Pixar: 20 Years of Animation

Pixar: 20 Years of Animation
December 14, 2005-February 6, 2006
MoMA - The Museum of Modern Art
Film and Media Gallery, Titus 1 Lobby Gallery,
Titus 2 Lobby Gallery, and throughout the first floor

In keeping with the Museum's long tradition of presenting animation, this is the most extensive gallery exhibition that MoMA has ever devoted to the genre. Featuring over 500 works of original art on loan for the first time from Pixar Animation Studios, the show includes paintings, concept art, sculptures, and an array of digital installations.

These works reveal the intricate, hands-on processes behind Pixar's computer-generated films-including Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, and numerous shorts. The exhibition also includes a complete retrospective of Pixar films. Demonstrating the symbiotic relationship between traditional and digital media pioneered by the studio over its twenty-year history, Pixar: 20 Years of Animation is a tribute to the artists whose work has reinvented the genre.

The Adventures of André & Wally B., Luxo Jr., Red's DreamToy Story
Wednesday, December 14, 8:00 (introduced by Lasseter); Thursday, December 15, 6:00; Sunday, December 18, 2:00; Friday, December 23, 6:00; T1

The Adventures of André & Wally B.

1984. USA. Concept/direction by Alvy Ray Smith. Character design and animation by John Lasseter. 2 min.

Luxo Jr.

1986. USA. Directed by John Lasseter. 2 min.

Red's Dream

1987. USA. Directed by John Lasseter. 4 min.

Toy Story I

1995. USA. Directed by John Lasseter. Screenplay by Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, Alec Sokolow. Woody is the toy that Andy plays with the most, but when he gets a Buzz Lightyear action figure for his birthday, Andy's favorite becomes intensely jealous of the clueless spaceman. Lasseter and company created two utterly believable, computer-generated worlds-one real, one toy-for this timeless story of friendship and loyalty. 81 min. Program 89 min.

Tin Toy, Knick Knack, Saturday, A Bug's Life
December 17, 7:30; Sunday, December 18, 5:00; Monday, December 26, 6:00; Sunday, December 31, 2:00; T1

Tin Toy

1988. USA. Directed by John Lasseter. 5 min.

Knick Knack

1989. USA. Directed by John Lasseter. 4 min.

A Bug's Life

1998. USA. Directed by John Lasseter. Codirected by Andrew Stanton. Screenplay by Stanton, Donald McEnery, Bob Shaw. A brave little ant joins forces with the members of a hapless bug circus to save his colony from the seasonal pillaging of a band of grasshoppers. Preceded by two award-winning shorts, one of which, Tin Toy, is now on The Library of Congress' National Film Registry. 95 min. Program 104 min.

Other Artworks of the Pixar Films Featuring at the "Pixar: 20 Years of Animation" Exhibition

Toy Story II

2001. USA. Directed by John Lasseter.

Finding Nemo

2003. USA. Directed by John Lasseter.

Monsters, Inc.

2001. USA. Directed by John Lasseter.

The Incredibles

2004. USA. Directed by John Lasseter.

Cars

(June 9, 2006).USA. Directed by John Lasseter.

Organized by Steven Higgins, Curator, and Ronald S. Magliozzi, Assistant Curator, with Jenny He, Research Assistant, Department of Film and Media.

The exhibition is made possible by Intel Corporation and Porsche AG. Additional support is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Media sponsorship is provided by Wired Magazine.

For more information : http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/2005/pixar.html

About Pixar Animation Studios
Pixar Animation Studios is an Academy Award-winning computer animation studio with the technical, creative and production capabilities to create a new generation of animated feature films, merchandise and other related products. Pixar's objective is to combine proprietary technology and world-class creative talent to develop computer-animated feature films with memorable characters and heartwarming stories that appeal to audiences of all ages. In partnership with Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar created and produced Toy Story (1995), A Bug's Life (1998), Toy Story 2 (1999), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Finding Nemo (2003) and The Incredibles (2004).

Since its incorporation, Pixar has been responsible for many important breakthroughs in the application of computer graphics for filmmaking. Consequently, the company has attracted some of the world's finest talent in this area. Pixar's technical and creative teams have collaborated since 1986 to develop three core proprietary software systems:

i. Marionette", an animation software system for modeling, animating and lighting,
ii. Ringmaster", a production management software system for scheduling, coordinating and tracking a computer animation project and
iii. RenderMan, a rendering software system for high-quality, photo-realistic image synthesis that Pixar uses internally and licenses to third parties.

Pixar's creative department is led by John Lasseter, an Academy Award-winning director and animator and the director of Toy Story, A Bug's Life and Toy Story 2, as well as executive producer of Monsters, Inc. (2001), Finding Nemo (2003), The Incredibles (2004) and Cars (June 9, 2006). Under the guidance of Mr. Lasseter, Pixar has built an entire creative team, including a department of highly skilled animators, a story department and an art department. This team was responsible for creating, writing and animating all of Pixar's films. Pixar strives to hire animators who have superior acting ability-those able to bring characters and inanimate objects to life, as though they have their own thought processes. In order to attract and retain quality animators, the company founded Pixar University, which conducts three-month long courses for new and existing animators. Pixar also has a complete production team that gives the company the capability to control all elements of production of its films. Pixar has successfully expanded the production team so projects may be worked on simultaneously.

For more information : http://www.pixar.com/

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