If you’re ever lucky enough to get inside of the Sorcerer Mickey
building, you then HAVE TO go check out the 1300 corridor.
Copyright Disney. All Rights Reserved
This is where the personal artwork of Walt Disney Animation
Studios staffers is displayed. They literally just wrapped up this year’s
Halloween show, which was full of kooky, crazy, creepy paintings.
It’s only when you look at all this art, the wide variety of
styles & techniques that are on display here, that you then get a sense of
the huge amount of talent that works for WDAS. All those artists and animators
who hide their own lights under a bushel so that they can then better serve the
project at hand (i.e. whatever animated short or feature Disney currently has
in production).
Mind you, until just recently, the only way that you’d ever
get to see any of these paintings was if you A) worked for Walt Disney Feature
Animation or B) you managed to slip past Security. But all that changed late last
month when SuspendedAnimationGallery.com officially threw open its virtual
doors.
“The Little Engine (traveltown)” by George Scribner. Copyright 2009 Suspended Animation Gallery. All images protected by copyright
Founded by Tenny Chonin, WDAS’s former head of Artist
Development, Suspended Animation Gallery looks to replicate the 1300 corridor
experience online. Giving animation fans the chance to view – and possibly
purchase – the non-Disney artwork of some of your favorite Disney artists.
“This is something that I’ve been thinking about doing for
quite a while now,” Chonin said. “I actually bought the domain name three years
ago. I wanted to create a showcase for all those talented people that I used to
work with at Disney. Giving them the opportunity to reach out, expand the
audience for their artwork.”
Tenny’s all about artists expanding their horizons. In the twelve
years that she ran WDAS’s Artist Development program, she and a staff of up to 20
offered upwards of 200 courses. Each of them designed to give Disney staffers
the chance to add to their skill sets.
Suspended Animation Gallery founder Tenny Chonin (left) and literary legend Ray Bradbury
“Mind you, we weren’t just offering drawing classes,” Chonin
explained. “We had acting and improv classes, and as part of our lunchtime
lecture series, we had creative talents such as Ray Bradbury & J.J. Abrams
come in and talk about storytelling.”
And it wasn’t only animators who took advantage of these
WDAS programs. Tenny recalled how several suits and production manager types
decided to use Artist Development as a way to try to spread their wings.
“We actually had Ed Catmull come in and take a few of our
sculpture classes,” Chonin continues. “Like everyone else who attended, he
didn’t have to bring anything. We supplied all of the necessary materials. All
he had to do was walk in the door.”
“Dance” by Mauro Maressa. Copyright 2009 Suspended Animation Gallery All images protected by copyright
Tenny’s trying to bring that same sort of one-stop
sensibility to SuspendedAnimationGallery.com. Make it easy for all the talented
artists & animators who work at Disney to get their non-Disney artwork out
in front of the public.
“I believe passionately in this idea,” Chonin stated. “The
walls of my own home are covered with artwork like this. Paintings that I
purchased over the years from people that I used to work with at Disney. I genuinely
believe that there’s an audience out there that’s hungry for artwork like this.
The non-Disney paintings & sculptures that Disney artists produce. I’m just
hoping that Suspended Animation Gallery can become the online showcase for this
material.”
As of this moment, SuspendedAnimationGallery.com only has
the work of 10 Disney staffers on display. But given who decided to get in on
the ground floor with Tenny – Mike Gabriel, Lisa Keene, Christopher Greco,
Margie Daniels, Dan Platt among others – it appears that this online gallery is
off to a really great start.
“Star Study 4” by Mike Gabriel. Copyright 2009 Suspended Animation Gallery All images protected by copyright
Another 10 artists & animators are expected to sign on
with Suspended Animation shortly. Which is why you should probably make a point
of regularly circling back on this online art gallery. To see what new
paintings & sculptures are now on display.
“That’s what we’re trying to do here,” Chonin concluded.
“Create something that’s as memorable and dynamic as the 1300 corridor at
Feature Animation is.”
Of course, the best part about SuspendedAnimationGallery.com
is that you don’t have to sneak past the guards on the Burbank lot in order to
see all of these paintings. All you have to do is stop, point & clink.
“Crossing Main” by Christopher Greco. Copyright 2009 Suspended Animation Gallery All images protected by copyright
Speaking of which … If you’d like to see some of the
sculpture & artwork that Suspended Animation currently has on display /
available for purchase, please click on this link.
FYI: If you’d like to meet Ms. Chonin in person, she’ll be moderating a roundtable at the first annual CTN Animation Expo. Tenny will be sitting down with industry vets like Eric Goldberg & Chris Williams to discuss how they approached working on some of this year’s biggest productions. Hosted by Animation Mentor, this sure-to-be-lively discussion — entitled “An Animation Career Snapshot” — will be held in Room 2 at the Burbank Convention Center on Sunday, November 22nd beginning at 12 noon.
For further information on the first CTN Animation Expo, please click on this link.
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Happy Holidays!