Tomek Baginski (born January 10, 1976, Bialystok) is the Polish Artist/Animator behind 'Fallen Art' or 'Sztuka Spadania' 2004 (right).
Another incredible Polish artist/animator! Can anyone please explain the Polish creative genius phenomenon?
Baginski is best known for his Oscar-nominated short movie, The Cathedral (2002).
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Steven and Timothy Quay (identical twins, born 17 June 1947 in Norristown, Pennsylvania, United States) are two of the most influential stop-motion animators of all time. They are better known as Brothers Quay or Quay Brothers.
The Quays' extensive body of works (1979-present) show a wide range of esoteric influences, from the Polish animators Walerian Borowczyk and Jan Lenica to writers Franz Kafka, Bruno Schulz, Robert Walser and Michel de Ghelderode, puppeteers Wladyslaw Starewicz and Richard Teschner and composers Leoš JanáĂ„ÂŤek, ZdenÄ›k Liška and Leszek Jankowski, the last of whom created many original scores for their work. Jan Švankmajer (Czech animator), for whom they payed homage to in the title of one of their films (The Cabinet of Jan Švankmajer), is also frequently mentioned as a major influence, but they actually discovered Švankmajer's work later, in 1983, by which time their unique style and themes had been fully formed.
Most of their films feature partially disassembled dolls, in a dark, moody scenarios. Perhaps their best known film is Street of Crocodiles, based on the short story by the Polish author and artist Bruno Schulz (with the same title). Terry Gilliam selected this short film as one of the ten best animated films of all time.
'The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb' is an innovative stop frame animation film directed by Dave Borthwick and produced by the 'Bolex Brothers' (released in 1995). This is a beautiful tale of a tiny (clay) toddler (Tom) kidnapped from his loving human parents. Tom finds himself in a genetic lab with a host of caged mutant creatures and escapes to journey back to his father. The setting is a gloomy and squalid urban environment with neanderthal like human actors who communicate with grunts and moans.
The fusion of stop motion animation and pixilation (live actors posed and shot frame-by-frame) is unlike anything I have ever seen. This task would have demanded a massive level of patience from all parties involved (not to mention severe cramps for the actors). The over all effect is delightfully surreal and creepy and comparable to the work of Jan Svankmajer & the Brothers Quay. I recommend this film to everyone (even people who are easily disturbed will be impressed by the animation and atmosphere of The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb).
Jon Beinart - "What inspires you as an artist and animator?"
Meats Meier - "In the past I have been inspired mostly by nature and the outdoors. Things like the climbing tendrils of vines, the design elements of perfectly functioning living creatures on this planet, and the way rays of the sun bursts through the clouds and certain days. Now I am finding that the explosion of interest focused on the new digital art movement and new technologies and research is what drives me most. The true ability for we as artists to show people across the globe our creations alone is incentive enough to make me work through the night. It's a completely new paradigm shift in the art world. I'm loving the "You Tube" simplicity of sharing animations and tutorials instantly and easily. We are all pioneers and guinea pigs right now, the speed at which my tools are advancing is downright scary….but exciting!"
Jon Beinart - "It's great to hear that you're excited by the recent surge of digital interest and technological evolution Meats. I have heard that you are personally responsible for much creative innovation within the digital realm, but since you spend much of your time working through the night in front of a computer, do you miss your contact with the natural world (your early inspiration). Or do you still make time to engage with nature?"
Meats Meier - "I went through a strange period last year - I decided to move into a loft in the worst part of downtown Los Angeles. After spending most of my life nestled in the mountains of Salt Lake City and the alien worlds of Southern Utah, I wanted to try and live the exact opposite life. I was surrounded by nothing but concrete, homeless people, crack, and urine smell for the entire stay there. A lot different than I'm used to. I guess I just want to try and experience every spectrum of life. I believe that there is something interesting and exciting to be found in almost all aspects of the world. Every thing I feed into my brain makes it's way into my art, so I want to make sure there is fuel to burn when I go to town working on a new concept or animation. Nature itself seems to have already solved most design problems, so I find myself often focused on the raw, untouched elements that have evolved over millions of years, like bugs and plants."
Jon Beinart - "There's nothing like a good dose of human decay to get the creative juices flowing ;) I noticed on your website that you have painted with traditional mediums. Do you plan to revisit painting, or are you satisfied with the digital medium you have immersed yourself in? I also recall the last sentence of a post you made in the news section on your website when I invited you to join the Surreal Art Collective: 'I'm glad that they opened a section for digital artists………a good sign for the new real outsider art "digital"'. Was this statement made in response to a prejudice you have faced as a digital artist?"
Meats Meier - "I was an airbrush artist before I really jumped into the digital world 12 or so years ago. I still love to airbrush whenever I have some free time and there is some sun shining outside. I'm airbrushing a mural outside of the Gnomon Workshop here in Los Angeles where I have an office as a resident artist. I called digital the real outsider art because, yeah, I've been trying to convince people for a lot of years now that there is art that can be made inside a computer. First people assumed the computer did all the work. Then people connected 3D art with what they are fed by movie companies like Pixar and Disney - cute animals over and over. There is just so much potential now for a new school of art to come of age. It's not hard to be shown in galleries with digital prints, it's just mainly hard to get people to buy them. I think the old "outsider" artists aren't outside of much these days, they are the norm, Juxtapoz is the top artist magazine in the country and many artists are selling their paintings in the 5 and 6 figure range.."
Jon Beinart - "I was excited to find out that you collaborated with Tool & Alex Grey on the 3D booklet insert for their latest Album. This is a huge step in your career. Congratulations! What was it like collaborating with Tool? Will you be working with them in the future? Do you spend time with them socially?"
Meats Meier - "Thanks a lot. It has been great working with them so far. Their "10,000 Days" album even won a Grammy for the package design itself, and the 3d stereoscopic image that I made for it (from an Alex Grey sketch) is even being used as their concert tour t-shirt. Both Grey and Jones are extremely inspiring and talented people, anytime I can work with them I am very appreciative. I spent most of last year working on animations for their live show, which blows me away that it accompanies their mind-blowing live music. Currently, I'm working with Maynard (Tool, Perfect Circle) on art and animation for his side-band Puscifer. He's hired me to do a few videos for him. The first one is wild, I had him scanned into 3D and am now using motion capture technology to make him a master break-dancer and river-dancer. It's some of the most favorite work I've been able to do so far, I just don't want to say too much about it at this point. Maynard is an amazing genius, he has more focus and drive to create than I've ever seen in a human. That is if he is indeed human….. I'm also going to be doing various other projects with TOOL later this year if they don't get sick of me first."
Jon Beinart - "Has most of your recent work in digital art and animation been collaborative or on commission. If so, do you miss having the creative freedom to explore your own vision or have you been given this freedom when bringing other peoples concepts to life?"
Meats Meier - "I would say that most of the work that I do is just for myself, working on personal projects, having fun, experimenting with new technologies, and making myself happy doing the artwork that I want to do. In my career so far, I have always turned down paid projects until the time when I need money. I'm way more stoked to have free time than extra money in the bank. It's kept me from having lots of money, but money isn't something I've ever really cared about in the first place. I'm glad that I have the ability to pick and choose the projects that I want to work on. I make instructional DVD's (through the Gnomon Workshop), and the royalties from those disks pay most of my life expenses, so I can always focus on my craft without worrying about a 9 to 5 job."
Jon Beinart - "Do you have any spiritual beliefs and if so, how relevant are they to your art? What do you hope to achieve in life before you die?"
Meats Meier - "I was raised in a Mormon household in Salt Lake City, Utah. I was baptized a Mormon, but don't believe in their organized religion, so I am considered a "Jack-Mormon" as you cannot wash those things off. I actually taught myself to draw when I was younger because of the intense boredom of the religious sermons. I filled the back of the Hymn sheets Sunday after Sunday with silly drawings of the people around me to help pass the time. I hope to just get to the point of not having to work anymore (for outside clients) so that I can focus on the new art tools that are on the horizon. I don't need a lot in my life, just freedom and happiness."
Jon Beinart - "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were from Utah (excuse the lame joke ripped off from Orgasmo). Well it’s a good thing you spent all of that time drawing in church. Are your parents supportive of your art?"
Meats Meier - "I have the most supportive parents possible. My Mom and Dad have always been major cheerleaders for me. My dad bought me my first pencils and computers (Vic 20, then the Amiga and Dpaint), and my first airbrush. My Mom always said that I could be anything I wanted to be, and made me feel like I could achieve anything. My grandma was an art teacher and did oil paintings, so I was exposed to a lot of art early in life, and have always known what I wanted to be when I grew up."
Jon Beinart - "Meats is a very unusual name. Is it short for something or made up?"
Meats Meier - "My real name is James. I got the name Meats in high school. There was a restaurant across the street called "Meier's Meats", so it was easy for my friends to switch it around and start calling me that. Once I started doing airbrush paintings, I signed them with the Meats name, and once I moved to California, I started fresh and just became Meats full time. James died the day I left Salt Lake City."
Jon Beinart - "Ah, so Meats is not a traditional Mormon name ;) Thank you for your time Meats. I really enjoyed this interview! Any exciting news in the world of Meats Meier that you would like to pass on to our readers? Any upcoming exhibitions, projects, publications or DVDs in the works?"
Meats Meier - "Thanks, Jon, It was a pleasure!
I've got a few art shows lined up - I have a few pieces in a traveling digital art show that is currently going around the world, it's called Sumus Vivinae, and it includes a lot of really talented digital artists. I was also invited to create a piece for a group show in October curated by Chet Zar in Los Angeles. I've also just finished the "Introduction to Zbrush 3" training DVD, which (I hear) is very much anticipated. Zbrush has just come out, and there isn't currently a lot of learning material for it. I was a lead beta tester on this version (with Pixologic, the creator of the software), so I've been lucky to be able to study it for a while…."
Andy Huang, creator of the animation: 'Doll Face' used personal funds to manifest his vision. The concept was originally conceived from a series of paintings he did at high school, but he felt that Surrealist imagery alone without the addition of time would fall short of effectively conveying his idea. He was able to produce the Doll Face animation at a relatively low cost, the major cost being his time.
Andy almost quit before he had started because he feared he wouldn't be able to pull off the complex imagery he had in his head. Fortunately for us he did finish 'Doll Face' and here it is in all of its glory (to the right).
Andy Huang's heroes include Michael Gondry, Chris Cunningham, Norman McClaren, Jordan Belson & Jan Svankmajer.
'Fantastic Planet' is the English title of The French and Czech full feature animation 'La Planète sauvage' (literally "The Savage Planet"). This psychedelic cult masterpiece was directed in 1973 by René Laloux (based on a French novel titled 'Oms en Série', written by Stefan Wul). Fantastic Planet rightfully won the special jury prize at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival. Artist 'Roland Topor' was responsible for the fantastic imagery brought to life in the film.
The planet Draag is populated by 'Oms' (who look human) and The giant 'Draags' (an intelligent species who keep Oms as pets and are mainly preoccupied with meditation). Strange (Hieronymus Bosch like) creatures roam the landscape, including a cackling creature which traps tiny fluttering animals in its cage-like beak, shakes the life out of them and hurls them to the ground.
Fantastic Planet is an analogy about our destructive relationship with nature, amoung other things (or at least that was my interpretation), but whether you wish to ponder the meaning of this film or just enjoy the seductive imagery and psychedelic score with a head full of acid, this film must be viewed…. By all ;)
Many of you have probably gathered by now that I have a particular appetite for dark art & animation, but especially when humor is involved. Some people may find the Interactive stop-animation, 'Play With Me' disturbing.
In 2002 Van Sowerwine collaborated with Melbourne based animator Isobel Knowles to create this incredible interactive feat. 'Play With Me' introduces a domestic scene starring an adorable doll. All seems perfectly innocent until the viewer is prompted to click on objects and lead her through a variety of traumatic sequences. She neurotically rocks herself, throws tantrums, scratches her hand until it bleeds, drinks draino and in one sequence she even scrapes out her own eyes. But the subtleties are what makes this animation. Her sad demeanor, expressive eyes and life like mannerisms are very convincing. This complimented by a dull screeching sound scape (composed by Cornel Wilczek & Phillip Pietruschka) draws the viewer into the life of a seriously disturbed child. Enjoy ;)
I'm sure many of you have stumbled upon 'The Tale of How' on your cyber travels since it spread like a virus over popular blogs, forums and social networking sites. The stunning psychedelic animation was created by a passionate group who call themselves The Black Heart Gang. Each member of this close group of friends contributed their own unique talent and skill to form the perfect collaborative dynamic. Tale of How was produced over a period of nine months in the collaborators spare time with no budget!!
I first saw this Animation when the illustrator of the group 'Ree Treweek' registered on our own Surreal Art Forum and introduced the project to our forum members. Although the story, style and aesthetic of The Tale of How is very unique, I would personally describe the experience as a Tim Burton, Danny Elfman & Doctor Seuss combo on a large dose of LSD (and I draw this comparison with great appreciation and respect).
Visit the official Black Heart Gang website for a high resoution version of The Tale of How.
Here is an excerpt of Ree's post on our forum:
'The Blackheart Gang is a collective of friends with a passion for creating stories. The idea for The Tale of How was to create something original, inspiational, beautiful and sincere. The story is the second part of a three part story, developed by Ree Treweek and Markus Smit. Markus wrote the story and the music. Ree developed the characters, and drew all the elements for the world. Jannes Hendrikz composited, sylised and directed the animation process & Justin Baker was head 3d animator and modeller.'
Sally Cruikshank has made many bizarre animated films, all of them involving colorful surreal environments and characters. Much of her imaginative and dreamlike style is the result of Max Fleischer's influence in her work. Fans of Twilight Zone might remember the weird animated Hell sequence she did for the 80's film version of the series. She also made a strange music video for Oingo Boingo.
Click the following titles to view some of Cruikshank's other animated worlds.
Quasi At The Quackadero
Face Like A Frog
Make Me Psychic
You can view a selection of Sally Cruikshank's colorful paintings in this photoset on Flickr. To see more works by Sally visit her website "Fun On Mars" where she has a blog, artwork for sale and additional animations on view.
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