Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Siggraph Day 2
The Siggraph trade show opened today to its usual craziness. Digital artists and animators jockied for space to glimpse latest products and releases. The major population of this conference look to be job seekers trying to break into the world of digital animation. Lines quickly queued up for folks to turn in their reels and resumes to the likes of Blue Sky, Lucasfilm, Disney and Pixar.
Today's big presentations were very inspiring. Catherine Owens Catherine Owens is a visual artist that is also a homegirl with Bono and the U2 boys. She has created the visuals for the last four U2 tours and directed the U23D movie. She is an accomplished artist on her own and has collaborated with Kronos Quartet and other musical groups besides U2.
This was an artist talk and her message was filled with a salute to those who have been an influence in developing her own art. These included Bruce Nauman, "an American artist of physicality and expression utilizing concept and the power of perfomance." Whe also gave tribute to Nigel Roth, Irish performance artist Allistar McLellan, feminist artist Eva Hess, an Iranian filmmaker by the name of Sharon Numshak(sic?), projection artists Douglas Gordon and Tony Owsler and high-profile video artist Bill Viola. What was significant here is that Owens was able to show how they influenced what they contributed to both her personal work and her collaborations with U2.
The talk was basically intended as a message to the young creatives of the SIGGRAPH audience to take the time to develop their own sense of taste and cultivate their influences. It was a solid presentation from an artist well-grounded with a clear style and vision. Excellent
John Lasseter is a superstar at this conference. The creative head of Pixar/Disney used Siggraph as an opportunity to introduce his accolytes and admirers to a French Canadian artist Frederic Back (pronounced bach) who creates lovely poetic color pencil-drawn films with philosophical and ecological themes. The Man that Planted Trees is among one of the most moving animated films I have ever seen. The world indeed should know about this man and his art. Back is a charming man who seemed a bit startled and overwhelmed by the response he received.
After the conversation with Back, Lasseter brought out the grand daughter of Walt Disney's partner UB IWerks, Leslie. She recently completed The Story of Pixar, a full-length Pixar commissioned film focusing on Lasseter, Ed Cantwell, and Steve Jobs and their success. It will stand as the film of record on this fascinating technological, commercial, and artistic story of our times. Good Geeky Stuff.
posted by well-executed buffet at 11:18 PM
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