On the Spot

On the Spot was the first television series made specifically for TV by the National Film Board of Canada, and aired on CBC Television from 1953 to 1955. Each episode reported on a different aspect of life in Canada and was introduced with the line "The National Film Board’s up-to-the-minute report of what’s happening somewhere in Canada”. The series was originated by Bernard Devlin, with Robert Anderson as executive producer.

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13. Artist in Montreal

0.0Jan 1, 1954 · 30 min

This short film introduces us to the "automatistes," followers of an abstract art form that developed in Montreal. The movement, initiated by Paul-Émile Borduas, is explained by the artists themselves when narrator Bruce Ruddick drops in at their cooperative studio. The film also captures painter Paterson Ewen at his home and joins the crowd at L'Échouerie, the artists' rendezvous spot. Dr. Robert Hubbard, chief curator of the National Gallery of Canada, comments on non-objective art in general and automatism in particular.