Quay Brothers
Nocturna Artificialia (1979) was the title of the Quay Brothers' first animated film, which explores the dark side of reason using a hypnotic visual language. In subsequent years, the twins have allowed their interests to expand in many directions: puppet film, live-action cinema, theater, ballet, opera, typography, collage und fantasy literature. Their combinatorial style is primarily inspired by the Eastern and Central European avant-garde incorporating motifs and stylistic fragments from Bruno Schulz, Stanisław Lem, Franz Kafka und Robert Walser. Many of their films have been presented at international film festivals and awarded prizes. Street of Crocodiles and IN ABSENTIA alone have won over a dozen prizes. The Quays, born in rural Pennsylvania, became internationally famous experimental film artists in less than ten years. After studying at London's Royal Art College, they spent some time in the Netherlands before returning to London in 1980 where they founded ATLIER KONICK along with Keith Griffiths, which incorporates a hybrid mixture of animation laboratory and a "cabinet of wonders" that until today forms a highly productive basis for their multi-media work: animation films, advertising, music videos, and literary adaptations. For several years now, stage set design and installations have taken a more prominent place in their work, including productions for and with Karlheinz Stockhausen, Olga Neuwirth, Simon McBurney, Alina Ibragimova and Mikhail Rudy. In 2012, New York's MoMA dedicated an extensive retrospective to the work of the artists: On Deciphering The Pharmacists Prescription For Lip-Reading Puppets.