WILL KARR
Special to The Leader
From movies to cartoons, animation is typically geared towards children. Artist and curator Yvonne Grzenkowicz, however, is working to introduce the medium to people of all ages.
“In the past five or ten years, animation has probably been classified as something that is more for kids although we all know it’s not. Animation has always been a combination of both a science and an art,” said Grzenkowicz, the director and founder of Animation Nights of New York (ANNY).
Grzenkowicz started out her career in painting and drawing, but transitioned into web design and animation. Animation Nights of New York is an organization that hosts monthly screening events of animated short films and annual festivals.
One of the groups exhibit’s, “Independent Motion: Twelve Animated Films from Around the World,” is currently on display at the Jesse and Cathy Marion Art Gallery in the Rockefeller Arts Center through Oct. 9. A hybrid reception with exhibiting artists will take place on Friday, Sept. 9 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The exhibition, which was curated by Grzenkowicz, features animated works from 12 artists, who hail from regions across the globe: the United States, Ukraine, Spain, Ireland, Germany and China.
“So many people love animation, but if we’re being honest, movies and cartoons generally aren’t thought of as artistic masterpieces,” said Hyla Stellhorn, exhibition coordinator of the Marion Art Gallery. “‘Independent Motion’ allows the viewer to wholly experience each animated short and consider it as one would with a painting or sculpture.”
The exhibit encourages viewers to appreciate and value the intricacies of animation, which are often taken for granted. Grenzkowicz said that it takes about 12 to 30 different shots to produce only one single second of a film. By lining up the shots sequentially, it gives the appearance of motion and movement.
“Animation is not the art of making drawings move; it is the art of drawing movement,” Stellhorn said. “It is an illusion – a series of static drawings moving so quickly that they give the appearance of movement.”
The showcase includes a gamut of animated short films and two virtual reality experiences from the last decade. Exhibiting artists draw inspiration from a variety of themes such as intolerance, homophobia, isolation, conflict, memory and uncertainty.
“Each of the pieces is so relevant,” Grzenkowicz said. “Even though the production is different, the topics are all still highly relevant.”
In their film “Night Falls on Loserville,” UK artists Remus Buznea and Kyriaki Kyrikou highlight dating and social interaction at a teen party before the advent of digital technologies. In his film “Passage,” Serbian artist Igor Ćorić discusses how people from privileged societies often have the luxury of ignorance by not having to know what’s going on in the rest of the world.
In her interactive virtual reality experience, “Belongings,” Carol Silverman draws creative inspiration from her mother’s life journey. After their mother died, Silverman and her siblings were going through her belongings, and eventually stumbled upon a shocking surprise: Their mother had grown up in a Nazi prison camp until the age of 12.
“They had no idea. Somehow with money and luck, their mother’s uncle was able to get her out of the camp and sent to America. Her mother had never spoken of being in a prison camp or of being rounded up by the Nazis,” Stellhorn said. “…They thought they knew everything about her, until they found out about this hidden past.”
From home invasions and train stations, to a Nazi prison camp and arriving on American soil, through VR, Silverman takes the viewer on the trajectory of her mother’s life.
In his animated film made entirely out of cardboard,“El Castigo: The Punishment,” Portuguese artist Nelson Fernandes highlights feelings of loneliness and separation. In his piece, Lisa, a little girl, cries after being sent to her bedroom by her mother. In the room, the girl collects her tears into a vial, and then uses them to grow a plant for friendship and companionship.
The plant, however, grows exponentially and eventually consumes her. Overall, Fernandes references the idea of how an individual can become figuratively consumed by their own grief, sadness and sorrow. He draws inspiration from the Greek mythological story of Cyparissus, who transforms into a tree after mourning the loss of his stag.
In her piece titled “Hail,” American artist Emily Hubley draws inspiration from the U.S. by referencing instances of bigotry throughout American history.
“Hail is a wonderful piece. It’s such a beautiful film, but it’s heartbreaking,” Grzenkowicz said. Hail tells the story of three hate crime victims: Brandon Teena, Brian Deneke and Matthew Shepard. In 1993, Teena, a transgender man, was raped and shot by two male acquaintances after he was publicly outed. In 1997, Deneke, a nineteen-year-old punk rock musician, was killed in a premeditated hit and run incident in Amarillo, Texas. In 1998, Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming was beaten, tortured and left to die after being tied to a fence.
In the film, the men all meet up in the afterlife. The short features a song titled “Hail,” by American punk rock musician Hamell on Trial, which was written in response to the three incidents. In the song, the trio discuss whether they would consider returning to Earth if ever given the chance to do so. However, they eventually come to the conclusion that heaven is ultimately the better place to reside.
One section of the song reads, “Matthew Shepard dropped by for dessert. And they, (Deneke
and Teena), asked ‘Does it still hurt?’ And (Shepard) paused and spit over the rail. And it flew down to earth just like hail. He said, “No, we can be who we want to be.”
In the film, individuals can freely be “who they want to be” in heaven, without man-made prejudices or inhibitions like transphobia, homophobia and stereotypes. Teena and Shepard’s deaths have both led to the development of numerous U.S. laws to combat bigotry, which include The Federal Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. Today, in 2022, queerness has become less socially stigimitized in many settings despite attempts to infringe upon the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans.
As an independent arts organization, ANNY’s has the ability to spotlight a diverse range of voices.
“Without any kind of political sway or corporate pressure, we’re able to just really focus on the quality of the work and the end result is diversity,” Grzenkowicz said. “You don’t have to create diversity, it’s baked in from the way that we are approaching it.”
Grzenkowicz will give a lecture about ANNY, her work and the exhibit before Friday’s reception at 4 p.m in McEwen 206. She is excited to visit Fredonia and to see animation being exhibited in a gallery setting.
“Animation really is something that should be put on a pedestal,” she said. “There is definitely work to do with highlighting animation as an art form and that’s why I was so thrilled when the gallery reached out about carrying an exhibition.”