Global Animation Theory: International Perspectives at Animafest Zagreb

289 Pages·2018·2.252 MB·English

by  Franziska Bruckner, Holger Lang, Nikica Gilic, Daniel Šuljic, Hrvoje Turkovic

Global Animation
Theory
i
ii
Global Animation
Theory
International Perspectives
at Animafest Zagreb
Edited by
Franziska Bruckner, Nikica Gili c´ ,
Holger Lang, Daniel Š ulji c´ and
Hrvoje Turkovi c´
iii
BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC
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BLOOMSBURY, BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC and the Diana logo are trademarks of
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First published in the United States of America 2019
Copyright © Franziska Bruckner, Nikica Gili c ´ , Holger Lang, Daniel Š ulji c´ , Hrvoje Turkovi c´ ,
and Contributors, 2019
Cover image © Zlatka Salopek
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Bruckner, Franziska, editor. | Gilic, Nikica, editor. | Lang, Holger, 1964– editor. |
Suljic, Daniel, 1941– editor. | Turkovic, Hrvoje, editor. | Animafest Scanner.
Title: Global animation theory : international perspectives at Animafest Zagreb / edited by
Franziska Bruckner, Nikica Gilic, Holger Lang, Daniel Suljic, and Hrvoje Turkovic.
Description: New York : Bloomsbury Academic, Bloomsbury Publishing Inc, 2018. |
“This anthology is based on a selection of the most relevant and interesting presentations
from the fi rst three editions of the Symposium for Contemporary Animation Studies,
Animafest Scanner.” | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifi ers: LCCN 2018040037 | ISBN 9781501337130 (hardback : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781501337154 (epdf)
Subjects: LCSH: Animated fi lms—Congresses. | Animation (Cinematography—Congresses.
Classifi cation: LCC NC1765 .G62 2018 | DDC 791.43/34—dc23 LC record available at
https://lccn.loc.gov/2018040037
ISBN : HB : 978-1-5013-3713-0
e PDF : 978-1-5013-3715-4
eBook: 978-1-5013-3714-7
Typeset by Refi neCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk
To fi nd out more about our authors and books visit w ww.bloomsbury.com
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iv
CONTENTS
Foreword ix
Giannalberto Bendazzi
Introduction xi
Franziska Bruckner, Nikica Gilic ´ , Holger Lang,
Daniel Š ulji c´ and Hrvoje Turkovi c ´
Section 1 Historical and Theoretical Approaches
from International Animation Studies
1 Animation since 1980: A Personal Journey 3
Marcin Giz ˙ ycki
2 Animation in the Gallery and the Gestalt: Gyö rgy
Kov á sznai and William Kentridge 11
Paul Wells
3 On Analogical Thinking: Jan Š vankmajer’s J abberwocky
and Alice 29
Mareike Sera
4 The Successful Chorus of ‘The Second Wave’:
An Examination of Feminism’s ‘Manifesto’ of
Digital Art 51
Chunning Guo (Maggie)
5 Seeking Truth in Facts: Historicizing Chinese
Animation 61
Olga Bobrowska
v
vi CONTENTS
6 Austria Unlimited – Chances, Spirits and Limitations
of a Small Production Environment 83
Holger Lang
7 Beyond Self-i mages: The Context and Development of
Animated Documentaries, the Cornerstones of Modern
Animation in Sweden 99
Midhat Ajanovic ´ -Ajan
Section 2 Case Studies from Around the World
8 Short Circuits: On the Impact of the Flipbook in the
Work of Robert Breer 117
Edwin Carels
9 ‘. . . The Film Is Not About That’: Notes on (Re)Reading
Tale of Tales 143
Mikhail Gurevich
10 The Importance of Ranko Muniti´c ’s Work on the Zagreb
School of Animation 163
Andrijana Ru ž i c´
11 Animation Experienced through Music: Tomislav Simovi´c
and the Zagreb School of Animation 177
Irena Paulus
12 The Puppet as Not-Puppet: The Notion of Puppet
as ‘Human in Theatrical Performance’ in the Works of
Barry Purves (the Case of S creen Play ) 197
Fatemeh Hosseini-Shakib
13 Subversive Machinery: DIY Method in the Work of
Julian Antonisz 213
Micha ł Bobrowski
CONTENTS vii
14 Lynsey Martin: A Case Study of 1970s Australian
Experimental Animation 233
Dirk de Bruyn
List of Contributors 253
Index 259
viii
FOREWORD
Giannalberto Bendazzi
‘But what does that all m ean ?’, asked Samantha, after having examined a
Joan Miró painting. The professor had answered that same question a
thousand times. She was a patient person.
You see the contrasts of the colours, and the balance of the structure,
don’t you? This is the painting’s language. Relax and let it speak to you.
Imagine you are watching a tropical sunset. You instinctively let the
sunset speak to you. You recall many beautiful things you have
experienced; you would like to have your boyfriend next to you. You are
giving your meaning to the sunset. Other people give their own meanings,
which are possibly the opposite of yours.
Moral: Samantha still lacked an art theory, while the professor had one.
What, then, is an art (in our case, an animation) theory?
Pragmatically – not philosophically – we could say that it is any intellectual
structure that helps us to better appreciate and understand art (in our case,
animation).
An art theory may be a recipe. Although you will barely fi nd examples of
a successful work of art created by abiding a written or unwritten law, artists
have often obeyed precepts that they share among themselves: a religion, a
political party’s ideology, or a moral cause.
An art theory may be a viewers’ guide, too. Barocco, Art Nouveau,
Pop Art, are labels attached to some practitioners’ common stylistic
approaches.
An art theory may have a lot to do with market and marketing, audiences’
tastes, or audiences’ understanding. Mass communication is full of dos and
don’ts, of rules and manuals that practitioners are supposed to learn by
heart and follow through.
An art theory should not be mistaken with the aesthetics of a philosopher’s
system. The latter is consequential to a major mindset that contains
ethics, metaphysics and so on, while a good art theory is a generalization
based on the actual works. Italian N eorealismo is a good example for what
I mean.
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