Experimental & Expanded Animation Conference (13/02/2019)

Yesterday a few of us went over to Farnham to attend the 'Experimental & Expanded Animation Conference' 2019. The day was packed with lecturers and practitioners who discussed their theories into their individual niches, and the role of 'experimental animation' in allowing this exploration.

The first talk (by Gary Thomas) set up the historical aspect of animation from the perspective of the institution, ready for the proceeding talks. It was evident societal attitudes to animation was influenced in turn by categorisation and censorship (the limitations of watershed TV etc.), and partly driven by the difficulties for institutions to know how to go about acknowledging animation.

Gary explains the definition of 'animation' acknowledges not just the commercial/main-stream examples, but also the lesser known experimental forms animation inhabits (even if these examples don't approach animation in the convention way).
This is evident in the 'Animate Projects' (founded 2007), which sees collaboration with over 100 animators, artists and filmmakers in partnership with Wellcome Trust, The Photographers Gallery, and Channel 4 et al. The projects allow for experimentation within the field of animation, and encourages a 'interdisciplinary hybrid' that "fuses moving image with science, music, poetry and archive material" (2019).

Susan Hiller's 'Voyage on a Rough Sea: Homage to Marcel Broodthaers' (2009)

The talks were grouped according to theme. The first relates to women's role in experimental animation. We start with Mary Starks talk in 'Film as fabric: Female film editors in early cinema'.

Interestingly our understanding in editing was heavily influenced by women's contribution in film.

Stark explains how women were often subjected to "double invisibility", i- the natural invisibility of editing, and ii- not then being acknowledged in texts intended to bring attention to creators (i.e. behind the scenes). Despite this, their involvement was evident in films like 'Les Roses Magique' (1906) which relied upon the art of editing to help trick people into believing the magic tricks were real.

1906 SEGUNDO DE CHOMÓN Les Roses Magique from Xtrarradio on Vimeo.

This subject has also been tackled in more recent years by practitioners; Annabel Nicolson's 'Reel Time' (1973), Jo Byrne's 'Screen Kiss' (2007), Vicky Smith's '33 Frames Per Foot' (2013), and Jennifer Nightingale (2013) etc. who all explore feminism and the role of women's body in editing. Stark draws a link between textiles and editing, starting with women stitching and cutting film (based on the stereotype that women are "nimble-fingered" to justify their restricted presence in editing). The term 'splice' also indicates women's inherited role and presence in film.

Interestingly women used their bodies to relate to time (it was generally accepted that the arm span relates to 3 seconds of film time). Smith explores the affect of our male dominant society on things like metric systems by comparing her 33 frames per foot, to the typical 40 frames per foot (or 36 feet per minute when rolling at 24fps). Additionally, Nightingale's 'Knitting Pattern' series and Nicolson's 'Real Time' (fig. 2) indirectly/directly show the influence of women in the film that's created... with the former working with the analogue relationship between the artist and film, as visualised by knitting. As the performer knits the frame, the film proceeds. __ explains that "the knitted fabric and the film are indexicaly tied and the time-lapse is dictated by the knitters own rhythm" ().

The latter sees Nicolson bring together the idea of domestic sewing and film in live performance, using a Singer sewing machine (a symbol of the labour of women hidden at home), in comparison to the film projector (operated solely by male projectionists).

'Documentation of Reel Time by Annabel Nicolson, 1973'

Because of this unacknowledgement of women's role in early film, what little we know of the subject comes instead from 'experimental film', a niche that exists apart from a studio context. Bella Honess Roe explains how the segregation of men and women pushed the latter to alternative ideas/means of creating, producing and acknowledging film, (specifically animation) away from existing conventions.

This realm of animation is both exhilarating for women, and limiting to their practise. It seems to imply they cannot participate in larger blockbuster films (which is definitely not the case).

Interestingly some feminists work have been referred to as 'experimental' even when it isn't. This shows the attitude of practitioners towards women (that this was in some way a rarity, and/or women are in some way incapable of going to other sectors of animation, which is far from the truth). Ultimately animation can be a means of challenging our current male oriented histography, by encouraging women to save/provide their own experiences to allow for a more truthful, impartial recount of events.

'Envelope Poems' by Emily Dickinson  [1]

'Envelope Poems' by Emily Dickinson [2]

 

We see people like Suzie Hanna revive the work of precedent female practitioners whose work was hidden in a male dominant society. Live performances such as her 'In Other Motes of Other Myths' (2016) incorporate animated projections, fragments of poetry and music sung/played by Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), a poet had written on envelopes and loose pieces of paper and kept very much to herself. It was only years later Dickinson would be acknowledged as a talented poet and artist of her time.

Other interesting talks included Karel Doing's 'Photograms: building human-plant affiliations through chemical interaction'. The theme here was 'New Materialist and Posthumanist Perspectives'.

Here Doing recognises that symbolic representation and consciousness is unique to human comprehension. He suggests photography could be a means of capturing a world different from our 'true reality', to accommodate alternative mind-sets (natural, robotic, human etc.).
Since its difficult for humans to consider selves as 'part' of nature, despite a general acceptances of our affiliation with chimps/monkeys, animation and photography could create the means of understanding the 'mind-set' of a plant (and their experiences of the world) using film in such a way it can be understood by humans.

His own work employs the (phyto)chemical process to create 'organigrams'. These are images 'grown' on film using plants, mud and salt. As he explains "the images in this film are the result of a natural process", one that surrounds us in our everyday life.

Wilderness Series excerpt from Karel Doing on Vimeo.

He also mentions the work of Hungarian-American designer, filmmaker and photographer Laszlo Moholy-Nagy (1895-1946), and Japanese visual/sound artist Ryoji Ikeda's (1966-present day) 'Continuum' (2018), whom both push our expectations of film/means of representing reality to allow for alternative 'knowledge systems'.
Laszlo's work in 'photograms' similarly defeats fixed convention, and the "fracturing experience of modernity" ('Editors of The Art Story', 2019). Whether it be painting or photography, Moholy-Nagy's concepts of time, space and light transcended the platforms his work were produced, and instead are considered solely in their raw, basic form.

Likewise- albeit more recently- Ikeda considers the basic/raw elements of sound and light. His latest audiovisual installation, 'code-verse' (2018), explores systems of the digital world. As 'Garage Museum of Contemporary Art 'explains, Ikeda uses the abstract code from various translations of data relating to a starting musical pitch to create his live installations.

Untitled Photogram by László Moholy-Nagy (1925)

Ivan Erofeev's photograph of 'code-verse' (2018) at the Centre Pompidou, Paris, France

Moholy-Nagy sees technology as transformative to humanity, and necessary for our development. 

Meanwhile speakers such as Kathleen Rogers discuss the impact/interpretations of scientific visual-based investigations of Tremor (2007), Cocoon (2009) and Tremoring's (2017), in social and cultural domains. These animations are based in "developmental biology, transgenic bio technology and zebrafish genomics", and are filmed in such a way as to capture the "essence of the life force as movement", in juxtaposition to humanities tendency to interfere (Kathleen, 2019). The human presence is evident in the limitations of technology (visual distortions, vibrations, reflections, scratches, shadows in microscope viewer/lens etc.), and our fight to control the image itself, to allow for "physiological readings". As a result of this interference, the embryos are likely to perish.

Rogers brings up the argument of Karen Barad's Quantum Ontology that pushes us to reconsider the methods, values and ethics involved in such encounters.

Juergen Hagler spoke then on the 'anomalies at the intersection of Animation, Art and Technology'. Specifically in relation to the 'Error: The Art of Imperfection' project, run by 'Ars Electronica Linz' that exhibits 16 international artists whose work visualises this relationship between art/animation and technology. Whether this be for better (a deviation that provides a source of inspiration) or worse (complications and toleration), in conjuncture with elements of irritation, order, value and control.

These aspects relate to our tendency to enforce rules, order and values in society. The exhibition, then, questions our understanding and response to 'right' and 'wrong' within the digital realm.

'Error - The Art of Imperfection', DRIVE Volkswagen Group Forum, at Berlin (2018) 

Photograph of people interacting with the work of Kanno So and Yang02, 'Asemic Languages' (2018)

Stills from Georgie Pinn and Jeremy Boulton's interactive animated hybrid, 'ECHO' (2018/19)

She went on to discuss the close relationship we have between animation and the technology its portrayed upon. There's a correlation between technological advances/innovations and the abundance of new, experimental approaches to animation. Indeed experimentation and the deliberate exploitation of flaws within technology has become a prevalent means of modifying, refining and extending existing ways of utilisation in a range of programs. Animation acts as a force of reflection on our 'true reality', and has often become a subject in of itself... using its own materiality as a theme for discussion. Presently we may recognise this drive to push art in new directions, in the similar use of "expanded cinema" in the 1970-80's.

John Whitney Sr. and his brother James had repurposed analog computing devices originally used for anti-aircraft gun directors, to help create computer animations. Most famously for the Saul Bass intro to 'Vertigo' (1958)

After lunch we'd have our last group featuring Stuart Hilton, Pedro Serrazina and Marian Saunders who'd also discuss some part of the expansion of 'animation space and place'.
Hilton begins with a quote from Baudelaire's 'The Voyage'. He says he's not one usually to feature quotes, but this one had particularly resonated with his work:

We saw stars
And waves: we saw sand too;
And, despite many crises and unforeseen disasters
We were often bored, just as we are here

This honest experience of travel works with Hilton's general aim to capture the 'experience' of travel. By creating a hybrid of animated and pre-existing documentary material, he with his own "spontaneous and fragmentary approach" to play with existing conventions of space/location, in the form of a documentary.

Save Me from stuart hilton on Vimeo.

Similarly Serrazina challenges convention of social and cultural space. He argues that experimenting with the 'procedure of animation' can allow for new ways of approaching familiar spaces, away from our existing superficial representations. These new representations can free us from our conventions, and enforce a process of reconnection/rediscovery of environments we're familiar with. As he states it allows for a "renewed sense of place and presence" (Serrazina, 2019).
He does this through a blend of drawings, eye observations, and composition/framing (see his film 'Tale about the Cat and the Moon' (1995) below).

Pedro Serrazina - Tale about the Cat and the Moon (1995, English version) from Pedro Serrazina Animation on Vimeo.

Lastly Marian Saunders finishes with a discussion in audio-visual technology as influencing current visual culture. Her own work in live visual performance (VJing) and experimental sound/film design is used to illustrate the intention of VJ's to create alternative experiences of the world, away from traditional narrative, and instead towards abstraction. The goal being create a visual rhythm that works with a soundscape. In her work, she's able to improvise these visuals in real-time.
This field of animation has its roots in 1960 festival/light shows, that introduced audiences to a new way of experiencing music. Visuals and imagery began to help accentuate the existing performance.
Nowadays the demand for VJs is immense (with concerts, theatre, events and exhibitions). Their influence is often intergral to our visual culture, but yet remains unacknowledged until now.

The day was punctuated with a few live performances and screenings, including Tom Northey and Laura Lee's 'Clap/ Shout/Scream', (2018); Shiyi Li and Gloria Yehilevsky's 'Minister of Loneliness' (2016); David Witzling's 'Estranged Melody for a Holographic Empire' (2017) and 'Echos of Information in a N-Dimension Hilbert Space (2006); Kelly Gallagher's 'More Dangerous that a Thousand Rioters' (2016), and finally Simon Payne's 'Vice Versa Et Cetera' (2010).

All in all, a lot of interesting stuff!
It's something to consider in relation to my own practise. Especially using a hybrid of mediums/alternative mediums with 3D Animation to better translate the 'feeling' and emotion of a particular scene/project. 


References

Illustrations
'Ryoji Ikeda: Continumm', (2018) [Online Image]. Available at: http://fxreflects.blogspot.com/2018/07/ryoji-ikeda-continuum-centre-pompidou.html [Accessed Date: 15/02/2019]

Hiller, Susan (2009), 'Voyage on a Rough Sea: Homage to Marcel Broodthaers' [Online Image]. Available at:

http://www.fondazioneratti.org/press/XVII%20Corso%20Superiore%20di%20Arti%20Visive%20-%20Visiting%20Professor%20Susan%20Hiller%20/61.jpg [Accessed Date: 15/02/2019]
Whitney, John (n.d.) [Online Image]. Available at: https://www.core77.com/posts/26681/throwback-thursday-john-whitneys-animated-computer-visualizations-from-the-60s-26681 [Accessed Date: 15/02/2019]

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