25 Years of Animation. Over 500 artworks from Pixar Animation Studios that give insights into the creation of computer-animated motion pictures. It enables an insight into the world of filmmaking which is otherwise not open to the public.
PIXAR – 25 Years of Animation brings the stories, characters and worlds from
animated films such as Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, A Bug’s Life, Up, and Cars to Bonn.
This art exhibition with over 500 artworks from Pixar Animation Studios that
give insights into the creation of computer-animated motion pictures will be on
display in Germany for the first time. Visitors to this show will not be
confronted with finished film scenes, but with sketches, graphics, colour
drawings and sculptures. A large array of monitors, projection surfaces and
touch screens provide insight into the artistry and process of creating a Pixar
film.
Pixar, which is part of the Walt Disney Company today, was founded in 1986 and
initially produced short films and commercials. In 1995 the enterprise
revolutionised the cartoon genre with Toy Story, the first entirely computer-
animated film. So far, over 40 million moviegoers in Germany have seen the
studio’s twelve most important motion pictures, a further one with the title Brave
will be showing in the summer of 2012.
The works shown in PIXAR – 25 Years of Animation come from film studios. This
art exhibition enables an insight into the world of filmmaking which is
otherwise not open to the public. In the Pixar Studios in Emeryville near San
Francisco a film is initially developed with traditional methods such as drawing,
painting, pastel painting and sculpture. In the next step the characters are
digitalized. Visitors to this exhibition will not be confronted with end products,
in other words, finished film scenes, but with sketches, graphics, colour
drawings and sculptures: initial felt tip sketches of ideas on movie characters,
coloured chalk drawings of landscapes or cities, and so-called maquettes,
sculptures that facilitate the further development of a character by providing a
more precise impression of its three-dimensional appearance. Furthermore,
colour scripts, large colour drawings, which summarise entire scenes and bring
across the chromatic atmosphere of a whole film at a glance, will also be on
display.
John Lasseter, Pixar’s chief creative officer, quintessentially explained that Pixar
movies are made up of three basic elements: “world”, “character”, and “story”: the
worlds in which the film takes place, the characters and their actions, and the
stories that are told. The division of this exhibition into three main chapters is
also based on this concept. A large array of monitors, projection surfaces and
touch screens not only enable the vivid representation of filmic elements, but
also provide additional information.
The “Artscape” and the “Zoetrop” are two highlights of this presentation. The
“Artscape” is a room in which a film about Pixar’s worlds is shown on a wide
screen in HD quality with Dolby Surround and Ambient Light. For this purpose,
master drawings and paintings from different films were digitally brought to life
and enhanced with sound design. The film was conceived especially for this
exhibition.
The “Zoetrop” is an installation which was also developed especially for this
show. It was inspired by the principles of animation before the development of
film. As in a kind of three-dimensional flip-book concentrically arranged discs
of decreasing size show maquettes of characters from the movies Toy Story and
Toy Story 2. These characters are all arranged in different poses. Fast rotations and
strobe light trick the human eye into seeing moving figures.
Director Robert Fleck
Managing Director Bernhard Spies
Exhibition Manager Angelica C. Francke and Ulrich Best
Curator Elyse Klaidman
A cooperation with the Pixar Animation Studios
Cultural Partner WDR3
Catalogue/ Press copy € 29 / € 15
Guided tour for families Sundays and public holidays: 3 p.m.
Regular guided tours
in German language
Tuesdays: 7 p.m.
Sundays and public holidays: 11 a.m.
€ 3 additional to exhibition admission reduced 1.50 € additional to exhibition admission
(min. 6, max. 25 participants)
Image: Bob Pauley, Buzz, Toy Story, 1995. Pencil © Disney/Pixar
Head of Corporate Communications / Press Officer
Sven Bergmann
T +49 228 9171–204
F +49 228 9171–211
bergmann@bundeskunsthalle.de
Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland GmbH
Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 4 - 53113 Bonn
Opening hours:
Tuesday and Wednesday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Thursday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Closed on Mondays
Admission standard / reduced / family ticket: € 9 / € 6 / € 15
Happy hour-ticket €6
Tuesday and Wednesday 7 to 9 p.m.
Thursday to Sunday 5 to 7 p.m.
(for individuals only)