Study Task 3, Planning and Mapping my 3K Essay

Module question:

"What is the role of handmade / traditional Animation in the digital age?”

1) “What?”

• History: Start with the most original form of animation (hand drawn 2D) go through the progression and evolution of methods and tools all the way to where we are today, virtual reality.
• Traditional and handmade animation maintains qualities that are otherwise lost through the introduction of digital tools. This quality is described by Walter Benjamin as the ‘Aura’ of Art.
• In terms of aesthetic, traditional animation has a subtlety and organic appearance. The more of it that is made by hand, the more organic this is. An example of this is early Disney movies such as ‘101 Dalmations’. The quality of image is slightly imperfect and raw lending to its organic appearance. An example of the counter is Disney’s ‘Rhapsody’ short from Fantasia 2000. Although the lines are incredibly clean and the animation is absolutely seamless, that organic element is lost and replaced by a polished machine like aesthetic. (It is important to note that this is NOT a negative aspect, just a very different one.)

2) “How?”

• Counter argument: The mind and creativity creates authenticity therefore it transcends the digital. (My own argument.) Why are we moved still by digital animation? The aura goes beyond that of technique and into the realm of creation.
• Miriam Bratu Hansen - Challenges the validity and legitimacy of Benjamin’s Aura

3) “Why?”

• Nostalgia - There will always be a market for traditional animation as long as people who crave authenticity for the sake of nostalgia exist. The farther through time we move, the less necessary traditional animation will be. It may even die out, however, it is not ambitious to assume that there will be people who will revive it if it indeed has died out completely. (Why do we listen to music from the past? Benny Goodman? Pink Floyd? Rachmaninov? Nostalgia. We want to feel connected to the past and to the creatives from the past.)

Academic Bibliography sources:

1. Walter Benjamin - The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction
2. Miriam Bratu Hansen - Benjamin’s Aura
3. Michael Rock -  The designer as Author
4. Interview with someone in the Animation Industry

Other sources to research:

1. Practitioners from early 20th century - 2D hand drawn animation
2. 3D animation (Stop motion)
3. 2D digital animation
4. 3D animation (CGI)
5. Virtual reality 

Task 2 - Reading and Understanding a Text - Walter Benjamin

         Walter Benjamin’s 1936 essay entitled ‘The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction’ delves in depth into the elusive concept that he refers to as the ‘Aura’ of artwork. The Aura is best described as the authenticity and artistic integrity of a work of Art.

‘One might subsume the eliminated element in the term “aura” and go on to say: that which withers in the age of mechanical reproduction is the aura of the work of art.’ (Benjamin, [1936] Chapter II) In the age of mechanical reproduction, that authenticity is compromised because of its exposure to foreign agents and processes. For example, if an Animator were to animate with the use of traditional animation, there is nothing between himself and his work. In terms of digital animation, a new and foreign agent is introduced whether it be a drawing tablet, Cintiq etc., compromising the ‘Aura’ of the artwork by reducing its authenticity and originality. Another example of the degradation of Aura is mass reproduction; after the animator has finished his work, even if it was created authentically, its Aura is still compromised because it has been distributed to the masses. ‘By making many reproductions it substitutes a plurality of copies for a unique existence.’ (Benjamin, [1936] Chapter II). ‘The work of art reproduced becomes the work of art designed for reproducibility.’ (Benjamin, [1936] Chapter IV). The creative process of the artist is no longer simply an expression of soul rather compromised by the inevitability or reproduction. This changes the creative process and shifts the Artists focus off of himself and towards his viewers.

         Benjamin describes art as being received on two different accounts, one with an emphasis on cult value and another on exhibition value. ‘One may assume that what mattered was their existence, not their being on view.’ (Benjamin, [1936] Chapter V). Benjamin describes cult value as a sacredness of art while exhibition value is the opposite in that it has been created for exhibition specifically to be viewed by the masses. Benjamin speaks of ‘Desire of contemporary masses to bring things “closer” spatially and humanly.’ (Benjamin, [1936] Chapter III). Because the contemporary masses desire to be closer to the ‘Aura’ of artwork, ironically they accept it’s reproduction. However, if the reproduction depreciates the Aura, the masses are accepting a small fragment of the original artwork. 

Study Task 1 - Animation Analysis

Duck Amuck and Corn, Chickens and Government share certain characteristics and do not share others. They are both animated cartoons with funny looking characters and a slapstick humour however, the underpinnings of these shorts are quite far from each other. Duck Amuck is an entertaining and witty film while the other is an important warning of a corrupt government.

Duck Amuck is a Looney Tunes short production directed by Chuck Jones. It is an abstract concept deconstructing the makings of a cartoon character in his universe. The scene opens with Daffy Duck dressed in Musketeer garb handling a sword and battling an unknown second character. As he travels forward dueling this unknown character, the scenery behind him appears to be incomplete, as if an artist failed to continue the drawing. Here we enter an interesting reality in which Daffy Duck is intuitively aware of who he is and what he is made of and has accepted that a 'greater force' is setting up and controlling his circumstances. For the rest of the short we see a struggle between Daffy Duck and the artist. Daffy is attempting to 'get to work' by trying to convince the artist to set up the scenery, dress him appropriately and create satisfactory camera shots. In turn, the artist bullies Daffy Duck by taking his requests too literally, even sarcastically, changing the scenery, Daffy's outfits and even his entire body characteristics.

Duck Amuck may have been an aim at a large Audience anywhere from childhood to adulthood. We can assume this because the characters, noises and colorfully expressive animation is very visually entertaining and uses a 'slapstick' style of humour. However, the script and story of the short are very adult concepts that perhaps a young child may not fully understand. How is it that Daffy Duck is so aware of the details of his existence? How does he know that he is simply an animated cartoon? Besides being intuitively aware of who he is he knows what he needs to do. He has a job to accomplish and that job is performing in an animated cartoon. We can compare Daffy Duck's position to the position of creatives in any creative field. As artists and professionals, they have work they need to do but feel like they are being exploited by the heads of the companies they work for. Duck Amuck, to children, is a funny cartoon in which an Artist is taking advantage of his position and humiliating his subject while to adults, it is funnier still because it brings in a questioning of reality in a very philosophical sense.

Corn, Chickens and Government is a CIA propaganda cartoon from the 1950s. It opens up with a short Owl, Mr. Owlsley Hoot, running away from a flock of chickens. He jumps into a train and leaves behind Eggville, the town he had just been kicked out of. He then proceeds to explain his situation to another bird (of unspecified breed). He explains that he entered Eggville with a plan to turn around the economy after he overheard some Chickens complaining about the prices of corn. Mr. Owlsley Hoot introduces a plan: The farmers will be paid by the government to sell their supply to the grocer at his price. Then the grocer can sell the supply to the consumers at a low price and everybody wins. There is a catch, however; the government will remove a small tax from the local Doodle-doo egg plant. This catch, of course, goes unnoticed by the town as they blindly trust Mr. Hoot's plan. What happens next is a serious of disastrous events that eventually lead to the bankruptcy of the entire town of Eggville. Corn, Chickens and Government was most likely aimed at young children and perhaps even young adults to effectively and simply communicate the inner workings of the Communist system.

Comparatively, the two differ in the element of their intention. One is to inform while the other is to entertain. Although, it is more complicated than that; Duck Amuck is an abstract concept in itself and is meant to be more of a philosophical pondering while Corn, Chickens and Government was an informative propaganda cartoon meant to simplify the concept of Communism to better reach the understanding of children.