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DISNEY, DISADA and ART CENTER |
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Since November 2002 a special project has been developed bringing together the Walt Disney Company, Disada Productions and the Sioux City Art Center. In January 2004 Ron Clements will celebrate his 30th year with Disney and a celebration was called for. Ron began at Disney in 1972 as an animator, studying under the legendary Frank Thomas, the best animator ever. He then went into Story as well, then full-time into directing. He has directed on five features for Disney: The Great Mouse Detective (1986), The Little Mermaid (1989), Aladdin (1992), Hercules (1997) and Treasure Planet (2002). Having put together events and exhibitions celebrating animation for 32 years, Disada was asked last November to curate a special exhibition and show that would be held at the Sioux City Art Center, a major art museum in the Iowa city where Ron was born and grew up. The show consists of a major exhibition of original artwork, artifacts and memorabilia, screenings of films in the recently-restored old movie palace The Orpheum Theater, and a monograph publication. The exhibition runs from the end of September 2003 until sometime to be determined shortly between mid-December 2003 and mid-January 2004. A decision will then be made about making it available to other museums on a traveling basis. Peter Adamakos is the curator of the exhibition and writer of the monograph. Nicholas Mahon was chosen by Disada to be the designer of the show, which is more extensive than most artwork exhibitions. The artwork and artifacts are to be seen in a thematic context-- for The Great Mouse Detective, they are displayed on the streets of London, where the film takes place. Similarly, we go under the sea for The Little Mermaid, into the marketplace for Aladdin, into ancient Greece for Hercules with its columns, vases etc, and on the deck of a ship for Treasure Planet. Nicholas has done design work with Disada for the last two years and has spent most of a year on the project working out the sets and its little touches, from a clothesline of topical clothing in the Aladdin marketplace to a multi-layered underwater rock grotto, whose recessed base is the screen where The Little Mermaid feature will be playing. The contents of the exhibition are quite varied. They include original artwork from films Ron animated, such as The Rescuers, The Fox and the Hound, and Winnie the Pooh and also from those he directed. There are original inspirational and concept sketches, character development art, layouts and backgrounds and of course animation drawings. There are over 350 pieces of artwork from the Disney Animation Research Library. A special nine panel exhibit created by Disney shows the making of an animated film step by step with interactive elements. In showcases there will be non-flat items like figurines, publications and merchandise related to each film. All the artwork comes from the Animation Research Library where Disney houses all its artwork going back to the Alice and Oswald the Rabbit series in the silent days, before the advent of Mickey Mouse. Disada is lending items from its collection for the showcases such as original movie posters and other artifacts. Ron has lent items from his own personal collection, including some of his early work while still in Sioux City. Included are the childhood comic books and drawings he drew, and many cartoons that were published while he was still in his teenage years. He has also lent photographs, including personal ones and candid behind-the-scenes Disney ones. Peter and Nick went to California in January and July to meet with Disney and with Ron, to interview him and his associates, while also enjoying an opportunity to see again old friends Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston and their wives, and others, and to select artwork for the exhibition. They spent over a week doing that alone, going through many thousands of pieces. They received total support from the extremely knowledgeable and friendly staff at the Animation Research Library and equal cooperation from the Disney Archives, Disney Feature Animation, the Photo Library, Marketing, and other Disney departments that have become involved with the project. In August Peter and Nick went to Sioux City to finally meet in person the people at the Art Center with whom they had communicated for many months. The final construction of the sets was set to begin, and Nick could oversee the start of the process and see that his architectural drawings were being followed. They were able to meet with the key people there, including Marketing and Publicity (which has already begun--they did four media interviews while there and the television coverage was positive and extensive.) Everyone looks forward to the opening and festivities at the Art Center in September. In addition to free public screenings at the Orpheum Theater, there will be Disney music by the Symphony Orchestra, and an interpretive dance performance by the city's leading dance company. In November Peter will return to give some talks about animation. Disada will be posting undated information and photos on its website soon. |
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