The Herky-Jerky

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More About

• Sarah Klein
• Ray Harryhausen
• Lilli Carre
• Winston Smith
• Philippe Vendrolini

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It's hard to believe that the epic battle in Ray Harryhausen's Jason and the Argonauts has only seven skeletons. That inhuman maelstrom of bony fingers and clacking teeth is one of the lasting impressions, a classic, of frame-by-frame model animation. Nowadays, young filmmakers use software like Stop Motion Pro and MonkeyJam to simulate the organic, roughshod techniques of Harryhausen, Will Vinton, or Art Clokey, but stop-motion is still not for clockwatchers. It's for those who can lose themselves in the wrinkle of an eyelid or the shift of a pencil mark, the type of person who might see beauty in the slow rise of naturally leavened bread. No surprise, then, that the curator of the "Stop & Go" animation exhibition is local "bread artist" Sarah Klein. When Klein isn't making bread, very slowly, in unlikely public spaces, she's creating cutout animation, moving hand-drawn paper dolls across two-dimensional backgrounds the old-fashioned way. Klein's pieces typically explore the wistful but humorous discord at the root of domestic life. Far more surreal is the work of Chicago's indie-comic darling Lilli Carré, whose sequential animation technique is more refined. As she breathes life into her gothic pencil drawings, you'll never look at your teddy bear the same way. Combining Klein and Carré's techniques with appropriated footage, Philippe Vendrolini dissects and distorts TV shows like Cops. Winston Smith would be proud. At least 24 unique examples of stop-motion animation will screen here.
Sat., April 5, 8 p.m., 2008