We all know that animation has commonly been used to bring products to life, create dynamic visual aids for educational films, or provide a stimulus or communication tool for scientific experiments. Yet, in scholarly efforts to elevate animation as art…
Revisiting Conversations Regarding the Interdisciplinary Nature of the Art “If the unity of art can be established with all the subject matters taught and exercised, then a real reconstruction of this world could be hoped for—more balanced and less dangerous.”…
The recent post by Chris Pallant on the value of archives was indeed a great rally call for the value of the hidden treasures which archives can provide. As many of you know, I am one of those Chris identifies…
Thursday 19th to Saturday 21st September, Texas Tech University The 2019 Animation and Public Engagement Symposium (APES) held at Texas Tech University in Lubbock – thanks, among others, to the support of the Society for Animation Studies – brought together…
The purpose of this post is to describe 10X10, an ongoing project initiated at Edinburgh College of Art, that each year brings animators and composers from a range of European universities together in a virtualized collaborative process. Currently, this project…
Not long ago I happened upon an original Reynaud praxinoscope for sale in a shop in Paris. Unable to justify its asking price, I began to research more affordable alternatives to share with animation students with whom I have made…
I like to start my animation history class by telling the students that I am going to show them the very first animated film ever made. I then proceed by showing Pauvre Pierrot (1892, by Émile Reynaud) without further comments.…
Animation can be a powerful way to introduce young people to media making. As Yvonne Andersen (1970: 9) notes, “it is dynamic enough to stimulate them and yet easy enough for them to handle.” For several years, I have been…
Teaching middle school girls, particularly middle school girls of color, about the legacy of imperialism can be simultaneously disturbing and disheartening. Learning about imperialism requires revisiting the legacy of cultural dominance with a group of young people who are still…
It is fitting that early animation technologies, such as the zoetrope and thaumatrope were called “optical toys”. This attitude of play and discovery is inherent in the animation process, and especially in experimental work. Experimental animators approach animation from a…
