Oct 26, 2017
Doodling in the Margins: Manitoba Animation
I borrowed this program title from animator Anita Lebeau, who told me that she was scolded in elementary school for doodling in the margins of her workbook.
All of the artists in this program were creative children long before they were making animations that screened around the world. I like picturing them as kids, doodling in school books, drawing pictures for their friends, and knitting and painting with their grandmothers.
Even after years of working with animators I am still in awe of anyone who can tell a story using only pictures; anyone who can bring a situation or idea to life using lines, or brush strokes, or stop motion. This program includes some of the best animated work made in Manitoba, which means some of the best animated work out there.
I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
– Monica Lowe, Curator
Please note: The program was online between October 28, 2017 and October 28, 2018.
To watch the individual titles please rent them on www.VUCAVU.com
PROGRAM
With films from Winnipeg Film Group (WFG), Video Pool (VP) and the National Film Board (NFB)
Leslie Supnet – Sun Moon Stars Rain (3.5 min | 2009) – Read Bio & Interview
An animated visual elegy, mourning the death of Mother Nature’s children. (WFG)
Alison Davis – The Origin of Ocean Rabbit (4.5 min | 2010) – Read Bio & Interview
Based on a true story, ‘The Origin of Ocean Rabbit’ is an animated tale recounting how a bizarre and tragic incident concerning my sister’s imaginary pet frog led my aunt to give me my oldest and dearest stuffed animal, Ocean Rabbit. (VP)
Brenna George – Winnipeg to Saskatoon (2.5 min | 2009) – Read Bio and Interview
A road trip video. The Canadian prairie landscape is sketched in simple forms in this on-the-move approach to landscape art. (VP)
Alison James – Construction (6 min | 2014) – Read Bio & Interview
Addressing the malleable, unreliable nature of memory, ‘Construction’ animates the collective memory of four people by use of screen printed paper dolls. (VP)
Anita Lebeau – Big Drive (10 min | 2011) – Read Bio & Interview
In an era before in-car movies and video games, 4 sisters squeeze into the back of the family car for a long journey. (NFB)
Jackie Traverse – Empty (5 min | 2009) – Read Bio & Interview
Set to music by Little Hawk, this animated and starkly honest story is a daughter’s tribute to her estranged mother. (WFG)
Neil & Cathy McInnes – Automoto (5 min | 2007) – Read Bio & Interview
A tour de force, stop-motion animation re-imagining of the filmmaking process, ‘Automoto’ takes place inside the ornately mechanized cinematic workshop of a wooden skeleton. (WFG)
Freya Björg Olafson – Flying Low (2 min | 2011) – Read Bio & Interview
Created through the use of virtual bodies found online, ‘Flying Low’ is part of the ‘Keystroke Choreographies’ series. Each of the videos in this series is a compositional study utilizing popular contemporary dance principals and techniques as a framework for virtual choreography. (VP)
Emily Baxter – Light (8.5 min | 2010) – Read Bio & Interview
‘Light’ is a lovely animation using puppets which follows an elderly artist whose frustration sees him reborn in the pursuit of a fleeting dream. (WFG)
Leslie Supnet, interviewed by Monica Lowe in the summer of 2017
Leslie Supnet is a moving image artist who utilizes animation, found media, and experimental practices on film and video. Her work has shown internationally at film festivals, galleries and microcinemas including TIFF (Short Cuts Canada), International Film Festival Rotterdam, Melbourne International Animation Festival, Experimenta India, International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, WNDX, Edge of Frame/Animate Projects, and many others. She has been commissioned by Reel Asian, Pleasure Dome / Art Spin, the8fest, Cineworks, and Film Pop! (Pop Montreal). Leslie has an MFA from York University and teaches analog and digital animation at various artist-run centres, not-for-profits and for the Faculty of Art and Continuing Studies at OCAD University.
Monica: When did you know that you were an artist?
Leslie: I always drew and started drawing fairly early in life. At some point when I reached adulthood I convinced myself that I couldn’t make money as an artist so I studied Applied Math. That was fun, but it didn’t do anything for me spiritually. I can’t pinpoint exactly when this happened, but I believe I was sitting in an office somewhere at some job staring at a spreadsheet, feeling disproportionately disappointed, grumpy and sad. I decided to pursue art and all the emotional and financial struggles that came with it. I’m still disappointed, grumpy and sad but now I have an art practice to balance it all out!
M: When did you start making animated films/videos? Was it a natural transition from drawing?
L: I took a digital animation workshop at Video Pool in 2007 and was hooked ever since. Animation was a natural extension that grew from my drawing practice as it gave the stories I wanted to tell more dimension.
M: For you, is animation a solo process or a team effort?
L: It’s a mostly solo process for me with the exception of the sound design. Working alone can be meditative, and there’s total creative freedom and control. The process of animation allows me to hear the sound of my own voice.
M:What is it that attracts you to this medium?
L: The ability to make materials come to life is what I love the most. Creating emotion through gesture in my characters, seeing light bend, dance, morph and capturing that on film. Cinema I think is the most powerful art form.
M:I would say that you have a varied animation style. In your earlier works you most often used animated cutouts (like in gains + losses), and then animated drawn characters (as in A Time is a Terrible Thing to Waste). Now it seems you are focusing more on experimental animation, like in Sun Moon Stars Rain. Is this accurate? Do you still enjoy working in all types of animation? Do you find yourself going from one style to the next or what is your process? Do different moods drive what type of animation you choose to do?
L: I first learned how to animate digitally using scanned drawings in After Effects, and from there I went through a sort of backwards timeline in terms of animation technique. I became increasingly interested in analog animation and under-the-camera processes. Experimenting with animated cut-outs and video, I moved to working with Super 8 and some experimentation with high-contrast 16mm. With film, I was finally able to achieve an aesthetic I was really happy with, that I’m focusing on right now at the moment.
M: With Sun Moon Stars Rain in particular, how did this work come about? What techniques did you utilize to make it? Is it personal or more for fun?
L: I made Sun Moon Stars Rain for the One Take Super 8 event as part of WNDX. Since I was working with film, and also since it was an in-camera edit, I knew I had to have a structured shooting plan, down to each second. The music was chosen first, and I then structured the animation to the changes in the music. Though a plan was in place, I did improvise a bit with some of the sequences. I used mostly found imagery for my materials, making cut-outs out of colour transparencies that were animated on an overhead projector, shot off of a wall.
M: Do you have any favourite artists, animators or people you look to for inspiration or mentorship?
L: The work of Winnipeg filmmakers and video artists had a huge impact in the way I thought about making moving images, like Ed Ackerman, Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan, L’Atelier national du Manitoba to name a few. So much great work is made in Winnipeg and it was and still is a source of inspiration for me. Other artists that inspire me are Sally Cruikshank, Harry Everett Smith, Amy Lockhart, Barry Doupé.
M: Do you have any advice for young animators?
L: Work hard, play hard, and watch a lot of films! Let cinema be your teacher.
M: Artistically, what’s next for you?
L: I’m working on a collaborative performance/live animation with Toronto-based artist Francesco Gagliardi, and a new 16mm sci-fi animation that I started with the PIX Film Gallery / LIFT Studio Immersion Program earlier this year.
Alison Davis, interviewed by Monica Lowe in the summer of 2017
Alison Davis is an animator based in Winnipeg, Canada. While she always produces work frame-by-frame, her animated shorts range far and wide in subject and technique. From personal experience to fantastical worlds, digitally refined to entirely hand drawn, her works explore the vast imaginative possibilities of animation as a medium.
Monica: When did you know that you were an artist? Were you always drawing as a child?
Alison: Drawing has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember but I think deciding to be an artist was a little separate from liking to draw. I had a natural inclination towards drawing when I was a kid and so I drew a lot. Because I drew a lot and developed that particular skill I was praised for it. My drawing skills brought me positive feedback and I felt it was something that made me made me unique from my peers. As I was preparing to go to University for fine arts I had to start thinking about why I wanted to make art beyond it just being something I had technical aptitude for. I began to understand art making as an exploration of ideas. Pursuing art then became this really engaging path that would allow me to be curious and learn about so many different things through the mediums of drawing, painting and animation.
M: When did you start making animated videos? Was it a natural transition from your earlier art-making?
A: I only began making animation when I entered the BFA program in Film Animation at Concordia University. The transition was pretty natural. I am the type of person that enjoys repetitive work and of course I love drawing. So repetitive drawing was a perfect fit for me. Learning to construct stories and convey ideas through images was more of a challenging process and it continues to challenge me. The challenge though is what keeps me engaged with the medium; there is always a new technique or approach I want to try.
M: Do you consider animation or video-making in general a solo or group process? How do you engage with collaborators or crew for your videos?
A: One of things I love about animation is that it is a type of filmmaking where it is possible to work alone and I almost always do. I don’t think there is a single frame in any of my work that was drawn by someone else. That being said, I absolutely need the skills of collaborators when creating the soundtracks. The music for The Origin of Ocean Rabbit was composed and performed by Pietro Amato. He is a wonderful musician who has been in the bands Bell Orchestre, The Luyas and Torngat to name just a few. I want to be able to trust that the people I work with will enhance and play off the visual elements of a film. Because of this, I look for people whose work I like and who I think have good artistic intuition.
M: What is it that attracts you to this medium to express yourself?
A: Animation is magic. Anything you can draw you can animate, and I just think that is so incredible. I also think hand drawn animation is an under-explored medium. I think about art history and all of the amazing paintings and drawings that exist in all different styles and I know that animation can be just as varied. Animation didn’t exist for very long before major studios like Warner Bros, Fleisher Studios and Disney dominated the medium. I think that shut down a lot of experimentation that could have developed because it set people’s understanding of what animation could be. I want to explore as many ways of working with animation as I am capable of.
M: I’m interested in how artists use their own life for inspiration in their work. The Origin of Ocean Rabbit seems to be a very personal story. Other animated work of yours, such as Courtship which is about your grandparents, is also based on real people and lived experiences. Do all of your animations come from real life experiences? How do you decide what to make animations about?
A: Sometimes I draw directly from my experience for my films but more often I get really excited about a particular concept or idea. The Origin of Ocean Rabbit is a silly story but at its core it is about imagination and what happens when imaginary things influence our emotions and actions. It is the idea that our imaginary worlds, especially when we are children, can have a huge impact on our lives that made me want to make this film. There are similar core concepts in my other work that I get really excited by.
M: Do you have any favourite artists, animators or people you look to for inspiration or mentorship?
A: The work of animators with the National Film Board had a huge impact on me especially Caroline Leaf and Amanda Forbes and Wendy Tilby. The NFB films were the first animations I saw that were made outside of the commercial or Hollywood system. They allowed me to see that animation could be a much broader medium than Disney or Saturday morning cartoons.
M: Do you have any advice for young artists?
A: Look for ideas that excite you whatever they might be. Filmmaking and animation specifically can be incredibly time consuming. To keep working on a project long term you need to have that spark of excitement every time you think about your original concept.
M: Artistically, what’s next for you?
A: I am working on a series of painted animated loops right now that deal with the preoccupation or paranoia people have with the thought of infection or invasion of our bodies by other organisms. I’m not sure what I’ll do once I finish this current project but I’m thinking about a few different directions and lots of ideas are percolating.
Brenna George, interviewed by Monica Lowe in the summer of 2017
Brenna George is a Winnipeg-based artist working in video and painting. Her video work has been screened nationally and internationally since 1990, at festivals ranging from Basse Normandie to New South Wales. Her drawings and paintings have been exhibited at many galleries including Artspeak and Grunt gallery in Vancouver; White Water Gallery in North Bay, Ontario. Her video work is included in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada and the Surrey Art Gallery.
Her fluid technical experiments in image editing and compositing combine with a sensibility that is humorous, visually lush and playful. Her paintings explore an identity of place, and a physical experience of Canadian landscape. Raw and gestural, they suggest the isolation of the artist in nature. Still lifes, that take as their subject banquet tables, small animals, cakes and birds, toys placed in theatrical tableaux, address her experience and that of other women. Small in scale, they are subtle and poignant investigations of the space of the domestic.
Monica: When did you know that you were an artist? Were you always drawing or creating as a child?
Brenna: I grew up in Victoria so I spent a lot of time at the beach making patterns with shells, rocks and small driftwood. A favourite at the beach was making rose hip drinking bowls and filling them with drops of water for fairies to find and use later. I was also outside in our backyard just playing with dirt and rocks and leaves and making them into things. Even in the school yard there was a massive oak tree and in grade one and two I played endlessly with the acorns. So it was more sculpture for me from the beginning and I loved being outside. Then in grade eight I switched from grade school to Central Jr. High where I had my first art class and I spent all my time in the art room. I think that is the first time that I put the title art to what I was doing. I played dungeons and dragons with the art club at lunch and then I would stay making ceramics until late at night in the art room often alone. I made lots of small animals and then large ceramic murals. In grade 10 I got my first job as a sales clerk at Victoria Book and Stationary, the local art supply store. My second job in grade 11 was a summer job as an apprentice to a potter where I learned to throw on a wheel, to fire a walk-in gas kiln and wedge 100s of pounds of clay with my feet.
M: When did you start making videos? Was it a natural transition from your earlier art-making?
B: When I was a kid in the 70’s for part of the summers my brother and sister and I would travel by bus from Victoria to Wisconsin, to Echo Lake to stay with my grandparents and every year we would make a short film. Grandpa Edward was a Presbyterian minister who painted watercolours, had a photography darkroom and made films. He loved technology and had a super 8 camera. In the films he had artistic control and we would act. One summer we made “Beat the Cluck” a fake game show where all of us cousins competed in strange events for the film. My next video experience was when another artist at Emily Carr art school had me come up to the video studio and made a video of just me dancing alone. I remember the studio on the second floor it was sort of hidden and quiet compared to the sculpture studio. It was all black with bright lights this odd environment of darkness and bright white. I loved dancing and I always danced this crazy sort of a mix of styles of punk meets talking heads kind of dancing with a bit of 20s Charleston and moves I had seen in a Fellini film.
I was pretty open to making anything, I was a lot more fluid with my art then so video was not a big transition. I love working in all mediums. I made my first video when I was in my 20’s and I was living in a communal house with other artists in Vancouver. One of the artists Laura Lamb was a video artist and she asked me to make a video with her. We made “They met in a Garden”. I made tons of small sculptures that the camera could pan around. We edited at Video In which was another black ominous space but it did have great exercise equipment to use in the communal area when we took breaks from editing. Video Out would not distribute our video because we used music clips mixed from records for our sound track. When I moved to Osler, Saskatchewan to be with a boyfriend and started “Clank” an art welding business, we explored a lot of abandoned farms looking for scrap metal in their junk piles. I became inspired by the feminine wallpaper in the abandoned farm houses and wanted to record the decaying patterns. I had little money and no equipment so I joined Video Verité in Saskatoon and had access to all the cameras and editing suites in exchange for volunteer hours. I made “Wallpaper”, it was my first solo video. I think I made more videos after that because I liked the being near other artists and painting and sculpture was isolating. Also because I am a prolific creator I had too many objects and video has a small output of physical stuff. Then Rick Fisher became my boyfriend and his only art medium is video so both of these reasons solidified video as my main medium for the next 15 years.
M: Do you consider animation or video-making in general a solo or group process? How do you engage with collaborators or crew for your videos?
B: Video for me was so much less lonely than sculpture and painting because the editing was done at artist run centres where lots of cool artists would hang out. You could see and chat with other artists making their videos and were asked to put work in distribution share and show your work, which is rare with sculpture and painting but common in video. For a while I did collaborative video with almost anyone who would ask me. I liked working with others, but slowly I just wanted to say my own thing not mesh my ideas with other people ideas. Video for me now is solo practice except for audio because I don’t think in audio, I am a visual thinker. I have commissioned a lot of great audio artists to make audio for my work. Tom Elliott, Christine Fellows, John Samson and my daughter Ozma George are a few that have taken my visual video edit and thought about it and created sound to bring it out further.
M: What is it that attracts you to this medium to express yourself?
B: I have been continuously making things since I was little and the amount of physical pieces of art that build up with my output is overwhelming. Sculpture needs massive amount of storage, painting lots of storage but video has very little object output. I like the amount of imagery that can be compressed into a video. When I started the 3/4″ tapes were big but then storage just kept shrinking, s-video, Hi-8 tapes and now it is just on chips and DVD disks.
Some of my ideas need movement or time progression that video allows. I love the progression of things in video, the moving an idea and evolving over time in a video. Editing enables such tight control of the world. Sometimes I love that precise decision making and other times I don’t like that and my nightmares used to consist of being trapped between two frames of video shuttling back and forth between them.
M: I’m interested in how artists use their own life for inspiration in their work. How much do you use your own life as a jumping off point for your art and video-making?
B: When I first started living with Rick my video was a collaborative piece with him, “Front Step”, when I had a miscarriage my video work was “Dirt, Dissolution” and “Winter”. My work closely follows my personal arc. I often abstract or generalize but sometimes it is straight on journalistic. I like work with feelings and personal experiences in other people work too.
M: Do you have any favourite artists, animators or people you look to for inspiration or mentorship?
B: My partner Rick Fisher who spent 7 years making one short video which has recently been accepted in over 60 festivals around the world. His process makes me understand the long haul of artistic drive and vision. My favourite animators are; Daniel Barrow has a beautiful drawing style and quirky ideas, Alison Davis installation animation work that references the body is though provoking and Alain Delannoy intensity /volume of drawings per animation is inspiring. I really like the white board draw your life videos you-tubers do. My 13 year old daughter Oona has her own youtube channel. Her animations have quirky ideas and strong graphic style and she collaborates with other animators. I look forward to her next post. Go subscribe to her channel because young animators need our support, Gookola is her channel.
My 16 year old daughter Ozma also inspires me because she draws effortlessly and surprises me with her inventive characters. When we draw together she has a much easier time departing from reality than I do. We drew together for five solid days when I made my video “Winter Cove Trail”. I drew the trail path at 30 foot intervals and she did a series of cubist drawings. Check out some of her digital drawings at Dewgongie.DeviantArt.com
For painters right now I am inspired by the Irish naughty drippy painter Genieve Figgis.
All the Artists in the Artist Mothers group at MAWA who make moving personalized work about mothering have been so supportive and inspirational for me for the last 7 years.
M: Do you have any advice for young artists?
B: I feel a lot of my life has been crippled financially because all I want to do is make art. I thought the world would just fill in the money bit if I just worked harder at my art and made more art and amazing art. Read the book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, it has great advice about the arts and money. Don’t expect the world to financially compensate you for being super creative or a great artist. Take care of the finances another way and then totally go for it creatively artistically with no holding back because you have nothing to lose and no constraints. Yes, I sell, get artist fees for showing and arts grants but those are so infrequent and unreliable sources. Stock up supplies when that happens but keep your work flowing/going with a daily art practice no matter how short per day because it builds ideas, skills and happiness like nothing else. Welcome to the creative side of life. Be a creator not a consumer of media. Be kind and encouraging to other creative people.
M: Artistically, what’s next for you?
B: For the past three years I have been making different series of one-a-day small oil paintings. In a way it is like very slow video. I work in large multiples like frame by frame video. My idea and subject evolves as I progress through the series. Right now I am doing 100 days of couples, taking opposing personalities and idea sets and pairing them together to explore why we choose the partners we do. I post on Instagram, Facebook and DeviantArt and I have an audience that follows me daily which encourages me to continue. I want to start making video poems of time lapse painting. Look for my upcoming youtube channel and visit my website to see what I am up to.
Alison James, interviewed by Monica Lowe in the summer of 2017
As an interdisciplinary artist with a focus on print media, Alison’s work is concerned with the development of identity through the reconstruction of autobiographical memories. Utilizing the technical aspects of her mediums, she questions the authenticity of memories which have been captured physically over time.
Monica: When did you know that you were an artist? Were you a creative child?
A: Since I can remember, I’ve always loved to draw and make. I grew up watching both my grandmothers knit and sew, and my maternal grandmother cross stitch and paint. I was fortunate to spend many afternoons learning to knit and purl, practice watercolour techniques, and fill the entirety of a driveway with sidewalk chalk each summer.
M: When did you start making animated videos? Was it a natural transition from your earlier art-making?
A: Construction is my first animated short. I created a screen printed paper doll during a residency at Atelier Graff in Montréal during the summer of 2013. After hinging it together, a member of Graff asked me if I intended to animate it. The thought had never crossed my mind, but come fall of that year, I realized animation was the right avenue for my project’s concept.
M: Do you consider animation or video-making in general a solo or group process? How do you engage with collaborators or crews for your video?
A: Not until after completing Construction did I realize how much work goes into animation. I created every aspect of the film — screen printing all the figures and cutting them out, constructing and photographing a paper-cut set, animating each figure, recording the audio, and putting it all together in After Effects and Premiere (with incredible post-production assistance and spirit-lifting from Hassaan Ashraf).
Working alone appeals to me in many ways. I enjoy the long, meditative processes of both printmaking and animation, and the requisite attention to detail. With that said, I can’t imagine being able to complete every aspect of a film alone with proficiency. From my experience, animations benefit greatly from collaboration. Nicolas Ménard’s recent short Wednesday with Goddard is a great example of this. Collaborating with artist Manshen Lo, their styles juxtapose to create a captivating atmosphere of graphite drawings and brilliant colours.
M: What is it that attracts you to this medium to express yourself?
A: My process begins with a lot of research, writing, and thinking through the concept I’m working with. With Construction, I wanted to reflect on the reconstructive process of recalling a collective memory (one shared by a group). Stop motion allowed me to animate the recollections of the four narrators with physical reconstructions of the memories themselves. Each of the 24 figures were screen printed — a reconstructive process that involves creating an image, deconstructing it to create stencils, then reconstructing the image by printing a sequence of layers. The figures were then hand-cut and assembled. The set is also a reconstruction, built-up with hand-cut layers of paper and matboard.
M: I’m interested in how artists use their own life for inspiration in their work. I would guess that Construction is a personal work as you are dealing with “the collective memory of four people” and I assume this was a situation that you lived. Am I mistaken?
A: Memory is a strong undercurrent of my work, Construction being no exception. This project began with me learning about autobiographical memory, or memory about one’s self. I wanted to understand how memories are created, and why our brains remember certain experiences and not others. William Hurst, Alexandru Cuc, and Dana Wohl’s essay “Of Sins and Virtues: Memory and Collective Identity,” altered my view of memory. Rather than seeing memory’s fallibility as a flaw, it is presented as a positive when remembering a shared experience. Remembering in a group setting strengthens personal relationships, gives members a sense of belonging, and promotes future socialization; an integral aspect of human well-being. Reflecting on collective memory, I instantly thought of my first high school party. The events of that night had been reconstructed with my friends multiple times over a period of nine years. As the animation progresses, you hear myself and three friends discuss the sequence of events, questioning one another’s recollections and filling-in sentences. Recalling this shared memory over and over again results in a conversation that feels more like a script reading than a candid interaction.
M: Do you have any favourite artists, animators or people you look to for inspiration or mentorship?
A: I return to the films of Yuriy Norshteyn often. I only experienced his and his partner Francheska Yarbusova’s work when I began developing Construction. His unparalleled technique of papercut animation and use of a multiplane camera continues to transport me into magical realms. More recently, I’ve been captivated by artist Simona Prive’s mixed media animations that combine site-specific video, printmaking, collage, and drawing.
M: Do you have any advice for young artists?
A: Volunteer! Volunteering at Martha Street Studio throughout my University education and thereafter connected me to Winnipeg’s art community in a way I wouldn’t have experienced otherwise. Volunteering not only provided me with professional opportunities, but also built my technical skills and confidence as an artist.
M: Artistically, what’s next for you?
A: I am currently working on a new series of papercut animations that will be exhibited at Martha Street Studio in 2018. I also have high hopes to knit my first sweater over the summer!
Anita Lebeau, interviewed by Monica Lowe in the summer of 2017
Anita Lebeau has worked in film for 25 years. As an animator, she has produced two award-winning short films with the National Film Board of Canada – Louise and Big Drive. She has also produced, written and directed a number of documentary films for MTS – Stories From Home. With writer Karin Adams, she brings a program called Scraphic Novels to schools in Winnipeg, through the Manitoba Arts Council’s Artists in the Schools program. Anita also teaches animation at the University of Manitoba School of Art. She is an active writer. She is currently working as an animator on the series Canot Cocasse (Media Rendezvous) and has begun work on another project with the NFB.
Monica: When did you know that you were an artist?
Anita: I’m not sure there was a specific moment when I suddenly had the realization I was an artist. I learned at school soon enough that not everyone drew all the time like I did. In grade 3 I got in big trouble because I doodled in the margins of my phonics workbook. The teacher let the class know this was inappropriate behaviour. That was my first experience at being “marginalized” as an artist (ha ha).
M: When did you start making animated films/videos? Was it a natural transition?
A: When I was twelve or so my Mom (the family carpenter) built me a light table, and I copied a series of images from a Walter T. Foster book onto a stack of papers. I wrote a letter to my Mom and Dad saying I wanted to move to Disneyland to learn how to be an animator. (They didn’t go for it.) Of course I grew up and smartened up and was heading in some other direction in life until I saw The Cat Came Back before a screening of A Fish Called Wanda. I was floored when I saw that it was created here in Winnipeg! Some years later a client of mine at the screenprinting shop I co-owned told me the NFB was looking for cel painters for a Richard Condie film. I summoned up the courage to visit an open house there and introduced myself. I was soon painting cels on The Apprentice, and a few courses and a lot of practise later (including doing items for Sesame Street and Sesame Park), I guess I “became” an animator.
M: For you, is animation a solo process or a team effort?
A: With my Film Board projects I had a team – that is, me, an assistant animator, and someone who handled the digital stuff (and other little bits of help here and there). Developing a project and early days in production are always quite solo. I also work remotely on a commercial series where the animation producer is in New Brunswick: most of the animators work from home and we communicate via Skype and Dropbox. I like working from home but I do enjoy working with a team when there is one.
M: What is it that attracts you to this medium?
A: Inventiveness, imagination – I love creating a character and bringing him/her/it to life. I love that I’m constantly learning and there’s no end to it. I love getting lost in the animated world I’m in. I love seeing what other animators do. Oh and I love it – did I mention that?
M: Your animations seem to be reflections of or inspired by your real life. For Big Drive in particular, it is all about family. Can you talk about the process of using people you know into your work? What are their reactions?
A: I have a really cool family and I’ve had some great experiences with them. It’s hard not to draw on “them and those”. So far everyone’s been cool with it. They’ve really embraced Louise – really, it belongs to the whole family now. The girls in Big Drive are based on my sisters, but aren’t entirely “them” (the names I gave them in the film are versions of our godmothers’ names). Big Drive was mostly about an experience, the common-themed long drive as a family. We really knew how to make the most of it as kids.
M: Do you have any favourite artists, animators or people you look to for inspiration or mentorship?
A: All animators inspire me. I’ve been a fan of all the old stuff (Warner Bros, Disney, etc) and have a particular love of work by Hayao Miyazaki and Michael Dudok de Wit. I love some of the experimental stuff the NFB has done in the past, especially those by Caroline Leaf, Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby.
M: Artistically, what’s next for you?
A: I’m starting a new project with the NFB, and that, along with my commercial work and teaching, will keep me busy for the next year and a half or so. I have a few other projects on the back burner and hope to launch into those at the best (and soonest) possible moment. This includes more writing, a commercial interstitial series for toddlers, and a sculpture project. When real life stops interfering with my art, I’ll happily become that Grade 3 kid all over again, doodling in the margins.
Jackie Traverse, interviewed by Monica Lowe in the summer of 2017
Jackie Traverse is a graduate from the School of Fine Arts at the University of Manitoba. She is an Anishinabe from Lake St. Martin, First Nations. Jackie works in all mediums from sculpture, mixed media, and video She has created several short films including a stop-motion animation on missing and murdered women in Canada as she is deeply moved by the injustices faced by First Nations people.
Through her art she expresses her ideas and opinions while striving to inspire dialogue on addressing her people’s social issues. Jackie’s painting is truly where her heart lies. She feels the strongest spiritual connection with all that she creates. Her happiest moments are when she is painting.
Monica: When did you know that you were an artist?
Jackie: When I was four I knew.
M: When did you start making animated films/videos? Was it a natural transition from painting?
J: I tried to express stories with other mediums. Animation was the only one that felt right to me.
M: For you, is animation a solo process or a team effort?
J: No it’s not a solo process. I’m creative but I don’t do the editing or filming.
M: What is it that attracts you to this medium?
J: I like stop motion animation because I am able to tell my stories with it.
M: Your animations (and paintings) are very personal. Would you say that they are reflections of your real life? For Empty in particular, it is about your relationship with your mother but also about how her death affected you as a young girl. Can you talk about the process of using events from your life in your work? Is it cathartic?
J: I use events from my life because it’s the one thing I am 100% sure of and I feel there are many stories similar to mine.
M: Do you have any favourite artists, animators or people you look to for inspiration or mentorship?
J: No favourites but I do enjoy Alison Davis and Leslie Supnet.
M: Artistically, what’s next for you?
J: I have bits and pieces of a film that need to be edited I’m hoping to find help to do this but mainly painting. I’m working on a new series.
Neil & Cathy McInnes, interviewed by Monica Lowe in the summer of 2017
Born and raised in Winnipeg, Neil McInnes started in animation in Winnipeg and moved to Toronto to work as an illustrator. He returned to Winnipeg and formed Audience animation Inc. to pursue his love of animation. He and partner Cathy McInnes directed many animated projects through their production company. Neil McInnes taught animation, graphic design, and the history of graphic design at Red River College and left teaching in 2011 to work full time on personal projects. The award-winning short animated films Boardinghouse, Transformer, and Lovehound have shown internationally and been bought by television stations worldwide including the BBC, RTP Portugal and the Comedy Network. Cathy and Neil were both founding members of the Manitoba Society for Independent Animators – Neil as past president and Cathy as past executive director.
Monica: When did you know that you were artists? Did you draw or sculpt when you were children?
Neil: I was fascinated by making things. My family was always involved in it and for me, at an early age, creating something from nothing seemed a source of magic.
Cathy: My father was an avid reader and very interested in the art of writing. From that I learned to love writing stories and making some sets, characters and clothing.
M: When did you start making animated films/videos? Was it a natural transition from your earlier art-making?
Neil: I became very interested in illustration and filmmaking in college so animation seemed to be a natural path after that.
Cathy: I started in animation by doing cel painting for Neil’s films and then story consultant as our work together became more involved.
M: I am asking everyone if animation is a solo process or a team effort but since you made Automoto together I think we can assume that it is a team effort. Plus you engaged a large crew to help you make this film (large compared to the other works in this program). Can you talk about working with a crew to accomplish your goal? Is it hard to communicate your vision and (potentially) let some of the control go? Does having a co-director help this process?
Neil: I worked both ways. Solo at first but I wouldn’t really recommend it to everyone. The process of making a film goes on for many, many years that way. Filmmaking in general is a collaborative process and because of the intensity of labour involved in animation it think should really be a group effort.
Neil and Cathy: Automoto was most collaborative of all the film projects. We had extraordinary luck in many aspects of doing that film. Neil was teaching design at the time so he was able to carefully select former and current students that he thought would work well. Everyone rose to the occasion. The story was roughly laid out but we were all on a common wavelength.
Because of the talent of everyone all scenes were collaboratively embellished without any conflict whatsoever.
It’s worth mentioning that the budget itself was what would be considered an honorarium and I would say that everyone worked below minimum wage, in some cases for free and it was collectively a labour of love.
We finished a film with a small crew that should have taking at least three years, with a budget that needed to be ten times what it should have been and completed it in a record nine months. We couldn’t be more impressed and grateful towards those that worked on it.
M: What is it that attracts you to this medium to tell stories, as opposed to live action with actors for example?
Neil: As a child I was fascinated by early animation. I also very interested in drawing so as a young adult it seemed like the way to go.
Cathy: I’ve always loved the different visual worlds that animation could create.
M: Would you say that Automoto is a personal work? Is it inspired by real people or events?
Neil: Automoto was a commissioned film to commemorate 30 years of the Winnipeg Film Group. It seemed like a natural idea to do a film that reflected the process of filmmaking from script to screen in a re-imagined way.
M: Do you have any favourite artists, animators or people you look to for inspiration or mentorship?
Neil: My tastes in animation are varied. I admire the work of experimental pioneer Norman McLaren, The early work of the Fleischer brothers, Micheal Dudok de Wit and the single films of so many others. I actually consider myself as a designer that has done animated films but I’m very interested in all visual arts. The inspiration I get is from all things visual.
Cathy: In animation I would say Jan Svankmajer and Jiri Barta. Like Neil, animation is only part of what I do. I consider myself more of a visual artist and animation is only one aspect of my interests.
M: Do you have any advice for young animators?
Neil: I would say that collaboration with like-minded individuals is the way to go. It’s not for everyone but at very least it’s a good way to get started. Above all I would say it’s imperative to keep the idea simple when you’re starting out. Any short sentence could take many months to do.
M: Artistically, what’s next for you both?
Neil: I’m currently working on a semi documentary film with John Paskievich as well as personal sculptural pieces.
Cathy: I’m currently working on textile projects.
Freya Björg Olafson, interviewed by Monica Lowe in the summer of 2017
Freya Björg Olafson is an intermedia artist who works with video, audio, painting and performance. Her creations have been presented and exhibited internationally at festivals and galleries such as the Plug In Institute for Contemporary Art (Winnipeg), InterAccess Electronic Media Arts Centre (Toronto), Winnipeg Art Gallery, O.K. Centrum (Linz, Austria), Kling&Bang Gallen (Reykjavik, Iceland) and SECCA-South Eastern Centre for Contemporary Art (North Carolina, USA).
Monica: When did you know that you were an artist? Were you a creative child?
Freya: I don’t recall any definitive moment where I realized I was artist; it was always a part of my life. My family supported creative thinking and making; my father is an artist and art teacher, there were always materials in the home. My mother imparted her interest in various dance forms to both my sister and I from a young age. In my youth I was very involved in sports: competitive swimming, cross-country skiing and triathlon. In grade six I was accepted into the professional division of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and was told I would need to give up on my cross-country skiing. I left the program part way through the year because of this request and went over to the School of Contemporary Dancer’s Junior Professional Program for grade seven and eight, where I got to wear men’s suits, army boots and crush pop cans onstage; much to my liking. In grade nine, I decided to focus on dance for its combination of physicality and artistry instead of skiing. I re-auditioned and was accepted to the professional program at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in order to pursue high level of technical training; although I always knew I was interested in broader performance styles and forms than solely ballet. Alongside my dance interest at an early age I had feedback from others about my abilities to draw, rendering horses for friends who liked my drawings. In grade 11 I began to spend time at Graffiti Art Gallery where my visual arts skills continued to be fostered and encouraged by Steve Wilson. It was that same year my dad brought home a Hi-8 / digital 8 video camera from his school; this is where my intrigue with moving images began.
M: When did you start making animated videos? Was it a natural transition from your earlier art-making? Do you consider yourself a dancer or performer first?
F: My first animated work was created in 2010, as part of my series AVATAR. This work called ‘2B’ utilized a customizable digital body online to perform onscreen. My work often emerges from image-based processes; I created and exhibited paintings, drawings and video works before I ever choreographed or performed my own work. Engaging with digital bodies through animation was a natural evolution for my work.
M: Do you consider animation or video-making in general a solo or group process? How do you engage with collaborators or crew for your video?
F: To date most of my work in video and / or animation has been a solo process. The vital relationship between performing for the camera and negotiating the framing / composition is a process that I rarely bring collaborators into. In my recent animation work, the ‘performers’ are digital bodies that are manipulated by my keystrokes. Most recently I have worked with a cameraless motion capture suit to animate readymade 3D bodies through the game creation software called Unity. The above digital processes have led me to use cameraless techniques to create single channel video work; often I rely on utilizing screencapture recording software.
M: What is it that attracts you to this medium to express yourself?
F: Animation conflates my abilities in still image creation / composition (ie: drawing and painting) with the time-based practice of moving images (performance / dance). The theatrical stage stands essentially as a fixed screen, the sensibilities I developed through creation and performance in ‘real 3d life’ offer a unique perspective to digital creation / flat screen. I am increasingly intrigued by the digital representation of life and bodies; and fascinated by the uncanny, disturbing, sensations and feelings these representations elicit.
M: Would you say that Flying Low is a personal work? What was your inspiration?
F: ‘Flying Low’ is perhaps only a personal work in the extent that I made it when I was dealing with injuries that were limiting my ability to do physical research. It is at this time I resorted to working with found digital bodies. ‘Flying Low’ is part of a series called ‘Keystroke Choreographies’ which are compositional studies utilizing popular contemporary dance principles & techniques as a framework for the virtual choreography.
The title ‘Flying Low’ is the actual name of a popular contemporary dance training technique, which focuses on the dancers’ relationship with the floor. Developed by David Zambrano, it offers simple movement patterns that involve breath, speed and the release of energy throughout the body in order to activate the relationship between the center and the joints, moving in and out of the ground efficiently while maintaining a centered state.
While creating the Keystroke Choreography series I was concerned with notions of ‘labor’ in relationship to dance. The digital environments and possible keystrokes used for this series, limited both the frame for the movement composition to occur within as well as limit the digital ‘performers’ physical range and vocabulary. The essentially ‘free’ dancer allowed me to research and reflect on the human body in motion. The creation tool I used online simultaneously proposed new constraints on the performers body as well as the potential to remove constraints such as the earthly burden of the constant relationship to gravity, ie: gravity has an OFF button online.
M: Do you have any favorite artists, animators or people you look to for inspiration or mentorship?
F: As my work is diverse and moves across mediums the artists who inspire me shift and change. Ultimately, the list of influences is long and will undoubtedly leave gaps. I have much respect for many artists who work in and have emerged from the Winnipeg community. A major influence for me has been exactly that, the Winnipeg community of creators across the generations. Recently after a performance in Montreal, I received a lovely note from a presenter /curator there who commented ‘Winnipeg weird’ which he stated as a high compliment; this is a beautiful validation of my roots.
M: Do you have any advice for young artists?
F: Don’t decide what you are a candidate for, it’s not your role; apply to everything even when you think you might not be the right fit. Cross communities and disciplines, there is so much to exchange and learn / unlearn from the conventions of any given form.
M: Artistically, what’s next for you?
F: Currently, I am creating a new performance and series of video works integrating and investigating virtual reality. Working with ready-made content from the Internet is integral to my digital collage methodology. Lately, I have been sourcing and screen capturing controlled views of online 360 videos. Through controlling the viewing area of a given 360 video I can attend to the forgotten or overlooked areas of focus; avoiding the ‘performers’ or main subject of the video and attending to the less composed details. As well, I have been gathering open source motion capture libraries which offer movement data ready to be applied to 3D characters and models; this data offers problematic categories such as ‘charming female gestures’, and features various ‘styles’ of dance. Humans originally perform these dances; computers capture the data, which can then be applied to digital bodies to appear as lifelike and natural as possible. Both the digitalization of human movement and the digital representation of 3D bodies prompt cultural critique and inquiry. Alongside my digital physical research, I have been compiling monologues of individuals verbally recounting their experiences with VR in live gameplay, explorative worlds and VR porn. The language emerging to describe VR experiences offers unique insight into the evolution of our societal modes of communication. This developing body of work is currently titled ‘MÆ – Motion Aftereffect’; through it I intend to reveal how virtual reality technology can destabilize perception of the corporeal body. This project is being developed through the supports of a dance and technology artist in residence and commissioning program called ‘Combustible’ in San Francisco facilitated by the organization ‘Counterpulse’.
Emily Baxter, interviewed by Monica Lowe in the summer of 2017
Emily Baxter is a graduate of the University of Manitoba with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, and is a Winnipeg based animator focusing in stop-motion short films. Previous works include Judder and Light.
Monica: When did you know that you were an artist? Did you start out as an illustrator as a child?
E: I started out drawing ninja turtles for my younger brother, and it went from there. As for when I knew I was an artist – I’ll let you know when the day comes!
M: When did you start making animated films/videos? Was it a natural transition from your earlier art-making?
E: I was always drawing or making things when I was younger – the great thing about stop-motion is how many different mediums and skills it draws on, so it felt like the culmination of many different interests.
M: For you, is animation a solo process or a team effort?
E: Filming a stop-motion scene is a solo process for me (as it usually involves a light-tight room and a table and lights that can’t be bumped!) but post-production tends to be more collaborative with aspects like musical scores and audio.
M: What is it that attracts you to this medium? Thinking of Light in particular, is the creation of the puppets and sets an important part of your process?
E: Stop-motion allows me to switch gears often and get involved in a number of different aspects – from knitting miniature gloves, casting silicone or editing – all towards the same project. In Light, especially, the tactile nature of creating his world felt very important to setting the scene – I love seeing the effect of practical lighting on sets and how the pieces play off of each other.
M: Would you say that Light is a personal work? Is it inspired by real people or events?
E: Light was based on the idea of chasing a dream past the point of return – when passion and reality split. Growing up around someone with mental illness, who could on any day believe something utterly different than they had the day before, it drew from that experience and my challenges around belief and reality.
M: Do you have any favourite artists, animators or people you look to for inspiration or mentorship?
E: Because there are so many facets to stop-motion I find myself drawing from a number of different communities – so I find inspiration and guidance in forums and groups from knitting to sculpting.
M: Do you have any advice for young animators?
E: Don’t get caught too up in the tech side of it – there is no one perfect camera or setup that will make everything work, just animate!
M: Artistically, what’s next for you?
E: I’m currently working on a piece set in the future about Mika, a girl who crashes, alone, onto an alien planet. Like Light it is focused around an internal struggle – hope of rescue keeps her alive but also keeps her
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year invested $153 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country.
Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien. L’an dernier, le Conseil a investi 153 millions de dollars pour mettre de l’art dans la vie des Canadiennes et des Canadiens de tout le pays.
