'Tis the season.
Happy Halloween from Faceless Neil from Noella Borie on Vimeo.
Showing posts with label miscellany. Show all posts
Showing posts with label miscellany. Show all posts
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Martin Gardner
The first book I remember is "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs". That was my first favorite book.
It was supplanted at a young age by Martin Gardner's "Aha! Gotcha: Paradoxes to Puzzle and Delight."
The New York Times posted Mr. Gardner's obituary yesterday, he lived a full life -to an animator's age of 95.
This title combined simple logic problems -many I still drag out 30 years later like The Barber Paradox (credited to Bertrand Russell) -with simple illustrations.
I was a little disappointed to learn that Mr. Gardner didn't draw them himself. A small credit on the title page goes to Ray Salmon for the artwork.
Years later I sought out his work, subscribing the Skeptical Inquirer after seeing his byline in the high school library, picking up dusty titles at the used bookstore on 5th and South Streets. His writing on the paranormal was an antidote to the steady diet of ghost stories and space alien books every healthy American teen devours.
Decades later I've shared great moments reading through these goofy paradoxes. Moments, like the passed heroes, that continue to live in memory.
The Times obituary echoes what how I described to friends: a 19th Century style thinker -like Samuel F. B. Morse or Thomas Edison. His work -combining humor with science, simplicity with complex ideas, and let's not forget funny drawings -sets a template for the kind of work we most enjoy.
It was supplanted at a young age by Martin Gardner's "Aha! Gotcha: Paradoxes to Puzzle and Delight."
The New York Times posted Mr. Gardner's obituary yesterday, he lived a full life -to an animator's age of 95.
This title combined simple logic problems -many I still drag out 30 years later like The Barber Paradox (credited to Bertrand Russell) -with simple illustrations.
I was a little disappointed to learn that Mr. Gardner didn't draw them himself. A small credit on the title page goes to Ray Salmon for the artwork.
Years later I sought out his work, subscribing the Skeptical Inquirer after seeing his byline in the high school library, picking up dusty titles at the used bookstore on 5th and South Streets. His writing on the paranormal was an antidote to the steady diet of ghost stories and space alien books every healthy American teen devours.
Decades later I've shared great moments reading through these goofy paradoxes. Moments, like the passed heroes, that continue to live in memory.
The Times obituary echoes what how I described to friends: a 19th Century style thinker -like Samuel F. B. Morse or Thomas Edison. His work -combining humor with science, simplicity with complex ideas, and let's not forget funny drawings -sets a template for the kind of work we most enjoy.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
At The Zoo
Animators should make frequent trips to the zoo.
mmonkey frieze
some sweet day, I'll make her mine
get a little crazy, sea lions
that's not a knife
Bronx Zoo cheer
"Statue of Liberty play on three -and break."
cameleopards
black is what I wear on the outside
Irish caribou
good watchdog
awwwww
meows
Bosch's model
otter
feeling used
sleep bear with his Teddy Twig
people like to eat these guys
roar?
learning how to get in a row
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Edu-Tainment!
Animation has long been used for simple educational films.
A history of animation in museum exhibitions would be interesting. Ray and Charles Eames made a few in the 50s/60s. Expo 67 had loads. I imagine the 64 World's Fair had its fair share. At The Ink Tank we produced a series of nice little films for the Harry Truman Library. That was the late 90s.
These, from the Franklin Institute, aren't the greatest examples but they do show the pervasiveness of animation and hint at it's effectiveness in exhibits.
My one fear is that the bad fire cycles will turn young minds off from animation.
A history of animation in museum exhibitions would be interesting. Ray and Charles Eames made a few in the 50s/60s. Expo 67 had loads. I imagine the 64 World's Fair had its fair share. At The Ink Tank we produced a series of nice little films for the Harry Truman Library. That was the late 90s.
These, from the Franklin Institute, aren't the greatest examples but they do show the pervasiveness of animation and hint at it's effectiveness in exhibits.
My one fear is that the bad fire cycles will turn young minds off from animation.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Cartoon (The Play?!?!?)
Speaking of things missed (in reference to yesterday's post if you're not keeping score)...
I found this postcard in a Williamburg bakery.
When I picked it up I said "for sure, I'm going" -knowing that I never would.
The back describes it "in the style of a Commedia dell'Arte scenario gone berserk". I studied theater in college, maybe that's why the phrase translates to me as "run as far as you can!"
In any event, there's a "video animation" credit. Though I'm sure it has at least one embarrassing dry humping scene -a prerequisite for stage productions -and the Bakuninite in me distrusts anything labeling itself a "collective", I do wish I had the gumption (and time) to have seen what this was about.
When I picked it up I said "for sure, I'm going" -knowing that I never would.
The back describes it "in the style of a Commedia dell'Arte scenario gone berserk". I studied theater in college, maybe that's why the phrase translates to me as "run as far as you can!"
In any event, there's a "video animation" credit. Though I'm sure it has at least one embarrassing dry humping scene -a prerequisite for stage productions -and the Bakuninite in me distrusts anything labeling itself a "collective", I do wish I had the gumption (and time) to have seen what this was about.
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