The Persistence of Animation

Primitive Movers: Live Performance in Digital Animation

Abstract: This paper focuses on the developing contemporary genre of live animation performances, which include the body of the animator alongside projected images of his or her making. I examine these live performances within the context of the self-figurative animation tradition, but also within the context of current digital cinema debates and practices. As I argue in the paper, corporeal expression remains an important feature of traditional animation — one that insists on maintaining an embodied creative presence within moving image representations. Although the paper touches on the works of numerous contemporary artists, the paper focuses on the works of Kathy Rose and Pierre Hebert.

Biographical Statement: Alla Gadassik conducts research on hybrids of live-action and animation, early animation history, and digital cinema theory. She is particularly interested in animation as a form of embodied filmmaking — one that resonates with other filmmaking practices, but also suggests distinctive transformative possibilities within digital cinema. Alla holds an MA in Communication and Culture from York/Ryerson Universities (Toronto), and is currently pursuing her PhD in Screen Cultures at Northwestern University (Chicago). In addition to pursuing an academic career, Alla is a digital filmmaker/animator. She has taught digital media in the Radio and Television program at Ryerson University (Toronto), and hopes to combine theory and practice in her future teaching projects.