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Monday, 5 May 2008 | Levent OZLER
Pictoplasma NYC: Annual Conference on Contemporary Character Design
All the way from Berlin to Manhattan, the renowned Pictoplasma project is bringing its annual conference on contemporary character design to the U.S. for the first time. From September 5-6, Pictoplasma NYC will gather international artists under one roof to discourse freely about the world of character-driven art and design. The event will offer two days of back-to-back lectures, screenings, exhibitions and parties.
Pictoplasma was conceived as a passion project nine years ago with the goal of championing the vibrant characters that are springing from the minds of today's pioneering artists, whether it be animation, illustration, graphic art or toys. Since then, the project has evolved into a multi-tasking operation. It has published a series of highly regarded compilations, including "The Character Encyclopaedia" and "Characters in Motion," that have gone on to become pictorial bibles of character design. The project has also been hosting annual conferences, festivals and exhibitions in Berlin since 2004, joining artists around the world to talk about characters in commercial and gallery art.
Unlike other festivals that are largely industry-driven, Pictoplasma NYC stems from a goal to unite artists with a common love for character exploration - this singular vision has been the driving force behind Pictoplasma since its inception. Speakers at past events include Gary Baseman, Tokyoplastik, Studio aka and Pete Fowler.
The two day NYC event will be packed with a selection of screenings and talks given by some of the industry's most innovative, leading talent. The conference will wrap on Saturday evening with a party, VJ presentation by Motomichi Nakamura and musical performance by the pioneering artistic duo Gangpol & Mit.
The diverse lineup of speakers hails from around the globe, covering a wide range of media, artistic ideas and inspirational sources. Miami based artist duo Friends With You will give you a demonstration of their magic, that has earned them an unachieved cult status throughout the globe. Motomichi Nakamura's primitive monster art, famously painted, animated or sculptured in black, white and red, has appeared at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, Art Basel Miami Beach and the Sundance Film Festival. Japanese artist Akinori Oishi, who teaches design at Tokyo Tama Art University, works on all scales - from installations to miniature sketches. Tim Biskup's modern, psychedelic paintings, sculptures and toys have been shown and sought after across the world. Angry young filmmaker David O'Reilly has been singled out by both RES and Creative Review as talent to watch, and was featured in the New Directors Showcase at Cannes. Fons Schiedon from The Netherlands has channeled his expressive, kinetic characters into campaigns for Nickelodeon and MTV, and recently finished directing his first TV series in Europe. French duo Gangpol & Mit deals in the colorful and wacky and is well-known for their audio-visual musical performances. And Aaron Stewart is a director at Hornet Inc., where he successfully applies his trademark minimalist style to a variety of spots for high-profile clients.
"What really makes Pictoplasma special is that there is no boundary between attendees and the speakers. Everyone meets and mingles," says Pictoplasma founder Peter Thaler.
Frustrated by the main-stream animation industry's lack of appealing characters, Peter Thaler launched the Pictoplasma project in 1999 as a research tool for daring and stylistically outstanding characters in other fields: design, digital media, fine and urban art, plush dolls and urban vinyl toys. The project soon received international recognition with its growing online archive and best selling encyclopedic publications.
Coming from a background of philosophy and cultural studies, Lars Denicke joined Peter to initiate the first ever Pictoplasma Conference in the year 2004. The event brought together a growing scene of leading artists and upcoming designers from various fields, all joined by the common interest for contemporary character design. From there on, Pictoplasma has curated a series of exhibitions, conferences and festivals, installations and performances all around the globe.
Anna Henckel-Donnersmarck, film director and board member at various film festivals, completes the trio in showcasing a new breed of characters that has been invading the world of animation in recent years. Their programs have been screened at various international festivals for animation, film and new media. The DVD series "Character in Motion" has been a worldwide success.
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