The Animation Pimp

OIAF among the best festivals for your buck.

National Post says OIAF is one of the three must-see Canadian events.
Hope Telefilm Canada is reading

Ballad of a Thin Man: In Search of Ryan Larkin has just been translated into Japanese. Although this new edition doesn’t contain Theodore Ushev’s perfectly in-tune art, it does have a nifty cover illustrated by the award-winning Japanese animator, Koji Yamamura.

Animators Unearthed

Animators Unearthed features writings on 20 international animators including: Chris Landreth, Don Hertzfeldt, Suzan Pitt, Pat Smith, PES, Michaela Pavlatova, Joanna Quinn, John Canemaker, Barry Purves and more.

I shared emails with Pete Elmsie on Friday. I wrote him to apologize for the personal attacks that were leveled on him and Theo and Amid. These attacks came from both sides of the debate.

I also regret bringing his teaching into the discussion. It’s not relevant. Just because Pete doesn’t like the poster and offered harsh, but honest visceral comments doesn’t mean he’s a bad teacher.

In the end the whole debate was a waste of time. Just a series of loud monologues.

Ah… something else to talk about besides animation. New Lit Pimp column is up HERE

All this energy being spent arguing over the cover of a book few have read.

This poster debate has become tiresome.
Love it. Like it. Hate it. Move on.

“I’m lost”

“Ohio!” says the voice.

I return a half smile of the decomposed.

The image is raw, explosive and chaotic—like the work we emphasize at the OIAF.

I look at the poster and think ART (yes, I hear you critics saying “yeah, bad art” whatever. that’s not the point). Isn’t animation an art form? It’s been the OIAF’s on-going mission to get away from the idea that animation has to be silly, juvenile and gag orientated, that there has to be a classic narrative with recognizable character types (usually in the form of circular based animals).  We want it to be considered in the realm of the art world, not just as a form of industry/entertainment.

Does the image represent all of animation? Of course not. Why would it? How would that even be possible? Hell, it’s the last thing we want to attempt.

I see it as an apt reflection of the OIAF’s character. We’ve got a reputation for emphasizing provocative, personal work over bland, derivative ‘cartoons’. We don’t want to show what’s already out there, we want to show work (regardless of whether it’s a commercial, tv series, or independent short) that is different, that provokes, that expresses a personal view of the world (and I’m not just talking about films by Joanna Quinn, Priit Parn, Igor Kovalyov etc…. it could be something as commercially orientated as, say, Superjail or Robot Chicken or Wallace and Gromit).

What is an animation poster, by the way? Are Annecy’s posters accurate reflections of animation?  Personally, they make me cringe. Hardly any thought is put into the work. Let’s just get some French student to do the poster for free and put a funny character in it. But, hey, that’s the way Annecy works and they’re not the most successful animation festival around for nothing.

Anyway, back to the image.

Some will say that the image looks like that of a child.  That’s accurate. Hell, that’s what I love about it. I was visiting a friend earlier this year and noticed that her daughter’s artwork resembled something of Ushev’s imagery. The almost abrasive colour chaos, the unprocessed nature of the work… it’s not even stream-of-consciousness because the kids arent even aware of what (sub)conscious is.  It’s automatic art in it’s more purest form.

And, for me, that’s the key to this image. It’s an ode to those pure, innocent childhood scribbles. It conveys the idea that every kid, every scribbler has the ability to be an artist….that there is no RIGHT path towards becoming a good/great artist.

That’s my take.

It’s a personal impression put together by my own experiences and my own beliefs about the OIAF.

Is it right? Is it wrong?

In this particular time and place, it’s right for both me and the OIAF.

New book