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Art Versus Politics
Bittersweet childhood stuff.
I've always loved Peter Pan, even Disney's version of it, story simplified as it was. It's funny, it seems like most children are all too anxious to grow up but I would rather have flown off to Neverland and stayed there. There've been many other version of Peter Pan, of course. I enjoyed the Robin Williams movie Hook and the animated series Peter Pan and the Pirates (which I think was actually the best adaption I've seen) There was something special about the Disney one though. Either because it was the first version I found or because it was so lovingly animated by the Old Men. Probably the later. At some point in my distant past, I realized I could be Pan. I can create worlds of my own fantasy through art and writing and animation and I can fly away to them.
So... When they announced a DVD release in the original format with lots of extra bonus features and such, of course I was interested but... Buying a DVD from a big scummy company always sets my teeth grinding. Especially this film in particular.
When Barrie died, he left Pan to a children's hospital and to make a long story short, Disney corporation has repeatedly tried to take money away from sick children. The latest matter was resolved in 2004 but the copyright expires Jan 1 2008 so there's soon to be more.
Ultimately, I played the american and ignored the suffering of small children for personal greed to purchase a luxury item. I suppose maybe the proper thing to do to assuage my guilt would be to send a cheque to the Great Ormond Street Hospital for the same amount, and since they're in the UK, I maybe won't feel like I'm just giving up power to some scummy HMO that's going to laugh appreciatively at the gesture. :/
Anyhow... Enough angst. I really wanted to write about Mary Blair. I found her artwork by looking at extras on Peter Pan and I really enjoyed it! Better yet, I found a website with lots of pictures so I can share it! http://www.bobstaake.com/artists/maryblair/animationdesign.html
I'd read about Blair before, of course. She worked at Disney at a time when they sent out letters like this:
but because her husband worked there, she was able to 'prove' herself, but her career was always an uphill battle.
Funny thing though, I hadn't really looked at much of her art before. She was just a footnote on overlapping studies in animation and feminism. I didn't even recall this stuff until i did some searching for more of her art online. I really like her art and now it seems a shame to me that her career was such a struggle. I wonder what she could have made if she'd had the same opportunities as men of her time. Though on the other hand, perhaps she wouldn't have pushed her work as far if she wasn't constantly struggling for acceptance. Always such a strange issue. I've wrestled with this a lot in my own life and about my own achievements and failings.
For myself, I definitely wouldn't be everything I am now if I didn't have to fight. Perhaps I should even give a moment of thanks for the hardships I've had in my life. There's an odd confidence that comes from knowing you can take a hell of a beat-down and get back up. On the other hand, I'm also not going to thumb my nose at the good times. Being respected at work gives me the confidence to feel okay taking a few days off to work on my art. Not having to work two jobs, that kind of thing are giving me the space to push myself too, so the good certainly shouldn't be discounted. It's an interesting point to muse. How much one way or the other would radically change who you are. I suspect it's not really a lot in most cases.
Anyhow. Back to working on my own art now. :)
Edit:
... Well. I know what makes ME say UGH. The depiction of native americans in this film. The play of course has some stereotyping but nothing nearly as bad as the Disney film. Really really irritating.
I've always loved Peter Pan, even Disney's version of it, story simplified as it was. It's funny, it seems like most children are all too anxious to grow up but I would rather have flown off to Neverland and stayed there. There've been many other version of Peter Pan, of course. I enjoyed the Robin Williams movie Hook and the animated series Peter Pan and the Pirates (which I think was actually the best adaption I've seen) There was something special about the Disney one though. Either because it was the first version I found or because it was so lovingly animated by the Old Men. Probably the later. At some point in my distant past, I realized I could be Pan. I can create worlds of my own fantasy through art and writing and animation and I can fly away to them.
So... When they announced a DVD release in the original format with lots of extra bonus features and such, of course I was interested but... Buying a DVD from a big scummy company always sets my teeth grinding. Especially this film in particular.
When Barrie died, he left Pan to a children's hospital and to make a long story short, Disney corporation has repeatedly tried to take money away from sick children. The latest matter was resolved in 2004 but the copyright expires Jan 1 2008 so there's soon to be more.
Ultimately, I played the american and ignored the suffering of small children for personal greed to purchase a luxury item. I suppose maybe the proper thing to do to assuage my guilt would be to send a cheque to the Great Ormond Street Hospital for the same amount, and since they're in the UK, I maybe won't feel like I'm just giving up power to some scummy HMO that's going to laugh appreciatively at the gesture. :/
Anyhow... Enough angst. I really wanted to write about Mary Blair. I found her artwork by looking at extras on Peter Pan and I really enjoyed it! Better yet, I found a website with lots of pictures so I can share it! http://www.bobstaake.com/artists/maryblair/animationdesign.html
I'd read about Blair before, of course. She worked at Disney at a time when they sent out letters like this:
"Women do not do any of the creative work in connection with preparing the cartoons for the screen, as that work is performed by young men. For this reason, girls are not considered for the training school. To qualify for the only work open to women one must be well grounded in the use of pen and ink and also of water color. The work to be done consists of tracing the characters on clear celluloid sheets with India ink and filling in the tracings on the reverse side with paint according to directions."
but because her husband worked there, she was able to 'prove' herself, but her career was always an uphill battle.
Funny thing though, I hadn't really looked at much of her art before. She was just a footnote on overlapping studies in animation and feminism. I didn't even recall this stuff until i did some searching for more of her art online. I really like her art and now it seems a shame to me that her career was such a struggle. I wonder what she could have made if she'd had the same opportunities as men of her time. Though on the other hand, perhaps she wouldn't have pushed her work as far if she wasn't constantly struggling for acceptance. Always such a strange issue. I've wrestled with this a lot in my own life and about my own achievements and failings.
For myself, I definitely wouldn't be everything I am now if I didn't have to fight. Perhaps I should even give a moment of thanks for the hardships I've had in my life. There's an odd confidence that comes from knowing you can take a hell of a beat-down and get back up. On the other hand, I'm also not going to thumb my nose at the good times. Being respected at work gives me the confidence to feel okay taking a few days off to work on my art. Not having to work two jobs, that kind of thing are giving me the space to push myself too, so the good certainly shouldn't be discounted. It's an interesting point to muse. How much one way or the other would radically change who you are. I suspect it's not really a lot in most cases.
Anyhow. Back to working on my own art now. :)
Edit:
... Well. I know what makes ME say UGH. The depiction of native americans in this film. The play of course has some stereotyping but nothing nearly as bad as the Disney film. Really really irritating.
no subject
I knew about her because John K sang her praises. Most of his cliches of 'cute' are things he learnt from her, or from people who studied her...