Abstract
Computer animation today faces many challenges. Dominated by visually homogenous commercial content, obsessed with realism and simulation, and unduly beholden to the conceptual and visual limitations of its animation and cinema predecessors, it is a medium with enormous promise but frequently limited execution. My research aims to explore the nature of these problems, and establish why addressing them is vital to the full realisation of the medium’s potential. Importantly, it seeks to explore the concepts of Romantic art and theory, and draw on them to allow new theoretical and practical perspectives on computer animation, and possible solutions to the established problems. Through this synthesis of traditional art and philosophy with contemporary new media practice, I aim to establish important connections between seemingly disparate times and mediums, and cultivate fresh and critical discussion about the nature of computer animation today.
1. Introduction
Computer animation as we understand it today is a relatively young technique, perhaps only three or four decades old. It was only a little over a decade ago that the feature film Toy Story (1995) was released, and computer animation began to be appreciated by the public not merely as a visual effects technique but a medium of significant creative potential.
In the decade since, the medium has grown immensely and become extraordinarily successful, and traditionally animated films (those drawn by hand) have been almost completely replaced by computer-generated work. That rapid explosion, and almost technophilic enthusiasm for computer animation, has also had the effect of spreading and reinforcing a very particular, and highly commercial, approach to the medium. By virtue of their commercial profile and cultural dominance, specific ideological attitudes and creative priorities have become the common definition of the medium, resulting in a computer animation culture dominated by narrow interests. As Will Tait explains in his paper The Space Between: Fine Art and Technology, “much of what we see created with computers today is merely a reflection of the tool, not the mind or soul of a person†(Tait 19).
This research aims to explore the medium not with a contemporary and populist perspective, but a more consciously broad and critical one that can bring some sense of creative evolution and context. It seeks to understand how computer animation has become what it is today, and to discuss the major problems and creative dilemmas facing artists working in the medium.
Importantly, this research aims to respond to and encourage discussion of these problems, in general by widening debate to a broader number of ideas and contexts, and specifically through the values of the Romantic movement of the late 18th and early-to-mid 19th Centuries. By drawing on relevant Romantic discussion and theory, and through a critical comparison with contemporary animation trends and attitudes, significant connections and contrasts become clear; the artistic gaols and values of Romanticism are well paired with computer animation’s unique qualities, and are not only logical but perhaps even vital for the continued progress of the art form.
Despite compounded success and rapid mass proliferation, computer animation has become introverted as a medium and isolated from historical and creative context. But through this research a sense of historical situation, a broader theoretical framework, and the values of Romanticism can expand awareness of its artistic possibilities, and encourage discussion on how a medium still in its infancy can begin to grow creatively.
As a consequence of its exponential proliferation and success over such a compressed timeline, computer animation has become introverted as a medium and isolated from its historical and creative context. My thesis proposes a broader historical and contemporary framework that, through the values of Romanticism, can expand awareness of its artistic possibilities, and encourage discussion to ensure a medium still in its infancy has continued creative growth.
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I’ll be blogging more of this in the coming weeks, but if you’d like to skip ahead and see it all, read my complete Honours Thesis. You can also browse the works cited and extended bibliography.
Discussion