ANIMAFEST PRO | BOOK PRESENTATIONS

BOOK PRESENTATIONS: MILEN ALEMPIJEVIĆ, CHRIS ROBINSON, TIMO VILJAKAINEN

DVORANA SEK
08/06 WED 17:00

Milen Alempijević: The Last Turn at Albuquerque
The collection of essays The Last Turn at Albuquerque consists of the author’s texts that focus on and problematise various issues and phenomena in the field of aesthetics, history and theory of auteur animated film. Analytical approach to the presentation and interpretation of selected topics – animation and political ideologies, the interplay of jazz and animated film, animation and advertising, animation and the global socio-economic context, symbolism of the box or phenomenology of the cinema as the backbone of animated film narratives – is based on primary text links with literature, sociology, philosophy, anthropology and other humanistic disciplines, in conjunction with the relevant evaluation of pop culture patterns and codes, thus establishing a broader cultural context. The title of the book is an allusion to the famous replica of Bugs Bunny, the hero creation of Tex Avery, the lucid animator from the golden age of the Hollywood cartoon. Elaborated outside the original context, the replica here becomes a syntagm with a metaphorical effect, aiming to emphasize the importance of animation as a medium and art form.

Chris Robinson: Mad Eyed Misfits. Writings on Indie Animation
One of the most stylistically original and provocative writers in animation returns with this informal sequel to his previous books on indie animation, Unsung Heroes of Animation and Animators Unearthed. In this collection, award-winning writer Chris Robinson looks at a wide range of films and filmmakers, including cult favourites Don Hertzfeldt, Adam Elliot, Masaaki Yuasa, Wong Ping, Bruce Bickford, Jodie Mack, Rosto, Suzan Pitt, Clyde Henry and Cartoon Saloon. Eclectic, opinionated, passionate and personal, Robinson’s writing will amuse, confuse, infuriate and enlighten while introducing readers to some of the most astonishing and important animation artists from around the world.

Timo Viljakainen: Behind the Eyes the World
Timo Viljakainen’s book of photographs is a testament to the inner world of the artist and a celebration of the international animation community. Since the early 1990s, Viljakainen has been photographing animators. Some are in his studio, others are in nature. Still others are captured in and around the festivals – Utrecht, Baden, Annecy, Ottawa, Turku – where Viljakainen made known many of his subjects and did the bulk of his work. He was taking photos of them with their eyes closed. Before being collected and published in book form, Viljakenen’s illustrations were presented at several festivals, beginning with the Holland Animation Film Festival in Utrecht in the autumn of 1996. The volume, consisting of some 70 photographs, ends with a short essay by critic Heikki Jokinen.