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Art News:
For Immediate
Release: April 10,
2011
Contact: Andrew Farago, 415-227-8666 ext. 309,
gallery@cartoonart.org
Images Available Upon
Request
The Art of
Howl
Cartoon Art Museum exhibition: May
14 – September 11, 2011
San Francisco, CA: Rob Epstein and Jeffrey
Friedman's film, Howl, produced by Werc Werk Works, opened the 2010
Sundance Film Festival. Featuring James Franco as the beat poet Allen Ginsberg,
the film took an experimental approach to documenting the creation and
performance of Ginsberg's revolutionary poem, "Howl"– as well as
the obscenity trial that followed when, after undercover policemen purchased
copies of Howl and Other Poems from City Lights Bookstore, the state
tried to suppress its publication. The film blends glimpses of Ginsberg's
personal life, recreations of the obscenity trial, and animated sequences that
accompany Franco's performance of the poem, riffing on its ideas and
images.
The Art of Howl gives a revealing
look behind the scenes at the creative process of turning poetry into animation.
The film directors enlisted Eric Drooker to design the animation; Drooker, a
graphic novelist and painter, was friends with Ginsberg and had collaborated
with him on the book Illuminated Poems. John Hays, a San Francisco-based
animation veteran, directed the sequences, which were animated by The Monk
Studios in
Thailand.
Translating Ginsberg's incendiary, oracular,
stream-of-consciousness language into moving images was a unique challenge. The
animation, like the poem, conjures a world of outcasts, "deviants,"
outlaws, poets and prophets digging for scraps of connection and enlightenment
under the shadow of "Moloch" – the overpowering industrial
cityscape that demands submission, conformity, and ultimately
annihilation.
This multimedia exhibit includes character
design drawings, animation keyframes & concept art, photos by Allen
Ginsberg, storyboards, animatics, and images from Drooker's graphic novel
version of the
poem.
The Cartoon Art Museum is pleased to present
this animated interpretation of a piece of literary history – just a
couple miles from City Lights Bookstore, the launching-pad for Ginsberg's poetic
career, and through their victory at the "Howl" trial, a historic
ground zero for freedom of
expression.
Curated by Andrew Farago, Eric Drooker and
Chris
Lanier
Telling Pictures: Rob Epstein and Jeffrey
Friedman:
Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman have been making non-fiction and feature
films together since 1987 when they founded Telling Pictures, a San Francisco
production company. Their films have played in movie theaters, at festivals, and
on television throughout the world. Between them they have received two Academy
Awards, five Emmy Awards, three Peabodys, as well as Guggenheim and Rockefeller
Fellowships. Their films together include Common Threads: Stories from the
Quilt (Academy Award, Feature Documentary, 1989), Where Are We?
(Sundance Documentary Competition, 1991), The Celluloid Closet (Emmy
Award for directing, Peabody, duPont-Columbia Awards, 1995), and Paragraph
175 (Sundance Film Festival jury award for directing, 2000). Their website
is www.tellingpictures.com
<http://www.tellingpictures.com/>.
Werc Werk
Works:
Werc Werk Works is an independent film production and finance company
dedicated to the production and financing of high caliber, story-driven films
with wide appeal. Recently released films include Howl starring James
Franco, and the multiple Spirit Award nominated Life During Wartime.
Upcoming releases include The Convincer and the new Lawrence Kasdan film
Darling Companion. Werc Werk Works is also co-producer of the Béla
Tarr film The Turin Horse that was recently awarded the Silver Bear at
the Berlin Film Festival. Their website is www.wercwerkworks.com <http://www.wercwerkworks.com> .
The Monk
Studios:
The Monk Studios is a boutique Visual Effects and Animation Studio, located
in Thailand. The philosophy of the company is to focus on producing world-class
imagery using highly skilled artists and cutting edge technology. The company
produces high quality Visual Effects (VFX) and Animation for both feature films
and commercials in the Asian and Western
markets.
Eric
Drooker:
Eric Drooker is a painter and graphic novelist, born and raised on Manhattan
Island. He's the award-winning author of Flood! A Novel in Pictures, and
Blood Song. His paintings appear on covers of The New Yorker, and
hang in numerous collections. His website is
www.Drooker.com.
John
Hays:
John Hays is an award-winning animation producer and director, having worked
at ILM, Colossal Pictures, Lucasfilm, and co-founded W!LDBRAIN Studios. His
projects range from Howl to Yo Gabba Gabba, and a recently
completed animated dream sequence in Lawrence Kasdan’s new film Darling
Companion.
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Cartoon Art Museum - 655 Mission Street -
San Francisco, CA 94105 - 415-CAR-TOON -
www.cartoonart.org
Hours: Tues. - Sun. 11:00 - 5:00, Closed
Monday
General Admission: $7.00 - Student/Senior: $5.00 - Children 6-12: $3.00 -
Members & Children under 6:
Free
The Cartoon Art Museum is a tax-exempt, non-profit, educational organization
dedicated to the
collection,
preservation, study and exhibition of original cartoon art in all forms.
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