Sky Rings of the Mind

Here's a clipping from John Halas and Roger Manvell's 1970 book "Art in Movement".



I haven't seen any other reference to our friend Fred Mogubgub's film -not in any catalogs or reviews, certainly no film prints.

The methodology sounds like the process which results in the quality of his 1970s work we're familiar with. A multi-step production of layering in camera and intercutting media.

The design is the Chwast meets Steinberg look that was currency in the Nixon era. This type style has been resurrected in the last few years. It worked 40 years ago due to the rawness of the lettering and the juxtaposition of the colors -all individually muted from the limitations of the media and animation process, vibrancy developed through their interplay with one another. The clean edges and hot pinks we see today may be inspired by this Electric Company look, but present an aggressive style incompatible with the relaxed look the designs are based on.

Halas and Manvell's book is an interesting glimpse at the state of animation in 1970. It has bits on Carmen D'Avino, Japanese experimental animator Yoji Kuri, lots of folks from behind The Iron Curtain and even a few pages on Kubrick's work in 2001.