Event

TONIGHT IN NYC: It’s The 2011 ASIFA-East Animation Art Auction!

Apologies for the late notice, but while this is an event that I normally attend and willingly part with my hard earned cash in support of a good cause, I unfortunately have a final presentation in class tonight. Seeing as a good chunk of my final grade (and therefore the tuition I coughed up for it) depends on it, I won’t be making the trek to New York this time.

However, that should not preclude you in the slightest from swinging by the SVA on 23rd St (between 2nd and 3rd) at 7pm and heading on up to the ampitheatre and parting with your hard earned cash in exchange for some great animation art.

For a full list of the lots up for bid as well as pictures of everything, visit the aNYmator blog.

ASIFA-East Animation Art Auction
7:00 pm SVA Amphitheatre
209 E. 23rd Street, 3rd Floor

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Wallace & Gromit Are Hosting An Animation Art Auction!

Coming by way of Tomm Moore, the Grand Appeal charity ‘run’ by Wallace and Grommit is holding an animation art auction through the 10th of November. All proceeds go to the Grand Appeal and the Bristol Children’s Hospital and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to provide comforts and facilities for patients and their families in the Hospital which the charity fundraises for.

The bidding is being held on eBay so those of us abroad can bid too. The artwork donated is impressive and represents a wide swath of the animation landscape, as well as a script for Father Ted, which must have snuck in there when no-one was looking.

Below are just some of the pieces, there are many more that I don’t have the space to post. Please visit the eBay auction for all details. Happy bidding!

Wallace & Grommit Signed Watercolour
Danger Mouse original cel

 

Original watercolour by Tomm Moore of Aisling from the Secret of Kells
Original Morph sketch

And my personal favourite:

Pencil sketch by Richard Williams of Roger & Jessica Rabbit

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Baltimore Comic Con Recap

Just a couple of thoughts on the 2011 Baltimore Comic Con that took place this weekend. 🙂

  • Overall it was a lot of fun to just walk around and see stuff
  • There’s lots of diversity when it comes to comics. I saw people of all shapes, sizes and colours (the blue guy really stood out for me though)
  • It’s always great to get out and meet the artists in person and to see some of their artwork.
  • Once again, it was a pleasure to see Mike Maihack and to buy the second volume of Cleopatra in Space
  • I supported the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and picked up a copy of Will Eisner’s “New York The Big City
  • I was reminded that anyone who says women and girls aren’t into comic is lying through their teeth.
  • The bootleg DVD industry has to be feeling the pain of illegal downloading too. I mean, $50 for the entire series of Billy and Mandy or Kim Possible must have been a bargain at some point, but now that’s just crazy expensive.
  • The only way it could have been even more enjoyable was if I actually read comics on a regular basis.
  • Oh, and I saw Stan Lee through a gap in the curtains.

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Hang Out With Indie Animator Bill Plympton and Friends Tomorrow Night

Starting tomorrow night (Friday, May 27th), the Museum of the Moving Image is hosting not one, but two days of Bill Plympton-related screenings.

Friday will see a discussion with Bill and David B. Levy on their new book, Bill Plympton: Independently Animated and will include screenings of some of Bill’s shorts. As a bonus, Bill has promised every audience member a drawing of their very own! He will also be signing his book.

On Saturday (May 28th), there will be screenings of Bill’s feature films, Hair High and Idiots and Angels as well as a preview of the documentary Adventures in Plymptoons.

Below is the press release which contains all the details:

Museum of the Moving Image presents

INDEPENDENTLY ANIMATED: BILL PLYMPTON

May 27 – 28, 2011

Bill Plympton may be the only major animator who still hand-draws every single image of his own films. Though his approach to filmmaking may be old-fashioned, his offbeat and inventive artistic sensibility is unique. This two-day program of screenings and discussions celebrates Plympton’s new book, Independently Animated.

All screenings are free with museum admission unless otherwise noted.

Independently Animated: An Evening with Bill Plympton

Friday, May 27, 7:00 p.m.

Screening, discussion, and book signing with Bill Plympton and David Levy

The lavishly illustrated new book Independently Animated: The Life and Art of the King of Indie Animation, by Bill Plympton and David Levy, published by Rizzoli, is part biography, part retrospective, and part behind-the-scenes look at Bill Plympton’s life and career. It contains hundreds of pieces of art from his films, as well as never-before-seen doodles, drawings, and production notes. To celebrate the publication, the Museum presents a festive evening with a discussion, short films, and live drawing by Plympton, followed by a book signing. Everyone in attendance will receive their own original drawing from Plympton.

Among the highlights: a work-in-progress screening of an exciting new short film, Plympton’s hand-colored restoration of Winsor McCay’s 1921 film The Flying House, a charming film about a husband who turns his house into a flying machine, which bears remarkable similarities to the Pixar film Up; a screening of the popular short film Guard Dog and Guard Dog Jam, the result of an invitation to animators around the world to remake Plympton’s film by each contributing their own remake of one shot from the film.

Tickets: $10 public / Free for Museum members. Members may reserve tickets in advance by calling 718 777 6800.

Adventures in Plymptoons

Saturday, May 28, 3:00 p.m.

Preview screening With Alexia Anastasio in person

Dir. Alexia Anastasio. 2011, 98 mins. Digital projection. This new documentary about animator Bill Plympton follows his path from the many rainy days of a Portland childhood spent indoors drawing to a self-made career as an independent animator. The film includes interviews with family, friends, colleagues, critics, and fans.

Hair High

Saturday, May 28, 5:30 p.m.

Introduced by Bill Plympton

Dir. Bill Plympton. 2004, 78 mins. Digital projection. An outrageous gothic myth from the 1950s, Hair High is the legend of Cherri and Spud, a teenage couple who are murdered on prom night and left for dead at the bottom of Echo Lake. Exactly one year later, their skeletal remains come back to life and they return to the prom for revenge and their justly deserved crowns.

Idiots and Angels

May 28, 7:30 p.m.

Introduced by Bill Plympton

Dir. Bill Plympton. 2009, 78 mins. A misanthropic gun dealer who spouts an unwelcome pair of wings is the antihero of Plympton’s noir-flavored feature, which was entirely hand-drawn, mainly in gray pencil. According to the New York Times, the film, which is entirely without dialogue and has music by Tom Waits, Pink Martini, and others, “defies expectations. It is relentless, and brilliant.”

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This Weekend: Animated Shorts in Baltimore.

Yes, something animation-related on my own doorstep! Starting tonight, May 6th, the Maryland Film Festival runs until Sunday. Besides loads of great films, there is an animated shorts segment featuring the following:

  • BOTTLE, Kirsten Lepore, 6 mins
  • THE COW WHO WANTED TO BE A HAMBURGER, Bill Plympton, 6 mins
  • ENRIQUE WRECKS THE WORLD, David Chai, 5 mins
  • FAMILY PORTRAIT, Joseph Pierce, 5 mins, UK
  • FLESH COLOR, Masahiko Adachi, 4 mins, Japan
  • HONEYSUCKLE BLUE, Miranda Pfeiffer, 5 mins
  • KIDNAP, Sijia Luo, 4 mins
  • ONCE IT STARTED IT COULD NOT END OTHERWISE, Kelly Sears, 8 mins
  • STANLEY PICKLE, Victoria Mather, 9 mins, UK
  • THIS ROOM IS WHITE, Karen Yasinsky, 5 mins
  • WONDER HOSPITAL, Beomsik Shimbe, 12 mins, Japan
  • X.O. GENESIS, Rowan Wernham, 12 mins, New Zealand

Some names are familiar, some not so familiar so it appears you are in for a treat.Last year featured Elliot Cowan’s masterpiece ‘Brothers in Arms‘ so you know the bar is set quite high.

The shorts will be screened tonight (Friday) at 9:30pm in the Charles Theatre (I’ll be there) and again on Sunday in the Windup Space at 5:00pm. Tickets are $10.

You can find full details of the program as well as complete info on the Maryland Film Festival here.

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