I dunno how this lil' gem slipped between my greedy paws but here I is at the pawn shop hawkin' it as the last vestige of this 12 paged flipbook. Verabee, aka Vera Brosgol, is a grad of Sheridan and where you can see her final project Sno-bo. She made it with her roommate Jenn Kluska and has won a Nelvana "best film" prize. YEah. So this concludes this years test of the hydrocephalic broadcast system...see you on the first box of that Spongebob calendar.
There are too many remnant links hiding in my folders still but eventually they all come out to play. Case in point...the world of Esau Andrews. Take a tour of NY with a monkey or play with the all the creepy creatures just don't play footsies...yikes!
This post is a little out of the ordinary but this link has just been sitting there patiently in my film file that I have to let it out. Fritz Lang's seminal masterpiece, M, can now be viewed in it's entirety here. Internet archive also has some great classic cartoons and has the Prelinger collection also. So instead of sitting in uncomfortable silence with family, you can easily squander your holidays just perusing this vast film resource of delectable celluloid morsels. I know I am!!!
Mix one part Sergio Aragones, a pinch of Bill Wray and a head of dreadlocks and you'll get the Magnificent Kyle Baker! Rocketo is my 'IT' comic of faith renewal in 'mainstream' comics this year but it was last year's Plasticman that converted me back into the fray of superheroes. Kyle Baker is a modern renaissance man of comix, being able to draw and keep his fly up, he jumps back and forth on various projects while always making us laugh. From editorial cartoons to animation he does it all. His website is a bit 'messy' so I suggest going and picking up one of his books and laughing your way into the next year. And he's not french either. That's trois pour moi, Kev:)
I mentioned this lil' short film by Don Pan indirectly when I posted about the Stash student animation contest. But now here is the official film site to Conehead! Enjoy the collage like look to the backgrounds and facial expressions in this short but sweet adventure of Conehead.
Just for the record, I hate repeating posts from Drawn! It is hard to keep up with that Super team of coolness and style. It gives one a complex!!! But, Joel Priddy is one amazing comic artist and is worth the blow to my ego. Pulpatoon Pilgrimage was an Ignatz winner in 2002 and one of those books that lives up to the hype. Now Joel has a blog, Beeswax, where he is posting his current doodles and drawing misadventures. His illustrations are amazing too. Wake up to the rooster and sail on over to his site. Oh and tell the guys at Drawn I sent ya as that will cut down on my psychiatry bills.
While we are speaking of robots and the holidays...siddle on over under the mistletoe and give a metallic smooch to Doug Chiang's Robota. I don't know how recent this is but here is a new teaser to his independent movie that he is doing inbetween his big Hollywood jobs. I hate to say it but the concept art outweighs the trailors so far. Pity.
Now that we all have to wear sweatpants or moo-moos or decorated sheets around because of all the food we ate, you can now slothfully park and veg in front of the computer and be amused by the graphical stylings of Mediumphobic. I picked up Nicholas Di Genova's book, A Time to Chew, earlier this year and would love to see his artwork scrawled on my garage door for all my neighbours to see!! I first saw his art hanging on the walls of a cool Toronto restaurant called Fresen and have been admiring it ever since, so beat those post-holiday blues by visiting his site.
Wahoo! Early present to you from moi is the site of Fran Krause. I have seen Fran's work evolve from his student film, Mr. Smile to Utica zoo pilot and now Moonraker! All of which you can see on his site. Sit down over the holidays and enjoy these films, share them with friends or pets or dressed-up objects and you too can become a connoisseur of Krause. But remember animators need to eat too. So BUY Avoid Eye Contact now which has Moonraker on it plus lots of crazy other animation that looks good on your t.v. or as a tattoo. Tip: you return the ugly ass tie or Christopher Hart's how not to draw book and take the cash and get this dvd. Finally, I see Fran's latest project is in collaboration with the lovely and talented Sarah van den Boom (who has been put on display here in the curiosity cabinet of HCB). Nice stuff!! Well only 2 days left before food frenzy, dysfunctionality and heartburn ensues. Please pass the bowl of denial.
I normally don't post mainstream stuff but this fits into the art and animation theme that I am going for and plus I am a big Pixar fan too. Pixar is at the Museum of Modern Art!! Amid at the Brew points out there is now an audio tour of the exhibit now up. So go put on yer museum shoes (you know the squeaky ones that echo in the church-like silence of the gallery) and check it out. Also, hop on over to Ronnie del Carmen's great site, Tirade, for the insiders look.
I know, I know...another French site! What can I say? Viva la France:)
Here is a great respite from the Holidaze of consumer chaos...Coming Up For Air! Matthew Forsythe's site featuring Ojingogo, which is a nice little pearl oyster in the digital sea of on-line comix. Nice art, animation and comics all in a nice sushi sized package! So relax from the f*#@*Ngcr#zyarse...attamyway mall experience with a girl and her octopus. Oh yeah and screw you Santa! (sorry Shawn)
Welcome to the mechanical dreamspace of Gregory Barsamian. I first found out Gregory's work when I went to Cincinnati a few years back and picked up a cool publication about his kinetic sculptures. Just close your eyes and imagine hearing the humm and clicks of motors and gears spinning an elaborate metal frame that could be a giant Babylonian cylinder seal whirling around to depict the forgotten language of alchemy and magic. Strobing lights hypnotize as a sculptural soundloop comes alive in a sequential procession. The cylinder is broken up into sixteen frames as the throbbing light animates the sculpture like a huge zoetrope. Compared to the detached cyberworlds of new media, Barsamian's sculptures are the real mechanics inside the belly of the whale. Worlds swallowing worlds over and over again in a complex visual spasm of illusion. His work could easily be a modern Victorian show of smoke and mirrors. Throw in some steam powered engines to churn the magical illusion of the persistence of vision. Enjoy.
Here is a nice collage animated piece by London Squared production, The Back Brace. It is from a husband and wife duo living and working in New York. You can see all of their work on the site, which consists of claymation, collage and various DIY animation techniques. Humour and smart writing is the "backbone" of their films. They combine this with whatever style matches up with the story to create unique look all their own.
Another short film, Backbone Tale. A nice site that As far as the eye can see beat me to! Evil! It is a film by Jeremy Clapin and it is an intriguing film about a man who has a neck condition where he can only look down and a woman with the opposite condition of only being able to look up. Unfortunately, you can only see a snippet of it so you will only be able to crack the plot twist of this star-crossed love story at either a festival or by ordering a copy. Make sure you do some stretches and limber up before hunching over your monitor to enjoy these two films.
Animation Archive Biopedia! This soon-to be expanding catalogue is about the PEOPLE behind the magic curtain of animation. But, unlike sea monkeys it needs volunteers like YOU to make it grow into the brain-child that it could be (not cloudy water after you had sent away your allowance to some ad address from your favorite comic book...stoopid sea monkeys). This is brought to you by the good folks at ASIFA-Hollywood's Animation archive, who is doing a bang up, crash-em up job to advance, expose, and perserve the creative and production history of animation. So as Stephen Worth the director of the archive asks..."We invite you to submit information on these people. Spend a few hours searching the web or scanning through an animation book to find information on your favorite animator, director or voice artist. Go to the library and look for references to them in magazines or newspapers. Assemble the information and submit it through the comments link at the bottom of that person's page. We will compile all of the submissions and add them to the Biopedia for the whole world to read." 
Now for the Master of puppet prestigitation...Barry Purves! Barry Purves's work reminds me of Ronnie Burkett's plays only animated. Barry's style is a distictive mark in the world of animation that takes the artform into the realm of theater, mythology and opera. He explores mature themes of eroticism, tragedy, jealousy and biopic joie de vivre. His films have received multiple awards and him name has become synonymous with puppet animation. Mars Attacks was one of his first forays into Hollywood and has gone on to help out with LOTR trilogy and the recent King Kong. If this does not impress enough, childhood memories will come rushing back when I mention he worked on The Wind in the Willows for Cosgrove Hall. Barry is a true master of his craft and he inspires new generations to the tactile intimate art of puppet animation.
Can I say I live in the wrong city!! This is a cool site I found while searching for puppet pictures. This giant puppet performance in Nantes, France, looks unbelievable!! Be sure to go through each page and view the video of this extraordinary event that winds its way through the streets in this ellaborate parade of a giant elephant and a girl. Wow!
Also, here is a eevil video that most of you have seen but what can I say...i'm nearsighted. Interpol's video "evil" is just creepy and strange with its gyrating puppet. It was done by Colonel Blimp director, Charlie White. He is known for his creepy puppet videos like his 'Understanding Joshua' series. While you are visiting the Colonel check out the puppet styling video for Dizzee Rascal by Dougal Wilson. It is great to see directors going back to old school tech and not just latching onto the CG hype. And with the success of Wallace and Gromit and Corpse Bride, there seems to be a ctrl + z trend to this high tech takeover.
Well here is one film that I would love to see, Strings. It is one of the biggest budget feature animated movies that has come out of Denmark and it looks beautiful. An entire world of marionettes set in a mythological world filled with tragedy and drama. Here is a short synopsis of the film here with a photo gallery. Also the link to the U.K. site with trailor and pics. Too bad nobody on this side of the pond has had the courage and forsight to distribute this movie, instead we get Hoodwinked and the like. The higher power of pulling the strings of a purse instead of creativity. Well, that's what festivals are for, so if you see this one coming definately try and see it and if you have drop me an email to tell me how it was.
I would like to formally give a shout out to Das Brick! His blog As far as the Eye can see is a fantasmaliscious site! It is the evil twin brother to HCB but we will rock, paper, scissor for the most Eeevil title. Speaking of puppets, Afat'i'c'C' points out Quintron. It is a cool site with insane puppets that will rock yer socks off and then come alive and do a lil' play for you. Check out Quintron and Das Brick but be sure to like me better as I am the most Eeevil although nearsighted.
If ever there was sunday sermons done by Ronnie Burkett, I would be a devote acolyte and crusader of the faith. The master of puppetry would convert the world and expose the beautiful ugliness of life with morality tales attached with strings. In fact, the very word 'marionette' or little Mary, comes from medieval puppet plays, where they would reenact scene of the Passion. I was able to see Ronnie's play, Provenance, earlier this year and was converted by this intimate look at the nature of beauty. As art history is concerned, I liked the discussion of art and beauty as he humanized subjectivity instead of being something academic and scholarly. As animation goes, character design, voice, costume, gesture and theatrics all come together as you can see Ronnie literally breathe life into his characters on stage. Innovative in his techniques, expressive and passionate in his delivery, his world is fleshed out while set on the solid structure of a mature, insightful story. His newest play will be touring next year, 10 Days on Earth. You have to see him live as there is no watered down dvd version that you can buy. Here is an old but good interview with him. Also, you can buy books of his acclaimed series, the Memory Dress trilogy, here. And an additional stocking stuffer for those freakish puppet lovers, you can pick up this new book by Eileen Blumenthal.
I realize that I have been posting alot of euro comix stuff and so I want to try and balance things out by showing some of N.A.'s top comic talents. I start off with my favorite, Craig Thompson. Ironically, when I started looking for pictures for this post I found these pics of Craig doing a live drawing dating back one year ago to the day. I picked up Craig's, Carnet de Voyage, early this year and was blown away at how much better his artwork has gotten from Goodbye Chunky Rice. I mean the art and story of Blankets is great, don't get me wrong but you can really see the spontaneity of his brush and quality of proportion and line in Carnet. Habibi is his forthcoming book that will be published by Pantheon and is one of the gems I am looking forward to for next year. In my worthless opinion, Craig Thompson is in my top five of comix creators right now. Go ahead and bite the apple...who needs the Garden of Eden when you can frolic in the dootdoot gardens!!
Well Dan Sousa will segway nicely into Global Mechanic, which is another studio Dan is apart of. Global Mechanic is an animation house that does commercial work and is the creation of Ann marie Fleming and Bruce Alcock.
Here is my find of the week! Fable, by Dan Sousa is one of those films that will draw you in with its beautiful look and leave you wanting more at the end. A gorgeous speechless film that utilizes the visual elements of animation to delve into and explore this archetypal story of fable. Mythos and legend are what seems to drive Dan's films as you can see in his earlier film, Minotaur. You can view snippets of both on his website. He also belongs to Handcranked films, which is Jake Mahaffy,Jeff Sias and Bryan Papciak, along with Dan that make up this collective of independent experimental film makers. Nice site that shows off each artists work. So watch Fable and if the wallpaper starts moving it isn't because you drank too much.
NBM publishers have done it again! Adding another must have for thy season of conspicuous consumption. Isaac the Pirate, by Christophe Blain who is another young rising star, along with Sfar, Trondheim and David B., on the BD scene. Like Sfar, Blain has a nice loose expressive style that can vary from cartoony to stylized realism. Give a looksy at his site and pick up his books and hopefully NBM will keep on translating these great graphic novels for us!
This week the sermon of sin and decay is brought into beautiful focus by Floria Sigismondi. Floria's videos and photography look like offspring of the Brother's Quay and Matthew Barney doing an adult version of Jeunet's 'City of Lost Children'. She recently launched a new book of her photography, Immune, in Toronto and there was a cover story in the NOW paper. Also, she finished the video for the White Stripes, Get Behind me Satan. It has Jack and Meg in a Fuseli-esque world where the ludnum induced nightmares mix with high fashion in beautiful/decay. Floria has also done videos for the likes of Sigur Ros, Tricky, Interpol and the Cure to name a few. Her images are one of texture and colour juxtaposed against eerie, disturbing and malformed worlds in focussed detail.
Wow L'asile des fous d'animation is on fire! They just posted 2 stunning new shorts from that college formidable, Supinfocom! The first one is EGO, by Louis Blaise, Thomas Lagache et Bastien Roger. A look behind the 'mirror' turns into a psychotic race against entropy. Take a gander here. Again, I will say there must be something in the wine as this college is putting out some of the best student CG films. The other film is 90 degrees by Jules Anaud, Raphaël Martinez-Bachel et François Roisin. Unfortunately, I can't see the movie when it plays but on just the images of the film it looks like I will never make the movie I want as everyone else is making it for me! So I will have another glass and see if my theory is correct...if not the other result is good too!
Here I am posting bad pictures of unidentifiable clay heads when I should be posting this!! Belle Mallor is a 'still wet behind the ears' grad out of the Royal College of Arts masters program. Nice illustrative style combined with imaginative characters that remind me of the Medieval view of people from foreign lands, i.e. the South Africans who have just one giant foot for which they use to shade themselves with in the hot sun. Only Belle's inhabit the water as you can see in her graduate film, Sleep with the Fishes. A world that originates from a stream of urine from a bizarre character is rendered in a languid watercolour quality that fills and overflows with surreal melancholy. There are these Bruegelian scenes of rowers defacating other rowers and torture boats that whip you as you go. All in all my kind of film! 
I started making a puppet last week. Sorry, that the pic isn't the best. I really liked working with Sculpey and made a wire armature. I just can't decide whether to make clay clothes for it or doll clothes. For all the low down on wire armatures, tips and tricks on modelling and effects go to stopmotionanimation.com and check out the FAQ section.
Well on skimming the waters last week I found this surprise catch o' the day in my net. Sarah Van den Boom just put up a website of her work. Most of it is under construction but most importantly you can watch her entire 17 minute long first film, Novecento! This ENSAD grad sites the works of Frédéric Back, Youri Norstein, Alexandre Petrov, and Satoshi Kon as inspiration. So go and enjoy this obvious labour of love film.
This is Wunderbar!!! The Deutsche Guggenheim is exhibiting the new work, Black box/Chambre Noir, by William Kentridge. William Kentridge has his feet firmly planted in the art world but hovers into the field of animation. The nature of animation helps him explore the theme of memory and passing time and inversely he rejuvenates and elevates the process itself. Using the charcoal technique he sets about creating and destroying geographical spaces and history's forgotten memories. The monochromatic marks of the charcoal reveal the blur of politics and the smear of social class. His work stands firmly on the shoulders of the German expressionists of the Weimar Republic, i.e. Grosz, Dix, Heckel and Beckman, in both style and theme. William Kentridge's work may border between two disciplines but in the end he enriches both by expanding the narrow view that each hold towards the other and demonstrates the creative force that animation is. I end this weeks focus on a high note and hope that this musical medley of german noise wakes the neighbors!!
This is the midnight run before the close of this weeks focus on the German scene. Of course, I just lightly scratched the surface of the current films coming out let alone the long history that the 'Trickfilm' has in Germany. The origins starting with the beautiful silhouette films of Lotte Reiniger, Prince Achmed(1926), which is attributed as the first feature animated film going up to the Academy Award winning Balance by Christoph and Wolfgang Lauenstein. I remember seeing this short at the local indie film theater in the Spike and Mike festival and was blown away by it's simple yet powerful social and political statement. So I was pleased to see that the twin brothers are still at it. 
This survey would not be complete without mentioning Raimund Krumme. Influential independent filmmaker who like Phil Mulloy uses a simple figural style to convey complex ideas. The Cinémathèque québécoise just screened a retrospective of his work. Hopefully, that most excellent fpsmagazine will have a review of it in an upcoming issue. 
I also want to mention the Periwig Maker by Annette and Steffen Schäeffler. Which is a gorgeous puppet animation short about plague striken London adapted from the writings of Daniel Defoe. A strong U.K. connection with Kenneth Brannagh narrating, it was nominated for an Oscar in 1999. You can see it in it's entirety at Atomfilms.
Wie ich mich traf or meeting me by Angela Steffen was one of the great student films at this years OIAF. A nicely stylized black and white film about the artist trying to find out about herself in various transformations all set in a colouring book world. Angela is in her second year at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg and under the supervision of Andreas Hykade (animation pimp designer fame)! Andreas's films, Ring of fire and We lived in grass, are depth charged fields that trip the wire and explode the genre into frail and wounded territory. He won the music video category with Die Toten Hosen WALKAMPF for FilmBilder studios. Great timing with seemingly simple design gives in to psychadelic sequences that capture the addictiveness of the song.
Well, I must admit that my exposure to german comix is downright smaller than my pinsized skull. Although this fall I was fortunate enough to pick up Leviathan, a cool word-less comic by Jens Harder. Jens Harder, along with Tim Dinter, Kathi Käppel, Ulli Lust, Mawil and Kai Pfeiffer, founded the Berlin comic group Monogatari. So check them out and if you can get your hands on Leviathan it is certainly worth it.
I remember finding this publication on animation, Spacetricks, through the Zurich Museum of Design. It is in both German and English but unfortunately I can only find it to buy on the German Amazon site. There is not alot of detail about the exhibition or what films are in the book. However, I believe it was in collaberation with Surrey Institute of Art in the UK and the Fantoche animation festival. Just a curious find that I would like to find more info on.
I have a confession to make...for someone (moi) who is a neophyte when it comes to computers, I secretly have a fascination (addiction) to new media arts! And when speaking of media arts, Germany is the gladitorial arena that sets the cult of technology up against the fierce lions of artistic expressions. The Knowbotic Research is a group that definately gets a thumbs up from this bigheaded caesar. They are a group that has been pushing the boundaries of interactive art for the last 15 years. The interface between user and information dissemanation has been a regular theme in their work as they continue to be at the forefront of this ever emerging art form. For more of what is happening in the world of new media go to the ZKM museum (Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie Karlsruhe). They showcase the lastest and greatest in this Interactive Revolution that will supplant the old gods with A.I. robots and universal global tracking! Also, check oot the annual festival in Berlin, Trasmediale.
This week I am going to have a german theme. So from Von Hagen I move to the Reflektorium. This studio is comprised of animator Anja Struck (work above) and the wickedly talented illustrators Lars Henkel and Mario Wagner. I saw Anja's film, Whisper of the Fur Cones, and really liked the sound loop driven images that are very Brother's Quay in tone but carry off their own atmospheric quality. You can view a clip of it here in the professional section.
Sunday Inspiration is brought to you by Gunther von Hagen. Well I am back from my long weekend journey to the netherworld of Toronto. I stand atop a stele where the dead emerge to reveal the secrets of humanity. Of course, I talk about Bodyworlds, a travelling exhibit where science/art surgically display the mysteries of our mortal coil. Von Hagan uses a 'plastination' process whereby he injects the cadavre with a synthetic material, i.e. epoxy resin, rubber or polyester, that replaces the bodies water which then preserves everything intact. This preservation can even get down to the smallest capilleries to show the entire circulatory system or nervous system. The bodies are often posed in 'action' or mimic a historic work of art and reveal the different layers (like the image above). Von Hagan pushes the boundary between art and science to the extreme and whether you agree or not with these sculpures of the once living, they certainly educate the layman and appeal to our curiousities of the inner workings of the machine of flesh and blood. I will admit that I felt like I was in some Barnum museum but instead of being fooled by some stitched together 'Mermaid Lady' I found myself in awe of the real complex systems of the human body. You can't take any pictures but as I found out too late you are allowed to draw!!
If you haven't seen this great lil' short stop-motion flic(ker) of brilliance then pick up the monkey and join the freakshow wagon to welcome Franck Dion's, THE PHANTOM INVENTORY! This film was a surprise highlight for me last year when I saw it. Look at the behind the scenes look at the making of this digital/stop-motion hybrid that is essentially 2 movies into 1. And if that isn't enough I found his latest website, The Imaginary Travels of Franck Dion, which ingeniously shows his work in film and illustration wrapped in this nice 'Myst'-like environment. So this should hold you off until tuesday as I am going to the Waterloo Animation festival this weekend and will report my findings post haste in a nice pie chart presentation. Mmmmm...pie!
This is a great little find that will quickly tickle that sensitive spot where you secretly liked being touched. Waterlili is the creation of Guillaume Delaunay and packs a visual wallop for a tiny flash site. The site is in french but don't be affraid to poke a couple of eyes to navigate yourself around in a world that showcases his distict graphic style and talent!!
There are so many great comix coming out that I can't wait to get my well licked paws on them! A great series that is coming out is the 'Ignatz' collection. It is an international collection of comic artists in collaboration with Fantagraphics and Coconino Press. The dozen contributors so far are from Great Britain (Matt Broersma), France (Epileptic’s David B.), Italy (Francesca Ghermandi, the legendary Lorenzo Mattotti, and series founder Igort), RAW’s Marti (Spain), and the U.S. (Anders Nilsen and Kevin Huizenga). I just ordered Lorenzo Mattotti's, Chimera. Lorenzo Mattotti is one of the italian masters of comix (fumetto) and his stuff will rob you of your senses faster than gypsies stealing your money. His art has been regularly seen over here on the covers of the New Yorker and you can get a translated version of his Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde published by NBM. I don't want to say much about him...just take the plunge into a world where art and sequential storytelling meet in a deep beautiful ocean. Pretend you never saw this and you discovered his site by some happy accident and then you can feel like it is just your own seed of inspiration.
What to say about the strangled-guiltsweat world of JJ Villard! I was at the Ottawa festival when his film, Son of Satan(2003), won and this whirlwind of a dervish gets on stage. With teeth gnashing, adrenaline fueled shards of thanks and elation washed over us and filled us with his passion and brashness. Even when the lights went out to stop the baptismal tirade, he kept on shouting out into the darkness. This burned memory of the character of JJ Villiard is like a shadow under the glow of his films. For it is raw, brash, imperfection that summarizes the filmography of this CalArts graduate. At this years OIAF festival, Chestnuts Icelolly, won the grand prize for student animation. My gut reaction to his work reminded me of David Lapham's, Stray Bullets with more moles and warts thrown in. A strong graphic style holds up a limited animation technique that is then driven (full-tilt) by the characters. Which is what I like about his films! You can watch part of Son of Satan here and Chestnuts Icelolly here along with many other cool animations (the tree officer) to keep you occupied. Be sure to wear the HCB iron maiden ad sign box for me and be sure to tell all your friends to come by.
