ANIMATORS DRAWING VISITORS AT ANGEL ROW GALLERY NOTTINGHAM
by Roz Tappenden
06/01/2006
Ann Course 'Red Heads' 2004. Courtesy Angel Row Gallery.
Angel Row Gallery in Nottingham picks up on our fascination with the moving image in an exhibition that challenges perceptions of what animation is all about.
The Animators is open until February 4 2006 and features the work of seven artists. Many of them are specialists in other fields and the show brings together moving images that are exhibited alongside their other work.
Angela Kingston, the show’s curator, said: “One thing that was in my mind was some shows can be a bit disappointing because, what do you do with the gaps between screens?"
Ann Course still from 'Mother'. Courtesy Angel Row Gallery.
“The artists in this exhibition all make other kinds of work in different media; like prints, drawings and photography, so we used the space to exhibit other work that followed that theme. For instance, Ann Course’s work has a strong sense of the images from her animation which spills out into her other work.”
The increased popularity of animation may be partly down to computer gaming or even the growing number of TV cartoons for grown-ups – The Simpsons immediately springs to mind – but whatever is driving this growing trend, the medium itself is as diverse and as captivating as ever.
Simon Faithfull 'Dog Breathing'. Courtesy Angel Row Gallery.
“On the part of the public, animation is quite an attractive form,” explained Angela. “We all loved cartoons when we were children and we are all compelled by their magic, mystery and excitement."
“There’s also been a tremendous expansion due to new computer software packages,” she added, “some you can even download from the internet. Artists have seized on this opportunity and are using the medium more spontaneously, readily and freely."
“There’s an incredibly large field of possibilities to consider. Some of the artists were surprised to see their work categorised as animation.”
In recent years however the term animation has come to define a wider range of techniques and more and more artists are using the medium as a vehicle for their work.
The artists featured in the show are Simon Faithful, Dryden Goodwin, Paul Morrison, Ann Course, Katy Dove, Vong Phaophanit and Claire Oboussier.
Central Library Building, 3 Angel Row, Nottingham, NG1 6HP, Nottinghamshire, England
T: 0115 915 2869
Open: Nottingham's Angel Row Gallery has now closed as part of the preparations for the opening of the new Centre for Contemporary Art Nottingham in Autumn 2008.
Closed: CLOSED
