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The Animator’s Art
Free from commercial restraints, animators explore their art
After WWII, animation was increasingly recognised as a vital art form in its own right. Commercial work put food on their plates, but animators longed for creative freedom, and many production companies and determined animators created independent works in between paid gigs. Unshackled from commercial concerns, the resulting films were often daring in their pursuit of abstraction or personal expression. Meanwhile, many artists from other media have found that animation adds a vital new dimension to their work. But while such films were celebrated in their community they were rarely shown more widely. This collection showcases often hard-to-see examples of the animator's art at its purest and most individual.
13 Cantos of Hell13 Cantos of Hell
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1955 20 mins
Follow Dante through Hell in this progressive silhouette animation with a musique concrète soundtrack by talented sculptor Peter King
Green Men, Yellow WomanGreen Men, Yellow Woman
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1973 4 mins
Even Clark Gable doesn’t live up to his image in this off-beat cartoon about a woman fed up with the attentions of little green men
Animated GenesisAnimated Genesis
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1952 22 mins
Arachnophobes beware! This colourful allegorical abstraction of life from creation to near destruction casts greed as a giant spider
Damon the MowerDamon the Mower
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1972 4 mins
A stripped back animated masterpiece from the director of Yellow Submarine (1968), based on an poem by Andrew Marvell
XeroscopyXeroscopy
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1970 1 minsSilent
If you were electrocuted by a photocopier in the 70s and your life flashed before you, it might look a little something like this…
Boolean ProcedureBoolean Procedure
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1980 23 mins
Innovative short that is equal parts Beckett, Gilliam, Orwell and life advice for the recently redundant. Yes, really.
Two FacesTwo Faces
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1968 4 mins
An abstract poetic tale that tells both one and a thousand stories of love and loss, by a designer on The Beatles Yellow Submarine film
The WardrobeThe Wardrobe
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1958 2 minsSilent
A fun minimalist cartoon with a delightfully absurd logic, from the director of Yellow Submarine
New Computer to help AnimatorsNew Computer to help Animators
News 1981 3 mins Location: Cambridge
Character animator Chris James, a Grierson Award nominee, chats to Anglia TV at the Cambridge Animation Festival in 1981.
Painter and Poet No. 1Painter and Poet No. 1
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1951 9 mins
“An experiment in words, music and paintings” two poems are illustrated for the BFI’s contribution to the Festival of Britain
The Pecking OrderThe Pecking Order
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1989 5 mins
A beautifully painted animated critique of modern intensive farming methods
Painter and Poet No. 2Painter and Poet No. 2
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1951 1 mins
Surreal journeys, stormy seas and macabre surprises await in this “experiment in words, music and paintings” made for the Festival of Britain
The MirocleThe Mirocle
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1976 13 mins
It’s all me, me, me – this experimental animation on the Self wittily wraps up Jung and old philosophies in a clever Paul Klee-inspired design
That NoiseThat Noise
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1961 2 mins
Fall truly, madly, deeply in love with this animated proto-music video from Godfrey, Lacey and Newly
NowNow
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1969 8 minsSilent
A film by an early British pioneer of computer generated filmmaking.
TracksTracks
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1989 28 mins
A feminist collage/essay film that takes a critical look at certain feminist theories.
StanleyStanley
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1979 4 mins
What’s the matter, cat got your tongue? This dark, sultry cartoon encounter with a feline might leave you lost for words.
Painter and Poet No. 3Painter and Poet No. 3
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1951 6 mins
Henry Moore is among the contributors to this experimental mix of verse and illustration, commissioned by the BFI for the Festival of Britain
The TransformerThe Transformer
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1968 2 mins
All aboard! Step on the psychedelic animation train with this film festival promo from the artists behind Yellow Submarine (1968)
John GilpinJohn Gilpin
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1951 10 mins
The History of John Gilpin becomes even more diverting when paired with illustrations by Ronald Searle
UpUp
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1970 1 minsSilent
What these guys would give for a floating house and some balloons… a short, sharp, animated statement on life’s struggles
Muybridge RevisitedMuybridge Revisited
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1986 5 mins Location: Fulham
Iconic images by photo-pioneer Eadweard Muybridge come to life in this striking video collage.
Football FreaksFootball Freaks
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1971 6 mins
Do not adjust your set! This off-beat jukebox cartoon is definitely more freaky than footbally
TimeTime
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1990 5 mins
Exploring the relationship between light and shade as expressed both in Nicholas Breton's (c1600) poem Time and Chopin's Berceuse in D flat.
Love Is AllLove Is All
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1999 4 mins
In a winter wonderland with Deanna Durbin and the queen of the snow. A fairytale for the future, this perfectly pitched monochrome affection will have you yearning with immaculate desire.
Spirit of PlaceSpirit of Place
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1992 10 mins
Well met by moonlight – room service for the spirit. A one-take dream in Cocteauesque monochrome.
Amore BaciamiAmore Baciami
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1988 3 mins
Animation based on the typefaces and scripts of the 1920s and 1930s set to an Italian song of the 1950s.
Family TreeFamily Tree
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1988 6 minsSilent
Green fingers produce blue hands. A surreal, brooding animation from a future Oscar winner