Whoa! I got quite a shock as I entered the lobby of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills tonight. I attended this evening’s incredible Marc Davis Lecture, but the Academy had a surprise for us attendees - the Ink and Paint exhibit, scheduled to open next Friday (with a reception next Thursday night), was up on the walls today!

It’s an amazing exhibit - a must-see if you live/work or are visiting L.A. in the next four months. Of particular interest: the lost Horton Hatches The Egg (1942) original title cel set up (image removed by request). There are dozens of pieces from Disney, UPA, Warner Bros. and even DePatie Freleng. But my favorite material was on loan from the fabled Bob Clampett archive. Here’s a partial list of the Clampett goodies on display:

1. HORTON HATCHES THE EGG (1942) ­ Cel Set-up and model sheet
2. Clampett’s Employee Card 1940
3. WHAT’S COOKIN’, DOC? (1944) story sketch - Bugs
4. WHAT’S COOKIN’, DOC? (1944) cel set-up of Bugs at table in Coconut Grove
5. THE GREAT PIGGY BANK ROBBERY (1946) ­ Two (2) pages of story meeting notes!
6. ROVER’S RIVAL (1937) ­ a page of Mel Blanc’s recording script!
7. BIRDY AND THE BEAST (1944) Storyboard panels
8. BOOK REVUE (1946) an original Daffy Duck model sheet

The exhibit opens to the public next Friday, May 16th. Do not miss this! And it’s FREE!

A new exhibit opening at the Met today, entitled “Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy,” is dedicated to exploring the “symbolic and metaphorical associations between fashion and the superhero”:

Featuring movie costumes, avant-garde haute couture, and high-performance sportswear, it reveals how the superhero serves as the ultimate metaphor for fashion and its ability to empower and transform the human body. Objects are organized thematically around particular superheroes, whose movie costumes and superpowers are catalysts for the discussion of key concepts of superheroism and their expression in fashion.

The exhibit is accompanied by a visually striking catalog designed by Abbott Miller. The Pentagram blog offers a preview of the book.

It’s been interesting to watch the convergence of fashion and comics over the past few years. While fashion designers are looking towards superhero comics for inspiration, comic artists and illustrators are jumping boldly into the world of fashion design, with notable examples including Paul Pope’s recent work for DKNY and James Jean’s designs for Prada.

The winners have been announced for America’s longest continually-running animation award—the 39th ASIFA-East Animation Festival. The top prize, Best in Show, went to Fantaisie in Bubblewrap, the promising debut of young filmmaker Arthur Metcalf, whose work has previously been profiled on the Brew. Other works that I was pleased to see recognized include Germans in the Woods by the Rauch brothers, A Letter to Colleen by Andy and Carolyn London, Compost by Visual Voice, and The Upstate Four by Fran Krause and Will Krause, the latter being one of the more impressive TV show pilots I’ve seen in a while.

Tomorrow night in Manhattan is the big event. And there is still time to get tickets and a good seat. And it’s FREE!

Hobnob with the finest animators in New York City, as ASIFA-East Presents The 39th Annual ASIFA-East Animation Festival. The most anticipated local animation event of the year: Awards, films and a glorious reception afterwards (sponsored by Cartoon Network).

Sunday May 4, 2008
6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Location: Tishman Auditorium at The New School, 66 W. 12th St (bet. 5th/6th Ave.)
Admission: FREE!

This note just in from Bill Kroyer:

I think this would be of interest to some of your readers: I’m hosting a public program at the Motion Picture Academy on Friday, May 16th about the changing world of production design.

You might remember I do these programs as a member of the Science & Technology Council. The first two were strictly animation focused: THE ANIMATED PERFORMANCE and ANIMATION INVADES LIVE ACTION.

Talking to Ralph Eggleston I was struck by the similarities in spirit but radical differences in tools when comparing his experience as a designer with the classic guys like Robert Boyle. So we put together a show with all the latest technology and lots of Oscar winners to showcase what’s changing and what’s coming.

The Art, Science and Psychology of Production Design will feature onstage presentations by production designers Alex McDowell (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Minority Report), Doug Chiang (Beowulf, The Polar Express”) and Ralph Eggleston (The Incredibles, Finding Nemo). It will also present a real-time pre-visualization demonstration by pre-visualization director Daniel Gregoire (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Spiderwick Chronicles) and a review of new technologies by art director Daniel Jennings (G-Force, Matchstick Men). The program will also include a brief history of production design under the studio system, featuring an onstage conversation with legendary production designer Robert Boyle.

Tickets are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Doors open at 7 p.m. All seating is unreserved. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For additional information, visit oscars.org.

Got a postcard from Marv Newland today. He wrote:

The Vancouver Art Gallery is launching a large scale exhibit on May 16th, to run until September 7th. It is called Krazy!, with a tip of the hat to the Kat. Comics, graphic novels, manga, games (computer) and animated films. Tim Johnson of Dreamworks co-curated the film selection and he did a good job!

This installation is tied into co-curator Bruce Grenville’s new book. Art Spiegelman also helped curate the show and will give a talk May 15th (as will Newland, May 20th, on the history of animation in Vancouver). A list of lectures tied into this exhibit is here. If you are in the Northwest, check it out!

I was bummed that I missed the centennial tribute to Tex Avery and Michael Maltese that was presented in LA last March, but I just learned that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences is repeating the program in NYC next Monday, May 5. Even better, John Canemaker, who wrote Tex Avery: The MGM Years, is hosting the East Coast event. Cartoons on the schedule include A Wild Hare, You Ought To Be in Pictures, Little Rural Riding Hood, For Scent-imental Reasons, What’s Opera, Doc?, and The Legend of Rockabye Point.

General admission is $5, and students pay $3. In other words, there’s no reason to miss out seeing these amazing theatrical shorts on the bigscreen. Tickets may be reserved by calling 1-888-778-7575. Remaining tickets may be purchased in person the night of the event. The Academy Theater is located at 111 East 59th Street. For additional details, see the Academy website.

Move over, UCLA Festival of Books and BookExpo America.

The 2nd annual Animation Book Look is the place to be. The Creative Talent Network and Van Eaton Galleries are presenting an all day book signing event on May 17th with appearances by a large number of artists and authors representing over seventy-five books. Everything from children’s books to artist’s sketchbooks, from illustration to fine-art, and from How To’s to History Of’s. Join me, along with Martha Sigall, Tom Sito, Rik Maki, Tony White, Willie Ito, Jim Smith, Amanda Visell, Stephen Silver, Maureen Furniss, Jon Gibson, Mike Kunkel and dozens more on Saturday May 17th, 2008 from 1:00pm-6:00pm.

VAN EATON GALLERIES
13613 Ventura Blvd.
Sherman Oaks, CA

The Animation Book Look is free and open to the public. Animation Magazine and MyToons are sponsoring the event. For a List of Authors and Books visit the website. You may pre-order signed and dedicated books online starting May 1st. If you have any questions, please call Van Eaton Galleries at 818-788-2357.

Pictoplasma is moving its conference on contemporary character design from Berlin to NYC this year. The two-day event will take place September 5-6 at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts at NYU, with confirmed speakers including Friends With You, Akinori Oishi, Aaron Stewart, David O’Reilly, Tim Biskup, Motomichi Nakamura, Fons Schiedon and Gangpol & Mit. Pictoplasma is also accepting entries for the animation screenings that will take place during the festival.

Earlier Pictoplasma character design conferences have received positive reviews, but I’ve always found it difficult to warm up to the idea of Pictoplasma. My biggest reservation about the enterprise is that they try to sell the idea of “character” as new and fresh, and as something that is proliferating as never before. This would be true only if their conception of “character” was created in a bubble and ignored the rich history of character design that came before them, which is sadly what Pictoplasma does as a movement.

Pictoplasma says, “Our visual culture is being revolutionized by a new breed of characters, abstract and reduced to minimal distinguishing graphic features.” I say, look at the work of Fifties character designers like Tom Oreb, T. Hee, John Hubley, Ernie Pintoff, Bobe Cannon and Ed Benedict who also created “a new breed of characters, abstract and reduced to minimal distinguishing graphic features.” They say, “In the process of a truly explosive movement, [characters] invade digital media, animation, advertising, art, fashion and street art.” I say, look at Walt Disney’s iconic use of Mickey Mouse beginning in the late-1920s, in which Mickey was a character who transcended individual media and boasted an all-encompassing presence in film, comics, books, toys, advertising and fashion.

Those with even the slightest grasp on history will have trouble looking at what Pictoplasma purports to be revolutionary and groundbreaking–like the characters in the lineup heading this post–and finding anything novel about the creations. This type of character design was already done decades ago, and I might add, with far more skill and invention. An awareness and respect for the artists who pioneered the “character design movement” would encourage today’s artists to build upon their predecessors’ character design work and push forward into uncharted territory instead of merely churning out pale imitations of earlier works.

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