The Persistence of Animation

Andrew Darley has sent along the following summary of his keynote address, which will be given at the start of the conference on Friday morning, at 10:00 a.m.:

On the Persistence of Animation

Why “the persistence of animation”? Why now? This paper is a direct response to this year’s conference theme and these are just two of the questions it addresses. Two ideas — the “persistence of vision’ and the “digital turn” — sprang to this author’s mind on first hearing the title and this talk discusses these and further concepts in a broad ranging exploration that asks just what, beyond the mere affirmation of the obvious (i.e. animation’s continued existence), the title might be suggesting. Persistence of vision and computerisation are, indeed, understood as important metaphors in the rhetoric generated by the conference theme and hence in the overall message of the conference itself. It is suggested that persistence cannot rest on any simple or facile embrace of new technologies and techniques but must also acknowledge the importance of history and the vitality of tradition. It ends with a call to animation scholars to recognise the extraordinary heterogeneity of their subject and its place and role within the wider context of media globalisation

Andrew Darley, the widely acclaimed author of Visual Digital Culture: Surface Play and Spectacle in New Media Genres (Routledge, 2000), a book which has helped shape contemporary cultural theory, will deliver the keynote address at the Persistence of Animation Conference. As to the theme of his address, he writes to say that the “topic I have in mind is that of the conference title itself, i.e., ‘The persistence of animation.’ I find the title thought provoking and I’d like to offer more considered reflections and thoughts on its possible significance and implications.”

The core of Darley’s research interests are in the fields of new media technologies and visual culture and film and animation studies. He has published on the history of digital imaging, animation and digital aesthetics, and animation and education. His book, Visual Digital Culture, examines digital imaging techniques across a range of contemporary media, investigating the relationship between evolving digital technologies and existing media and considering the effect of these new image forms on the experience of visual culture. His recent research explores questions surrounding the popular representation of new technology and science. He is currently researching and writing a book on cybernetics and the cinema. Darley’s current academic role is that of Reader in Animation and New Media and Research Degrees Leader at the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) (formerly known as Surrey Institute of Art and Design) based in Farnham, Surrey, UK.