Michael Sporn Animation – Splog

The New York Times reviews the PIXAR exhibition at MOMA.
I have to say the author of the review well articulates some of my thoughts about the show.
The Times also has an interactive slide show of the exhibit.
There’s another, less insightful review in today’sThe New York Post.
For those of you who can’t make it to NY, I overheard, at the opening, a discussion of where the show would travel once it leaves New York. It’s going to Europe and several cities in the US ending in San Francisco. All I have is hearsay, but I’ll try to find out more about this.

The School of Visual Arts last night opened its gallery to a show of animation art by five of their alumni: John R. Dilworth, Yvette Kaplan, Alex Kupershmidt, Chris Prynoski, and Tom Sito. On display was a sampling of art from each of the professionals who had formerly schooled at SVA and, in some cases, taught there. This amounted to a number of cels, animation drawings, and paintings.
Three of the four artists had worked at MTV when that studio flourished in New York. Hence, there was a wide range of material from programs for that network – everything from Beavis & Butthead to station IDs. It was quite an attractive sampling of work and showed a broad range of styles all well drawn.
It was nice to catch up with some of those I met there including Howard Beckerman, Bill Plympton and Biljana Labovic. Tom Sito and Yvette Kaplan, both of whom flew in from LA for the show, were both in good form. They and all of the artists had good reason to be proud of their work and this show.
Standout pieces for me were:
the thumbnails from Beauty and the Beast and animated-in-ink roughs of Roger Rabbit by Tom Sito;
the stunning model sheets of Courage from Courage the Cowardly Dog and cel setups from some of the independent shorts by John Dilworth; and
storyboard drawings from Ice Age by Yvette Kaplan.
Tonight, Howard will moderate a panel of the five artists discussing their careers post-SVA and answer questions. It takes place from 6-9pm in the amphitheater on the 3rd floor (where most of the ASIFA-East meetings are held). For more info follow link.

Chisney
Disney has just made arrangements to make its first film in China. The film does not appear to be animated – the news report isn’t really clear – but rather live action with effects (on the order of 2046) for children. However, how long will it take the studio to realize that they also do animation in China?

Venice or Memorex?
After a screening of Casanova last night, Bill Plympton, Signe Bauman, Heidi Stallings and I debated whether the Plaza at St. Marks we saw on screen was real or digitally constructed. It sure looked real to me – except for the lack of pigeons. Obviously, other bits in the film were computer animated, but the principal location … ? It’s getting annoying when you can’t even tell if the elements you’re watching on screen are real or King Kong. There’s no doubt Heath Ledger’s performance was real. That guy is the real deal; he should definitely win all the prizes this year for Brokeback Mountain.

PIXAR at MOMA
The Museum of Modern Art has an extensive exhibition of artwork from the PIXAR films. Last night there was an official opening where a couple of hundred people were invited to eat sushi and sandwiches, drink martinis and wine and pore over the displays which sprawl over several rooms in the museum. The only animation people I recognized were Emily Hubley and Will Rosenthal, George Griffin and Karen Cooper, and Bill Plympton. The museum has scheduled several chat sessions upcoming with John Lasseter, directors, designers, and animators from PIXAR.

The artwork downstairs around the two theaters featured a lot of the original preproduction paintings and drawings (I recognized much of the work from the “Art of {film title here}” books released) they’ve produced for each of their films. I was surprised at how small most of it is. Few pieces seemed to expand beyond the animators’ desktop. That, of course, isn’t a negative; it’s just not what I anticipated.

Something else I didn’t anticipate was the “zoetrope” I’d read about in the New York Times. (I’m not sure this is actually a Zoetrope. It’s a stroboscopic effect as opposed to looking through slits spinning. I suppose that’s a moot comment.) Here were dozens of PIXAR dolls sculpted in 3D placed on a rotating table. It was encased in a large frame with several large windows through which you could see the rotation. The lights within the case strobed to create an effect of motion in the dolls. Because ambient lights in the room are dimmed, the dolls almost seem to be in deep shadow. It sounds somewhat similar to a device developed by Toshio Iwai in 1988. I didn’t find the work very thrilling when I first came upon it already in motion. Later, when I saw it still, with the room lit so you could see the details of all the little dolls, and the table began to spin counter-clockwise; then the lights dimmed and the stroboscope flashed, the group watching the display applauded because suddenly the dolls took on a motion. It became more impressive.

In the same room was a digital projection. The screen – a wall – was very wide and not very high. The program included motion projection of some of the work on display downstairs. Several pieces floated around each other and came to life when they filled this very wide screen. I found the wide-screen projection exciting. All those Cinerama movies in my childhood had an effect, I guess.

Most enjoyable, to me, was a projection of the skeletal framework for characters, props and backgrounds which animated around each other. It was thoroughly engrossing to watch.

I am wrestling with the “art” of all this preproduction material and would like to talk about it in another posting. I do know I was, once again, transfixed by the stunning Miro mural one had to bypass on the way to, past, and from the PIXAR exhibit. It made me want to get back to see more of the art upstairs. I will return soon.

strobe lights
build your own zoetrope
buy your own zoetrope $6.95

Last night I went to the Museum of Modern Art to see the opening of the Pixar exhibit of artwork from their films. (I’ll post comments on the show and its schedule later today.) There, I met up with Emily Hubley and her husband, Will Rosenthal. It was a pleasure to talk about her upcoming program at the Museum. The woman, like both of her parents, is a true artist, and I look forward to any new work. Here are details from the Museum’s film schedule:

An Evening with Emily Hubley:
Program includes animated segments from Bubble Boy (a work in-progress directed by Barak Goodman and John Maggio); Original Child (2003, directed by Carey Schonegevel); Blue Vinyl (2002, directed by Judith Helfand and Daniel B. Gold); Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001, directed by John Cameron Mitchell); Keeping Sound (a work in-progress directed by Peter Friedman and Jean-Francois Brunet). Also shown are animated shorts directed by Emily Hubley: Octave (2006), Her Grandmother’s Gift (1995, cowritten by Emily and Faith Hubley), and The Tower (1984, codirected by Georgia Hubley). A live performance Tactics of Desire (2005), with animation by Emily Hubley and music by Sue Garner is performed by Angel Dean, Sue Garner, Ted Reichman, and Megan Reilly. Program 90 min.
Wednesday, January 4, 8:00

I also want to thank Amid Amidi at Cartoon Brew and Emru Townsend at FPS for the kind and encouraging words they’ve written about this website and my work in general. As many of you in this business know, it’s tough to go at it day after day, year after year. A few positive words will carry you a long way.

One of the small pleasures of Monday is my copy of The New Yorker that arrives in the mail. This week’s issue is much promoted for Ken Auletta’s lengthy backstage, back-stabbing article about the new New York Times. However, like all other issues of the magazine, many other pleasures can be found within. Also included in this week’s copy is an article about P.L. Travers entitled, “Becoming Mary Poppins.” The article written by Caitlin Flanagan talks about the ways society has changed as a result of Disney’ s movie. It’s an in-depth analysis of the real P.L. Travers illustrating how unlike Disney – and the image Disney foisted on her- she was. It’s well worth reading. At The New Yorker‘s on-line site, they’ve also posted an article written by Geoffrey Hellman in 1962 in which P.L. Travers is interviewed about the “new” movie.

Somehow The New Yorker is a magazine that shouldn’t be read on-line. It’s one that feels best curled in your hands with the fine graphics, curious and often-good cartoons, and hours of material to read. One of the small joys of the week.

There was an interesting article by Charles Solomon in the Sunday NY Times about the Pixar exhibition opening Wednesday at the Museum of Modern Art. Included in the show, along with lots of art and preproduction material from the films, will be a 3D zoetrope. Small 3D statues of the Toy Story characters will be placed in a zoetrope. When spun, they will come to life. Sounds creepy but interesting. Why aren’t more studios as imaginative as the Pixar people?

Thanks to Mike Barrier for his incredibly kind words regarding this site. He is the foremost historian in the animation world, and his site is one I check in on daily (just to see if anything’s been added). More often than not I agree with him on animation choices. His book, Hollywood Cartoon, is a must read for anyone interested in animation. www.michaelbarrier.com

The only other animation sites I visit daily are Cartoon Brew and Cartoon Modern. But then, everyone hits these regularly, don’t they?

Another site I like to check visit is Tom Sito‘s blog on the Gang of 7 Animation site. He reveals interesting/entertaining bits about each day in history. Endlessly entertaining.

Another site I visit, albeit less frequently than Barrier’s site is Toonhub. This site lists hundreds of other sites and gives lots of time for play. There are so many sites out there, I doubt we could find them all even if we wanted to. www.Toonhub.com.

I suppose eventually we’ll include a links page to this site. I’m a news junkie, especially politics, and most of what I read on the internet has to do with this subject, so I’m not sure how many sites I have to reveal to animators that would be of interest to them.

This is a drawing I own from Disney’s THE THREE LITTLE PIGS. It’s from the period I like best in Disney animation, when they were young, exuberant and incredibly creative.
It’s also a mocks my incessant fear that the wolf sits at my door. A fear all you who have small businesses can relate to. As Rosanne Rosanna D’Ana used to say, “If it aint one thing, it’s another!” Today’s one of those days for me.

The short list of Oscar contenders has been positive for New York with three films on the list. They are Bill Plympton’s “The Fan and The Flower,” John Canemaker’s “The Moon and The Sun: An Imagined Conversation,” and our own “The Man Who Walked Between The Towers.” Coupled with “Badgered” and “Imago,” there are five 2D hand-drawn films on that list of eight.

On the short list for feature animation four of the ten titles are non-computer animated. There are two puppet films, “Corpse Bride,” and “Wallace & Gromit;” there are two 2D films, “Howl’s Moving Castle,” and “Steamboy.”

Since the Hollywood feature establishment has opted to get out of the 2D business, it’s especially gratifying – to one who has staked his life in this art form – to see that it’s still accepted as a viable medium by audiences. Not that I ever had a doubt about that – regardless of who wins the Oscar in March. As a loud and ardent supporter of 2D animation, I couldn’t be happier.