Objectives:
Understand basic principles of animation.
Learn how to use a simple animation app on a smartphone.
Create a short animated sequence using basic drawing materials.
Encourage creativity and storytelling through animation.
Evelyn Lambart and Norman McLaren painted colours, shapes, and transformations directly on to their filmstrip. Music played by the Oscar Peterson Trio.
1949 | 8 min
Animation History Timeline:
J. Stuart Blackton - Humorous Phases of Funny Faces
Winsor McCay - The Sinking of the Lusitania
Lotte Reiniger - The Adventures of Prince Achmed
Walt Disney - Steamboat Willie
Noburō Ōfuji - The Dance of the Chagamas
Walt Disney - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Soyuzmultfilm - The Snow Queen
Len Lye - A Colour Box
Hayao Miyazaki - Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Pixar - Toy Story
Isao Takahata - The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Amy Kravitz River Lethe
1985, 7 minutes, color, sound, 16mm
direction, production, animation: Amy Kravitz
music: Caleb Sampson
Amy Kravitz (b. 1956 Wilmington, Delaware) "explores animation as a distinct language that uses unusual materials, unique spatial expressions, and visual metaphors as its grammar. She believes an intimate collaboration between viewer and maker takes place between each drawing… Her approach to animation and teaching techniques are the origin of Rhode Island School of Design’s Movement Lab."
William Kentridge Bio: William Kentridge (b. 1955) is a South African artist known for his powerful animated films, drawings, and performances that explore themes of memory, history, and identity. His work often combines drawing, animation, theater, and opera, utilizing stop-motion animation techniques to create poignant narratives that address social, political, and human rights issues. Kentridge's distinctive style incorporates charcoal drawings that are successively erased and redrawn, giving his animations a unique, evolving texture that reflects the complexity and transience of his themes.
Yoko Ono's Instructions: Yoko Ono's instructions, often found in her conceptual art pieces and books like Grapefruit (1964), are simple, poetic directives that encourage viewers to engage with their imaginations, environments, and emotions. These instructions blur the line between artist and audience, often involving actions, thoughts, or observations that challenge conventional art practices and invite participation, introspection, and mindfulness. Examples include tasks like "Imagine the clouds dripping. Dig a hole in your garden to put them in." or "Whisper your name to a butterfly."
Yoko Ono (b. 1933) is a Japanese-American multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist known for her avant-garde art, her experimental music, and her marriage to John Lennon of The Beatles, with whom she collaborated extensively.
Key Concepts:
Key Concepts for Experimental Animation:
Ideas to Unstick: