I Am 8-Bit, the yearly artistic celebration of retro-video games, returns tomorrow night, April 17, to Gallery 1988 (7020 Melrose Ave, LA, CA). This year’s lineup, curated as always by Jon Gibson, features over 100 artists. Tomorrow night’s opening party, from 7-11 pm, will also include music performances by 8 Bit Weapon and ComputeHer, a giant playable 5-1/2 foot Atari controller, and an installation designed by Tony Mora that’ll be projected inside and outside of the gallery. The installation is comprised of videogame sprite animation, including Super Mario Bros., Mega Man and Metroid, ripped directly from each of the games, frame-by-frame, and assembled in Flash.

Below are a few of the pieces on display this year. The artists are: (top to bottom) Joe Vaux, Michelle Valigura, Dave Wasson, Johnny Yanok, Amy Sol, Jon Burgerman, Carlos Ramos and Ryan Heshka.

Eric Pigors has worked at Disney Feature animation for fifteen years. He’s also contributed his art to Family Dog, Ed, Edd and Eddy and made his own demented Liquid TV cartoon short, Let’s Chop Soo-E, with Marv Newland’s International Rocketship.

But Pigor’s heart has been in creating his own world and expanding his Toxictoons empire, with a website showcasing his macabre art, toys, T-shirts, stickers, and so on. He’s got an artshow coming up at the Hyaena Gallery in Burbank April 16th-30th, and you can meet the mind behind the madness at the reception on Friday April 20th at 8pm.

Starting today and continuing through Monday, there’s an interesting event happening in Ohio: “Women In Animation: A Columbus College of Art & Design Symposium.” The goal of the event is to celebrate “women’s achievements in animation, and to encourage young women to envision themselves contributing to every part of the industry, from personal aesthetic expression to the topmost echelons of production and direction.”

The event is free and open to the public, and takes place in the Canzani Center Auditorium. There are some well known presenters including Joanna Quinn, Clare Kitson, Jayne Pilling, Rebecca Allen, and Jinko Gotoh, among others. A complete schedule of events is posted at the CCAD website.

(Thanks, Eliza Kinkz)

This Saturday the Corey Helford Gallery (8522 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA) is opening a new solo show by the phenomenally talented Andrew Brandou. “As A Man Thinketh, So He Is” features over thirty new paintings that “explore the history of Jim Jones and the People’s Temple, creating a visual roadmap of the Jonestown story.” Brandou, who comes from an animation background working on shows like The Simpsons, Duckman, Rugrats and Spongebob, is now focusing full-time on producing his own artwork, which is fine in my book since his personal paintings are incredibly fun and appealing, not to mention classically skillful.

More about the upcoming show from the press release:

Integrating wood from significant locales of Jones’ past into the series of acrylic and silver and gold leaf paintings, Andrew Brandou’s stable of symbolic animal caricatures lead the viewer from Jim Jones’ Indiana birthplace and his days as a young preacher in the San Francisco Bay Area to his final destination – Guyana. Through his vibrant and childlike imagery, Brandou translates tragic themes into engaging narratives that are as alive with cultural and religious references as they are just plain dark fun. The exhibition includes a life-size recreation of Jones’ iconic throne, on which patrons may have a specially framed commemorative Polaroid taken. Open to the public, the reception for “As A Man Thinketh, So He Isâ€? will take place on Saturday, April 14 from 7 to 11pm, and the show will be exhibited until May 5, 2007.

Yesterday the Platform International Animation Festival announced their competition selections for films and installations. Film selections for mobile devices, cell phones and Internet will be announced on April 23. A nice chunk of change is being offered to the winners.

The inagural edition of the Platform festival happens in Portland, Oregon from June 25-30. It’s been quite a few years since a world-class animation festival has taken place in the US and it’s exciting to see Platform coming together so well, largely thanks to the expert guidance of festival director Irene Kotlarz. Special mention must also be made of the festival’s sole sponsor, Cartoon Network. Considering that there is barely any government funding for the arts here in the States, and definitely nothing for an animation festival on the scale of Platform, it’s commendable that CN has stepped up to the plate and created this much-needed event for the animation community. Jerry and I will be among the attendees of Platform this year and we’re hoping it’ll be the first of many visits to the festival.

ASIFA-Hollywood is presenting two animation events this month well worth your time and participation.

Bill Plympton: On Wednesday night April 11th, at 7pm, I’ll be moderating a Q&A with independent animator extraordinaire, Bill Plympton. Bill is in town to promote the opening of his feature film Hair High on April 13th at Laemmle’s Sunset 5. The ASIFA screening on Wednesday will highlight some of Bill’s latest cartoons and music videos including The Fan and the Flower, Gary Guitar, as well as a sneek peak at Hair High and the premiere of a brand new short. The screening and Q&A will be on the Dreamworks campus and to get in you must RSVP by tomorrow (Tuesday 4/10) at publicity-at-asifa-hollywood.org.

The Stop-Mo Expo: Will Vinton, Corky Quakenbush , the Chiodo Bros., Mark Caballero, Seamus Walsh, Jim Aupperle, Tennessee Reid Norton, Gene Warren Jr., Randy Cook and a host of other puppet and clay luminaries will descend on Woodbury University in Burbank, on Saturday April 21st 2007, for a one day cerebration of all things stop motion. From 9am to 10pm there will be non-stop panels, screenings, how-to seminars and schmoozing. In the evening there’s a film festival of rare, classic and current stop-motion animation. There will also be an all-day display of stop-mo props, puppets and models. All tickets will be sold at the door. For more information click here.

(Image above from Monster Safari by Screen Novelties)

Our friend Bob Bergen, the versatile voice actor, is reprising his one-man show Not Just Another Pretty Voice! (The Story of A Nice Jewish Boy Who Wanted To Be Porky Pig) every Wednesday night at 8:00PM, from April 25-May 30 at the Stella Adler Theater in Hollywood.

Bergen can be heard in hundreds of commercials, cartoons, TV shows and movies. He’s best known for playing Porky/Eager Young Space Cadet in the TV series Duck Dodgers. He was heard as Porky Pig, Tweety, and Speedy Gonzales in the 2006 WB holiday film, Bah, Humduck, and plays Bucky in Disney’s animated series, The Emperor’s New School.

Reservations for “Not Just Another Pretty Voice!� can be made by calling (323) 960-5771 or www.plays411.com. Tickets are $20. The Stella Adler Theater is located at 6773 Hollywood Boulevard, second floor. Parking is available at Hollywood and Highland for $2 with theatre validation.

Two upcoming John Canemaker events in the New York area:

The Tribeca Film Festival will salute the animator with The Animated World of John Canemaker, a program of shorts and documentaries spanning his career as a filmmaker, author, teacher and historian. Films in the program include: Confessions of a Stardreamer; Bridgehampton; The Wizard’s Son; Bottom’s Dream; Otto Messmer and Felix the Cat and the Academy Award-winning The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation. Monday, April 30, 6:15 p.m. and Sunday, May 6, 10:30 a.m. at AMC Kips Bay Theater 14, 570 Second Avenue (at 32nd St.) and Thursday, May 3, at midnight at the Tribeca Cinemas, Theater 2, 54 Varick Street (Below Canal Street, at Laight Street).

From April 16th through May 23rd a display of hand-drawn, original animation art from Canemaker’s Academy Award-winning film The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation, will be on display in the Hewitt Gallery of Art at Marymount Manhattan College, located at 221 East 71st Street. On Thursday, April 19, 2007, at 7:00 P.M. there will be a reception for the artist at the Hewitt Gallery. It is preceded at 5:30 P.M. by a screening of THE MOON AND THE SON at the Beekman Theatre, which is located at 1271 Second Avenue between 66th and 67th Streets. This event is free of charge for all attendees.