland, 30 Jan - 2 Feb
- DASHBOARD - The Wrong Curators Artshow, Kalpany, Milan, Italy, 23 Jan - 21 Feb
- Time is Love.7, The Invisible Line Gallery, London, 18 Jan (curated by Kisito Assangni)
SHIFT solo exhibition at Tenderpixel Gallery, 2012 (video documentation).
2013
- Curtocircuito Festival, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, 9-14 Dec
- Middlesex University (Animation Dept), London, 9 Dec (lecture)
- Salon Papier(s), EESAB, Rennes, France, 7-8 Dec (Selection Oodaaq)
- Galerie A, Angers, France, 7 Dec (Selection Oodaaq)
- University of East London, London, UK, 22 Nov (artist talk)
- St. Louis International Film Festival, St. Louis, USA, 14-24 Nov
- Bradford Animation Festival, Bradford, UK, 12-16 Nov (Animate Projects screening)
- London Int'l Animation Festival, London, UK, 25 Oct - 3 Nov
- Bunter Hund Int'l Short Film Festival, Munich, Germany, 17-20 Oct
- Un Festival C'est Trop Court, Nice, France, 15-20 Oct
- Animatou Festival, Geneva, Switzerland, 11 Oct (masterclass)
- Anima Festival, Cordoba, Argentina, 10-12 Oct
- Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts - HSLU, Switzerland, 9 Oct (lecture)
- TOFUZI, Batumi, Georgia, 3 Oct
- Kinofest, Bucharest, Romania, 27-29 Sep
- ANIMATE EXPERIMENT at Brighton Digital Festival, projected onto the De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill On Sea, UK, Fri 27 Sep, 19:30 (curated by Kim Stewart)
- Naoussa International Film Festival, Naoussa, Greece, 25-29 Sep
- Etrange Festival, Paris, France, 5-15 Sep
- Golden Diana Int. Filmfestival, Klopeiner See, Austria, 1-6 Sep
- Anifest India, Mumbai, India, 23-24 Aug (Finalist, TASI Viewers Choice Awards)
- Open-Air Filmfest Weiterstadt, Germany, 15-19 Aug
- Videoholica, Varna, Bulgaria, 4 Aug (artist talk)
- Penryn Arts Festival, Cornwall, UK, 26 Jul ('InterAnima' curated by Becalelis Brodskis)
- Nozstock Festival, Bromyard, Herefordshire, 26 Jul (Max Hattler Retrospective)
- FILE - Electronic Language International Festival, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 23 Jul - 1 Sep
- SICAF, Seoul, Korea, 23-28 Jul (MIAF screening)
- Best of Oodaaq 2013, VisualContainer, 11 Jul - 10 Sep
- San Gio Video Festival, Verona, Italy, 23-27 Jul
- Festival Miden, Kalamata, Greece, 4-6 Jul
- Frederick Film Festival, Frederick, Maryland, USA, 28-30 Jun
- Malaysian Institute of Art, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 22 Jun (KLEX screening 'See the Sound, Hear the Image', curated by Kok Siew Wai)
- Melbourne International Animation Festival, Melbourne, Australia, 20-30 Jun
- Festival Alto Vicentino, Santorso, Italy, 20-23 Jun (finalist)
- [.BOX] Videoart Project Space, Milan, Italy, 19-28 Jun (Selection Oodaaq)
- Schaustelle, Munich, Germany, 15+16 Jun (Max Hattler: Selected Works)
- Salle Saint Anne, Saint Malo, France, 8 Jun (Selection Oodaaq)
- Les Yeux La Nuit, La Nuit de la Video, Nancy, France, 7 Jun (Selection Oodaaq)
- Caostica Festival, Bilbao, Spain, 1-15 Jun
- International Short Film Festival Detmold, Detmold, Germany, 31 May - 9 Jun
- Vienna Independent Shorts, Vienna, Austria, 28 May - 2 Jun
- Science Friction, Copenhagen, Denmark, 28 May (artist talk)
- Backup Festival, Weimar, Germany, 22-26 May
- Experimental Film Festival Portland, Portland, Oregon, USA, 20-26 May
- Festival Oodaaq, Rennes, France, 16-26 May
- Nikolaj Kunsthal, Copenhagen, Denmark, 9 May (artist talk)
- AniFest, Teplice, Czech Republic, 27 Apr (lecture)
- European Media Art Festival, Osnabrück, Germany, 24-28 Apr
- London College of Communication, London, UK, 17 Apr (lecture)
- Frenz: Art in April, Strongroom, London, UK, 17 Apr (screening/talk)
- Filmfest Dresden International Short Film Festival, Dresden, Germany, 16-21 Apr
- Mecal, Barcelona, Spain, 4-28 Apr
- Videoformes Festival, Clermont-Ferrand, France, 20-23 Mar
- Plymouth College of Art, Plymouth, UK, 8 Mar (lecture)
- Byron Bay Film Festival, Australia, 1-10 Mar
- Animated Exeter, Exeter, UK, 18-23 Feb
- Chinese Open: Year of the Snake, Q Park, Chinatown, London, Sun 10 Feb (curated by Vanya Balogh & Cedric Christie)
- Berlin International Directors Lounge, Berlin, 7-17 Feb
- SWITCH, Nenagh, Tipperary, Ireland, 3-10 Feb
- Royal College of Art, London, 31 Jan (talk)
- British Shorts, Berlin, 11-14 Jan
- London Short Film Festival, London, 3-14 Jan
2012
- Filmski Front, NFC Kino Klub, Novi Sad, Serbia, 20-22 Dec
- Videomedeja, Novi Sad, Serbia, 14-16 Dec
- Les Nuits Magiques, Bègles, Bordeaux, Haillan and Canéjan, France, 5-18 Dec
- Tblisi International Film Festival, Tblisi, Georgia, 3-9 Dec (best of TOFUZI screening)
- Animax, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, 28-30 Nov
- HEAD - Geneva University of Art and Design, Switzerland, 22 Nov (artist talk)
- Istanbul Animation Festival, Istanbul, Turkey, 20-25 Nov
- L'Alternativa, Barcelona, Spain, 20-25 Nov
- Euroshorts, Gdansk, Poland, 19-25 Nov
- KLEX - Kuala Lumpur Experimental Film & Video Festival, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 16-20 Nov
- Freie Kunstakademie Baden-Württemberg, Fellbach, Germany, 15 Nov (artist talk)
- Animated Dreams, Tallinn, Estonia, 14-18 Nov
- Erarta Contemporary Art Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia, 4-18 Nov (Multivision installation)
- Flip Animation Festival, Wolverhampton, UK, 1-3 Nov
- CutOut Fest, Queretaro, Mexico, 1-3 Nov
- Multivision Festival, Pro Arte Foundation, St. Petersburg, Russia, 1 Nov (artist talk)
- DOK Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany, 29 Oct – 4 Nov
- Impakt Festival: DEUS, Dutch Experiments on Urban Screens, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Breda, Eindhoven, Amersfoort and The Hague, Holland, 24-28 Oct
- Collab, Lauba, Zagreb, Croatia, 13-17 Oct
- Simultan Festival, Timisoara, Romania, 11-13 Oct
- Ce qui nous lie: soirees courts-metrages, Besancon, France, 11 Oct
- anim'est, Bucharest, Romania, 5-14 Oct
- TOFUZI, Batumi, Georgia, 3-6 Oct
- Sho-Zyg, St. James Hatcham Church, New Cross, London, 21-27 Sep
- Zeitguised, Max Hattler, Android Jones & PES, San Francisco State University, CA, USA, 21 Sep, 19:30 (ASIFA Lecture by Ben Ridgway)
- Arnolfini, Bristol, UK, 18-23 Sep (Random Acts screening)
- Bornshorts Film Festival, Bornholm, Denmark, 14 Sep
- Hackney Film Festival, Rio Cinema, Dalston, London, Sat 8 Sep, 16:00
- art:gwangju:12, Gwangju, Korea, 5-9 Sep (via Animate Projects)
- Walthamstow International Film Festival, London, UK, 3-11 Sep
- Abandon Normal Devices, Manchester, UK, 31 Aug
- Darklight Festival, Dublin, Ireland, 23-26 Aug
- Max Hattler Presents..., Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle, UK, 23 Aug, 18:30
- DINCA Vision Quest, Chicago, USA, 16-18 Aug (curated by Andrew Rosinski)
- Welcome to the Treasuredome, ICCI 360 Arena, Weymouth, UK, 11-12 Aug (curated by Kayla Parker and Stuart Moore)
- Videoholica Int'l Video Art Festival, Varna, Bulgaria, 30 Jul - 3 Aug
- C the Film, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Edinburgh, UK, 27 Jul - 27 Aug
- Lago Film Fest, Revine Lago, Italy, 20-28 Jul (Max Hattler retrospective)
- Rushes Soho Shorts Festival, London, 11-20 Jul
- University of East London, London, 21-29 Jun (Doctorate in Fine Art Show)
- Golden Kuker Animation Festival, Sofia, Bulgaria, 12 Jun (Max Hattler Panorama)
- ISFF Detmold, Germany, 8 Jun (Zwischenbilanz: Max Hattler Retrospective)
- Royal College of Art, London, 30 May (presentation/workshop)
- Backup Festival, Weimar, Germany, 12 May ("Collisions, Kaleidobooths, Hattlerizers" talk)
- FMX, Stuttgart, Germany, 11 May (lecture)
- Apocalyptic Shift, Eyebeam Art & Technology Center, New York City, NY, USA, 26 April
- randomacts.channel4.com, since 24 April (online premiere)
- Max Hattler: Audiovisual Abstractions, Vilnius Art Academy, Vilnius, Lithuania, 27 Mar
- Max Hattler: Shift (solo show), Tenderpixel Gallery, London, 9 March - 28 April
"Max Hattler has produced several abstract stop-motion films, such as AANAATT (2008), Shift (2012) and Model Starship (2012). He too employs various strategies that not only create visually interesting sequences but also ultimately shift the viewer’s attention away from the original context and identity of a single form and towards a purely abstract viewing experience. For example, in his stop-motion piece Shift (2012), the images (even though identifiable as real stop-motion objects) continually change appearance and shape. This kind of developmental movement shifts the emphasis away from particular forms or recognizable characters and instead highlights the dynamic and visually compelling movement of abstract imagery." Dan Torre, Animation: Process, Cognition and Actuality, 2017
"There are certain moments created by artists where it becomes apparent that they have completed a period and are ready to shift up a gear; challenging themselves, challenging audiences and challenging the body of work that they have already produced. Filmmaker Max Hattler produced in 2010 a piece called Spin. This Busby Berkeley-style dance routine played out by plastic toy soldiers seemed to instigate a slight change in working practice, and he presents his latest work, open now, at Tenderpixel. This new installation of three moving image works is entitled (appropriately enough) SHIFT. Commissioned between Animate Projects and Channel 4, the work is the latest in a series of co-productions between the two organisations, in a strand called Random Acts, bringing the work of film and video artists to terrestrial broadcast television. SHIFT is a very strong work. The three minute animation exhibits influences as disparate as modernist abstraction to industrialisation and German Expressionism. The effect is jarring, and in the Tenderpixel basement a fitting mausoleum for sci-fi exploits played out under factory-esque, conveyor-belt conditions. Hattler's work has always been exuberant and anticipatory; SHIFT presents an abstract apocalypse, hearkening back to the fears of the modern age. It's beautiful, and it's scary, and it's utterly engrossing." Because Magazine, 2012
"Max Hattlers Geometrie-Comic - die modern klassische Ästhetik seines Videos Shift hat was von einem Oskar-Schlemmer-Ballett, nur dass der Mensch daraus nun ganz entwichen ist." Südwest Presse, 2015
"eine Mischung aus Retro-Flipper und Bauhaus-Ästhetik." Augsburger Allgemeine, 2015
"following a strict concept, images of geometric beauty emerge." Vienna Independent Shorts 2013
"Max Hattler tries to visualize higher dimensions and unearthliness based on a turbulent atmosphere caused by a premonition of the end of the world. He uses elements of a complex and endlessly functioning mechanism. The cosmos of its pieces still performs many functions without emotions and retrospect. Partial changes are almost imperceptible." AniFest 2013
"Tiefschwarz als abstrakte Fläche, darauf dreidimensionale Objekte, Formen, Fragmente von Bauteilen aus Metall, Kunststoff, Filz, manchmal gläserne Einsprengsel oder winzige blinkende Lämpchen. Dazu ein Soundtrack, der zwischen spannungsgeladenen Kinofilm-Geräuscheffekten und zeitgenössischer 'Neuer Musik' pendelt, eine wogende Bewegungsfolge von immer neuen semi-abstrakt bewegten Kompositionen und rasanten Transformationen. Ein Universum aus konkret beschreibbaren Klängen und Formen, das dennoch auf mysteriöse Weise auf ein größeres, dahinter liegendes Bedeutungsuniversum verweist." Vienna Independent Shorts 2013
"Max Hattler, jeune artiste allemand installé à londres, réalise des animations expérimentales dans lesquelles il explore l’idée du mouvement dans sa représentation abstraite. Dans Shift, il crée, avec très peu d’effets numériques, un monde d’une autre dimension peuplé d’objets, obéissant à ses propres lois et logiques. L’utilisation d’objets du quotidien et l’anthropomorphisme de certaines compositions permettent cependant un rattachement à une réalité concrète. Ses films, se situant entre abstraction et figuration, établissent ainsi une distance critique et proposent une réflexion sur le milieu dans lequel nous évoluons." Selection Oodaaq DVD 2013
MORE HERE
- IdN Magazine Motion Gallery, 2014
- Turbulences Video (interview, issue 76, July 2012)
- Stash (feature, issue 93, June 2012)
- Art Monthly (review, issue 356, May 2012)
- Dazed Digital (interview, March 2012)
- Imperica (interview)
- Journal (interview)
- The Double Negative
- Design Week
- Page Magazine
- Cent Magazine
- Directors Notes
- File Magazine
- Electric Sheep Magazine
- Animate Projects
- Animate Projects Observer
- University of East London
- Art Rabbit
- Art Licks
- Tenderpixel Gallery (or press release PDF)
Making of Shift. Photo by Heiko Mozer, 2012.
BROADCASTS + DVDS
- Mon Œil, children's web series by Centre Pompidou, Paris, France, March-June 2017
- Selection Oodaaq DVD, France, 2013
- Canal Plus, Spain, since October 2012
- Channel 4, UK, 23 April 2012 (TV premiere) + further screenings
CREDITS
A film by Max Hattler.
Sound by David Kamp.
Additional Animation by Mavis Chen, Mia Hattler, Kami Hattler.
An Animate Projects production in association with Lupus Films for Channel 4.
Versions (HD digital files):
- 3'00" festival and broadcast version
- Installation version: 2’50” loop + several subsidiary silent loops of variable lengths on additional projectors or monitors
Year: 2012
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