Exhibition Information:
Artists: Janet Doan, Collin Wilhelm, Diana Nguyen, Amber Arzaga, Georgina Fang, Lilly Ngov, Rose Cuenca, Sol Barrios, Kelly Pfeiffer, Alexa Lui, and Ren Torres
Media: Animation and Storyboard
Gallery: Marilyn Werby Gallery, CSU Long Beach
Social Media: Jananachips, Faikentt, Apricitydia.gram, Amberrycold, Georgyfang, Lillianuzi, Red8Rose8, Solscribble, Curiouslittlecritter, skellaradart, 4cetone
About the Artists:
The artists are all students in Cal State Long Beach’s School of Art, with a majority of them pursuing BFAs in the Animation/Illustration or Pre-Production programs.
Formal Analysis:
Both the storyboard and the animation uses black and white to carve out a rough sketch of the plot. The characters are composed of spherical shapes to draw out a cartoon-like feel. But while the storyboard and animation do not have color, the concept art that the work is based on are colored. The usage of soft primary colors are meant to elicit feelings of childhood, as the story depicts the last days of summer before school. The pace at which the animation flows is the same as 24 frame cartoons that run on TV, which helps with understandability, especially among children. As such, the rhythm of the work is ideal.
Content Analysis:
The story follows the life of a bastard child conceived in during a resurrection ritual performed by her father, and as such, has a few compelling ideas prevalent. In the short storyboard that was included with the piece as a sample, themes of growth and comradery were foremost; the growth of character by learning from mistakes, and the comradery of youth that helped them find the lost pet. But most central to the storyboard was the idea of family, with not only the protagonists serving as a small family of their own, but also with the main motivation of the piece; the pet running away, being centered around him wanting to be with his budding family. The artists were inspired by the cartoons that they had all grown up around and wanted to make a piece like that which influenced their own childhood.
Synthesis:
Though technically the work is not complete, the small glimpse that the artists show remind me of childhood innocence and the days lost to seemingly endless adventures. While it was the media in which they designed their piece (animation) that drew me in, it was their portrayal of that childhood ignorance which resonated with me. Children often are unaware of larger things at work, caught in their own little worlds that shape their everyday. The protagonist’s questionable birth set aside over trying to find their pet, and it is that difficult portrayal that the animators have managed to capture, and remind me of when I was young, and unaware of the world.
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