Friday, March 30, 2012

Habfürdő (The Foam Bath) Kovásznai György, 1979

HEY YOU GUYS YOUR DAILY CARTOON IS THREE YEARS OLD!

(OK, it was really three on the 14th but I forgot so I will do this on the anniversary I started the blog. Because it is my blog and I can do that.)

And just like a petulant three year old, I'm gonna post a full length Hungarian feature with no subtitles. Nyah.

I have been dying to see Habfürdő since I first ran across some blurry, poor quality clips on YouTube. I was immediately intrigued by the way that Kovásznai distorted faces and bodies to express changing moods and the characters perceptions of themselves and each other. I'm positive that I am missing a lot - unlike something like Fehérlófia the story isn't known or easy to follow, and it can be very wordy. But Kovásznai was a really fantastic animator with a unique aesthetic informed by his extensive artistic training, and on those merits I still find the film rewarding, especially since the artist communicates so well visually.

Kovásznai György was so cool his works were shown with those of the esteemed William Kentridge at The Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest last year. THAT IS SO BADASS. My head would have exploded.


Habfürdő

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Drawing on my Mind, Bob Kurtz, 1984

Bob Kurtz animates what's on George Carlin's mind, with... results.




OH SHIT, THERE'S MORE

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Freak, Carmen D'Avino, 1977

A wise man once said:

"To keep busy is a marvelous answer to some dull existence. Life is a great adventure no matter what you do. Life is a joy".


He also made this, and many other wonderful things, because he was joyfully, adventurously busy and very wise.


Friday, March 23, 2012

Friday, March 16, 2012

The Mousochist, John R. Dilworth, 2001

John Dilworth is a strange person.

Not judging. I'm just saying.


Thursday, March 15, 2012

Mexican Standoff, Bill Plympton, 2008

Video for the song by Parsons Brown by Bill Plympton.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Monday, March 12, 2012

Migraine Boy, Greg Fiering and James Dean Conklin, 1996

Remember when MTV showed weird music videos and awesome cartoon instead of Snookis and Situations and pregnant teenagers and whatever the fuck else they got on?

If you don't, then I am sad for you.

Anyway, here is Migraine Boy. The episodes are short, so here is a bucket of them.
Pilot Episode


Margarine Boy


Grass


Indian


Ninja


Pretzel


Die

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Les Maitres du Temp (Time Masters) Rene Laloux and Jean Giraud (Moebius) 1982

As many, if not all, of you know, Jean Giraud, aka Moebius and less often Gir, passed away yesterday. We are far poorer for his loss.

His work was delicate, precise, infinitely imaginitve, and utterly breathtaking. I was often struck most by his restraint - sometimes what he decided not to draw was as powerful as that which he included.

If you are unfamiliar with his work you could do far worse than to look here first.
This is the feature length film he made with Rene Laloux which you might be able to find on DVD if you are lucky.





I will also include here the Arzak, Rhapsody shortshttp://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B000FBFYP0/">which are also available on DVD















Saturday, March 10, 2012

Friday, March 9, 2012

Fresh Guacamole, PES, 2012

Another of Showtime's Short Stories, this one by Adam Pesapane, aka PES.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Cobwebs, Cyriak Harris, 2012

Showtime has worked with a group of independent animators and filmmakers to produce another series of Short Stories, which I will post here over the coming days, but which you will also be able to see on your televisions if your televisions happen to get the appropriate channel. Which is Showtime.

Anyway, first up - OMG NEW CYRIAK YOU GUYS


Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Mr. Resistor, Mark Gustavson and Will Vinton,




ALSO, one of those "making of" segments that so fascinate me.

Saturday, March 3, 2012

The Story of Animation, David Tart, 2012

The problem was not with the studios, or the quality of work they were producing, but rather with the clients: Most of them seemed to believe that animation was a simple, uncomplicated process, and were often disappointed to learn that there were very specific stages in the animation process that required their participation (and finances). It's almost as if they believed that creating animation was as simple as pitching an idea, and then sitting back while a couple of animators with pencil and paper goofed off, told jokes, and drank copious amounts of coffee until "wallah"! the animation was finished! Furthermore, they seemed to think that there would be no difference in cost between an animated film created in flash, 2D, stop motion, cut-out, motion graphics, or fully rendered Pixar-style 3D animation!




Via Metafiler.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Animation by inmates of California prisons, workshops led by Gary Schwartz, 1992 and 1993

In 1992 and 1993, animator Gary Schwartz led workshops at The California Institution for Men - Chino, The California Men's Colony - San Louis Obispo and Chuckwalla Valley State Prison via the UCLA Artsreach/California Department of Corrections visiting artist program.

Here are some of the films they made.

CHUCKWALLA VALLEY STATE PRISON:

California, USA "a Piedra Production," 1992


Natures Way Piedra, 1993


The Snake, Schoonover, Adamski, and Wilson, 1992


CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FOR MEN - CHINO:

The Time Keeper, Joseph, 1993


Think Big, Cong, 1993


CALIFORNIA MEN'S COLONY - SAN LOUIS OBISPO
Fly Away, Alex and Marty, 1992


The Fall of the Mona Lisa, H. King, C. Matta, and J. Martinez, 1992


The History of Suckers, 1992


Snickers Bar, J.B. Sound, 1992


Art: A Breath of Life!, Jimmy Martinez, 1992


Cogitation on Incarceration, No. E-21823 CMC, 1992


Germ Warfare,1992


Escape to Self, Kevin Lock, 1992


THE BEGINNING


Via Metafilter