Jan Svankmajer

An artist who I have come across recently whose work has been around since the 60s, is the Czech born Jan Svankmajer. His animations were pretty genius for the time because stop motion wasn't as well known back then. I love surreal art, and his work definitely fits in that bracket. He has done many animations since then and they have really fascinated me, especially his film, 'Alice,' which is a dark animation based on Alice in Wonderland. These books in themselves were a great insight into the world of the surrealist imagination when I was young and made my mind wander further. Looking at his films in the DVDs 'Jan Svankmajer: The Complete Short Films,' there is an acute awareness that he has a very dark sense of humour, for example, in my favourite animation of his, 'Food,' the way to which men got their food would be out of another man's stomach, pulled up on a chain; treated like we are all machines, trying to get what we want. His way of viewing the world in a cynical way actually gets us into thinking differently about what's possible. What I find most fascinating is his ability to create life out of typical objects found about the house. He shows us this vision of what is possible with the use of imagination, bringing something so simple to life and seeing what possibilities it has in its new life. This is something I have always wanted to try. In my animation, 'A Caterpillar's Tale,' I gave a few bits of coloured card to be created into a creature of who would go on a big adventure in its mission to change into a butterfly. The possibilities with animation are endless, that's why I want to continue using animation for as long as possible, with Svankmajer's work in the back of my mind.


http://www.awn.com/heaven_and_hell/svank/svank1.htm
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/dreams-turn-to-reality-for-surrealist-film-director-6291960.html
http://www.rosewoodgraphics.us/jan.html