CalArts 1
Date: May 16th, 2009, 7 p.m. + 11 p.m. – part of Animation Night
Location: Top Kino [Info]
This year in the VIS series “Animation Schools of the World”, supervised since four years by Thomas Renoldner, the Animation Department of the California Institute of the Arts will be represented with two top notch programmes.
FILM PROGRAMME 1: CalArts – MoMA Retrospective
Nitemare, John Lasseter, USA 1980
Whoopass Stew, Craig McCracken, USA 1992, 3 min
Small Fry, Stevie Wermers, USA 1993, 2 min
Dance Mania, Max Weintraub, USA 1997, 3 min
Sausage City, Adam Beckett, USA 1974, 6 min
The Mysterians, Kathy Rose, USA 1973, 6 min
Luma Nocturna, Dennis Pies, USA 1974, 4 min
Papier Animes, Paul Demeyer, USA 1979, 4 min
Phases, Henry Selick, USA
Animus, Gary Schwartz, USA 1981/82, 5 min
Son of Satan, J. J. Villard, USA 2003, 10 min
> FILM PROGRAMME 2: CalArts – Animation Students 2008
The world famous California Institute of the Arts could be somewhat casually called the “Art Academy of Hollywood”. It was founded in 1961 by Walt and Roy Disney, merging a pre-existent music conservatoire and an art academy. And ever since it has pursued the concept of linking the most diverse “visual” and “dramatic” arts – with the object of “encouraging innovation and experimentation”. Today the school offers bachelor and master programmes in Art, Art Theorie, Music, Dance, Film and Theatre.
It is noteworthy that the Academy makes a point of theoretic and historic work, offering its own “School of Critical Studies” and also valuing critical analysis in the animation department. The well known and innovative theorist William Moritz, who was sadly taken from us too soon, was “at home” at CalArts, today Maureen Furniss is regarded as one of the most internationally acclaimed theorists in the area of “Animated Culture”. William Moritz and Maureen Furniss vividly represent the “spirit” of CalArts, that distinguishes itself through its intellectual openness in dealing with animation – between Pop Culture and Avant-Garde.
Training for animation takes place at the „Faculty Film/Video“, currently under the direction of Steve Anker. Alongside “Film and Video”, “Film Directing” and “Integrated Media”, this department offers two programmes for animation, which represent the afore-mentioned counter poles: “Character Animation” and “Experimental Animation”.Surprisingly though, some of the commercially most successful alumni hail from the “Avant-Garde” branch. While PIXAR-founder John Lasseter (Toy Story) and Tim Burton graduated in “Character Animation”, graduates of “Experimental Animation” include Tim Burton’s animation director Henry Selick and “Spongebob”-originator Stephen Hillenburg (who selected both courses). More internationally famed graduates of “Experimental Animation” include Amy Krawitz, Steven Subotnick, Paul Demeyer, Mark Osborne, Christine Panushka, Joanna Priestley and Kathy Rose.