Too Art for TV Three

The 2Art4TV 3 show opened this past week to a huge turnout. At one point in the night it was shoulder to shoulder, with no room to even see the artwork. The long hours of building, painting, sanding, and hanging artwork was all worth it. Back a few months ago when Liz asked me to come look at an empty auto parts showroom in Williamsburg and asked me the question, “Do you think we can make it work?” I never thought it was going to come together as fantastically as it did. At the same meeting she also asked me to be part of the selection committee which I thought was going to be an easy job, to find 20 great artists. In fact it was just that, too easy; we had about 70 artists to look at and 60 of them could have been included in the show. So it ended up being an incredibly difficult task to pick just 20, with a couple of alternates in case there was room. In the end I think there were 36 artists represented. Thank you to everyone who came out to support all the artists involved. And a big thanks to Liz Artinian who curated the show. I can’t wait until the next one. The show is up through Dec 15th, if you are in the area be sure to check it out.

2Art 4 TV

It is time again for Too Art for TV 3. The third annual group exhibition showcasing the fine art expressions of the animation industry. Twice before, this show has drawn in excited, elbow-to-elbow crowds of artists, illustrators, filmmakers, animators, and fans of animation. This year’s exhibit, now the biggest one in Too Art for TV’s history, features 36 artists who- by way of toys, prints, paintings, sculptures, and experimental film- set free their skills otherwise "owned" by television networks. To learn more about the opening and the artists involved go to the link below. Too Art for TV

ASIFA Auction

Tonight is the ASIFA East Used Animation Art Auction. It is a fantastic event and I am looking forward to picking up some great art. The auctioneer is the same old Mr Warburton. Most of the art up for auction can be seen on his site: http://warburtonlabs.blogspot.com/ Good luck bidding!!

ASIFA East Panel on NY Indy Anim.

I do all the postcards for the ASIFA East events and I thought I might as well upload them here for all to see. Last Months event was a panel on the state of NY independent animated features. The event was hosted by Cartoon Brew's Amid Amidi and the panelists were Emily Hubley, Daniel Kanemoto, Bill Plimpton, Michael Sporn, and Tatia Rosenthal. It was one of the best attended events I have been to all year. The room was packed to the rafters with standing room only. I filmed the event for ASIFA East and here is the audio from that evening. The podcast will live here only until we are able to move it to the official ASIFA blog site.

ASIFA EAST Indy Anim Podcast

3 Feet High picts

Here are some picts from the 3 feet High opening. It was a great night in Hoboken and thanks to everyone who came out. This years artists included: joe andriola, barrett benica, john breiner, andrea breitman, david cooper, kelly denato, wylie fisher,bianca franco, thom glick, david heiss, herm life, tom hudson, dean landry, adam levine, conor o'kelly lynch, richard mather, christopher mostyn, brian musikoff, lynda nettleship, vincent nguyen, lysa opfer, jackie post, rob powers, lauren rucci, sean salmon, tim shankweiler, lea simone, justin simonich, frank summers, kate sutton, stacy swane, stephanie swane, josh taylor, thinkmule, chris timmons, john ward, john lytle wilson, jene yeo, aaron zisman, and more!

3rd annual "3 feet high" skatedeck show

Here is my board for the 3rd annual "3 feet high" skatedeck show. The show opens in Hoboken at Maxwell’s Bar and Restaurant on June 23rd, so come out and play with us! Shenanigans begin at 7pm and usually last untill 10pm. Skate decks from past shows can be seen at http://3feethigh.kneehigh.net/

Kung Fu Panda

I went to an advance preview of Kung Fu Panda last night at the IMAX theatre here in Manhattan courtesy of ASIFA East and DreamWorks. I am happy to say that it was the best animated effort put forth by DreamWorks in a long time. The film was well written, looked great, and the animation was well done. DreamWorks stayed away from the trap that they always seem to fall into by avoiding all the pop culture references which usually dates their films instantly. This film has a real story as well. The voices in the film didn’t distract from the characters either; I had to watch the credits to see who voiced many of the characters. Coming from the perspective of an animator, I feel that the character comes first and then you find a voice that suits that character, not the other way around. So often in the big budget films I feel as though they cast the actors, then build the character around them. I hate it when I see a film and I’m distracted by the actor they chose to portray a character. All that being said, Jack Black was the perfect choice for the Panda (Po). So much of his energy and wit was carried through to the final product. I think this is the first ‘classic’ that DreamWorks has put out there. Whether you’re an adult or a kid, if you like martial arts films, laughter, and a cute story, go see Kung Fu Panda.