Following That Vital Journey

Following That Vital Journey ■ his Digital Salon showcases the vital energies of many aspiring and young anima­ tors. For each of them, the creation of their work was a journey of the imagination, of hardships and sleepless nights, inspired decisions, and difficult choices along the way, of never enough and always more to do. The fruits of their journeys are shown here, individual and loosed upon the world like the first stars ever born. All too soon these young artists in search of a dream will find their place in a large and insensitive world. Most will be absorbed by commercial companies large and small—companies that do huge projects on which these fresh new artists will work, becoming a very small but integral part to the whole of a larger journey, a journey that belongs to someone or something else—a journey whose bottom line is usually and ultimately about making money. It is all too telling that the majority of the works in this show are the product of young or student animators; few entries were received from established artists. Once animators enter the work force, they are on a journey whose route is being set for them. But there are other journeys one can make. There are other roads that can be trav­ eled. Walt Disney did it along with others who expanded and redefined the art of ani­ mation: Winsor McCay, Lotte Reiniger, John and Faith Hubley, Norm McLaren, the Quay Brothers, John Lasseter, Chris Wedge, and Chris Landreth. With unique and personal visions they were able to advance their craft to further the medium of animation as no one had done before. They set out to do what they believed in, what they dreamed, and what they loved to do. They chose roads that were uncertain, that did not have built-in guarantees. They followed their own hearts rather than some­ one else's vision. And we remember them for this: for being true and new. I have a plea to all the artists of this Digital Salon: Remember you have choices. You have the power to invent yourselves as no others have before. You can follow a personal vision based on your heart and your imagination. It may be a more difficult path than the more profitable and immediate one of working for another. But it can be something that is yours and yours alone. Something that changes things, advances things, makes us think, and causes us to wonder. And when you come to the end of your journey, wouldn't it be wonderful to find yourself there—that vital person who vitalized the art of animation? When you follow your bliss, as Joseph Campbell put it, your journey becomes the one you are meant to do. The one that makes you a hero. And heaven knows, we all need more heroes. You have started on that path; I hope you choose to continue. Jacquelyn Ford Morie Curator, Computer Animation Digital Salon, Curator's Statement 41 3 ...