Claude Monet at the Flint Institute of Arts
When the Flint Institute of Arts brings in a painting by your favorite artist of all time, and it's one that you have never seen in person before, driving to Flint becomes a moral imperative.
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| The Sheltered Path, 1873. Claude Monet |
Harryhausen in Kalamazoo
One of my friends turned me on to an event in Kalamazoo, the Ray Harryhausen collection--one filled with models and artwork from his films but also valuable instructional information on how he achieved his groundbreaking special effects. Wish I could've taken all my History of Animation students there.
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| This is Dynamation!!! |
Butterflies and Lanterns
Spring wouldn't be complete without a trip to Meijer Gardens for their Butterflies are Blooming event and then a side-trip to the John Ball Zoo for their Chinese Lantern Festival.
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| Tiger Longwing Heliconius Ismenius |
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| The "Hou" |
Dragon Forest
Much like the Chinese Lantern Festival event in Grand Rapids, attending the Detroit Zoo's Dragon Forest event was part business, part pleasure. I was fascinated by the detail in the statues, but even moreso with the animatronics and how the sensors were set up to make the whole event interactive. But the 12 year old kid inside me who grew up playing Dungeons and Dragons was absolutely giddy with excitement when encountering all these mythical beasts.
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| Fire Dragon |
DIA Research
This year, I spent a fair amount of time looking into abstract animation. When I came across one of the few books written about visual music posted online, I tried to find my own. However, didn't want to plunk down the cash before taking a look at it. Fortunately, it was the Detroit Institute of Arts to the rescue! After reviewing the book in their on-site library, I added a copy to my own collection of animation books.
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| Visual Music: Synaesthesia in Art and Music Since 1900 |
Ottawa
In addtion to enjoying the animated films at this year's Ottawa International Animation Festival, I made sure to keep an eye out for interesting and unique works of art as I walked around Canada's capital city.
Art Nouveau
I've always liked the Art Nouveau style though I must admit it was only at a surface level. I'd appreciate the technique but never dug deeper into the history. Enter the Muskegeon Museum of Art and their special exhibition on Art Nouveau. Had never known about the sculpture and furniture that came out of this movement. Afterwards, one of my friends, having heard my desire to learn more, gave me an early Christmas present: a beautiful hardcover book on Alphonse Mucha.
History Lessons
So sometimes you read a student's paper and it causes you to reevaluate what you're teaching. One the assignments in my history class is an analysis paper on the one film I've shown in class that they liked the least.
After reading a student's paper on why they didn't like Rhythmus 21, I went back to that section of my lecture and reread what I had written about Hans Richter and Viking Eggling. To put it mildly, my summary was a mess. After revisiting my initial research—which including multiple textbooks on animation history and Swedish cinema history as well as Louise O'Konor's biograpy on Viking Eggling—I rewrote my summary on Richter and Eggling’s working relationship then issued a clarification to my students. Humble pie never tastes good, but it's a necessary meal to have.
Candelight by Fever
In what's becoming a yearly tradition, the week before Christmas, I attended a candlelight string quartet performance at the downtown Methodist Church--an evening of classic and contemporary Christmas carols.
But, as the year draws to an end and Christmas is this week, I'm reminded about what the season really means--as so eloquently stated by Charles Shultz.
I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you all for your support over the years.
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