Synopsis

Screen titles introduce the parabola as nature's poetry of motion: the path of every ball and bullet, of a fountain's jet and a falling star. Sculptor Rutherford Boyd's creations appear frame by frame under controlled lighting. Curved objects float by; mirror images appear. Paper sculptures separate into parabolic slices. One can see the abstracts of shells and fans, precursors of Sydney's opera house and the Chrysler Building. Shadows, unlit surfaces, and surfaces turning toward light add to the variations. Gravity's rainbow. The music is from "La Creation du monde" by Darius Milhaud.