Contemporary reinventions of early devices that flicker and rotate : a particular type of animated installation in the quest for an expanded animation experience

This thesis focuses on a particular type of animated installation, specifically one that employs reinventions of proto-cinematic devices that flicker and rotate—the thaumatrope, the phenakistoscope, the zoetrope, the praxinoscope, and the flipbook in its mutoscope form—and thereby provide a contempo...

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Main Author: Veras, Christine
Other Authors: Sorensen Dorrit Vibeke
Format: Thesis-Doctor of Philosophy
Language:English
Published: Nanyang Technological University 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10356/73238
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
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spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-732382020-10-28T08:40:27Z Contemporary reinventions of early devices that flicker and rotate : a particular type of animated installation in the quest for an expanded animation experience Veras, Christine Sorensen Dorrit Vibeke School of Art, Design and Media Alan Cholodenko DRNTU::Visual arts and music::Animation DRNTU::Visual arts and music::Media DRNTU::Visual arts and music::Art museums and galleries This thesis focuses on a particular type of animated installation, specifically one that employs reinventions of proto-cinematic devices that flicker and rotate—the thaumatrope, the phenakistoscope, the zoetrope, the praxinoscope, and the flipbook in its mutoscope form—and thereby provide a contemporary creative alternative to the traditional experience of animation on screen. In fact, this particular type of animated installation not only explores and expands upon characteristics introduced in the early optical toys but transforms the old devices into an expanded animation experience empowered by the astonishment and wonder they elicit in their public. In rethinking theories about and/or related to the proto-cinema era and analysis of contemporary artworks, the author provides evidence in this thesis of the important role that these early animation devices played in engendering their contemporary counterpart—as a particular type of animated installation—investigating their connections, similarities, and differences in the quest for an experience that expands and pushes the boundaries of animation. The works of Gregory Barsamian, Peter Hudson, Eric Dyer, Robert Breer, George Griffin, Kumi Yamashita, Toshio Iwai, Ryusuke Ito, Mat Collishaw, David “Meggs” Hooke, the art collective composed of David Lawrey and Jaki Middleton, Paul Cox, William Kentridge, Roberto Freitas, and Milton Marques constitute the case studies of this particular type of animated installation. The research contained in the thesis exposes and explores the renovation and reconfiguration of animation in its proto-cinematic form as the animated installation in a post-cinematic form, enabling, even in its own way facilitating, the reconnection of past and present to help construct new possibilities for the future of the field of animation. Further, the research reflects upon the consequences of the past and considers an alternative path that cinema could have followed in exploring the potential of the optical toys as devices that produce animation independent of a screen. These optical toys based on flicker and rotation not only contributed incrementally to the technological knowledge that led to cinema but today are reanimated as a specific kind of animated installation. The theoretical reflections of the thesis are complemented by practical investigation, specifically the author’s invention of a new optical device, the Silhouette Zoetrope, and exploration of it as a toy, art object, research tool, and potential animated installation. Indeed, the development of and subsequent improvements to this practical investigation propelled forward the theoretical research, and vice versa. The trinity of history, science, and art are at the foundation of this thesis and its fundamental search for a new perspective on the expanding role of animation in the 21st century. Doctor of Philosophy 2018-01-30T02:07:47Z 2018-01-30T02:07:47Z 2018 Thesis-Doctor of Philosophy Veras, C. (2018). Contemporary reinventions of early devices that flicker and rotate : a particular type of animated installation in the quest for an expanded animation experience. Doctoral thesis, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. http://hdl.handle.net/10356/73238 10.32657/10356/73238 en 412 p. application/pdf Nanyang Technological University
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
continent Asia
country Singapore
Singapore
content_provider NTU Library
collection DR-NTU
language English
topic DRNTU::Visual arts and music::Animation
DRNTU::Visual arts and music::Media
DRNTU::Visual arts and music::Art museums and galleries
spellingShingle DRNTU::Visual arts and music::Animation
DRNTU::Visual arts and music::Media
DRNTU::Visual arts and music::Art museums and galleries
Veras, Christine
Contemporary reinventions of early devices that flicker and rotate : a particular type of animated installation in the quest for an expanded animation experience
description This thesis focuses on a particular type of animated installation, specifically one that employs reinventions of proto-cinematic devices that flicker and rotate—the thaumatrope, the phenakistoscope, the zoetrope, the praxinoscope, and the flipbook in its mutoscope form—and thereby provide a contemporary creative alternative to the traditional experience of animation on screen. In fact, this particular type of animated installation not only explores and expands upon characteristics introduced in the early optical toys but transforms the old devices into an expanded animation experience empowered by the astonishment and wonder they elicit in their public. In rethinking theories about and/or related to the proto-cinema era and analysis of contemporary artworks, the author provides evidence in this thesis of the important role that these early animation devices played in engendering their contemporary counterpart—as a particular type of animated installation—investigating their connections, similarities, and differences in the quest for an experience that expands and pushes the boundaries of animation. The works of Gregory Barsamian, Peter Hudson, Eric Dyer, Robert Breer, George Griffin, Kumi Yamashita, Toshio Iwai, Ryusuke Ito, Mat Collishaw, David “Meggs” Hooke, the art collective composed of David Lawrey and Jaki Middleton, Paul Cox, William Kentridge, Roberto Freitas, and Milton Marques constitute the case studies of this particular type of animated installation. The research contained in the thesis exposes and explores the renovation and reconfiguration of animation in its proto-cinematic form as the animated installation in a post-cinematic form, enabling, even in its own way facilitating, the reconnection of past and present to help construct new possibilities for the future of the field of animation. Further, the research reflects upon the consequences of the past and considers an alternative path that cinema could have followed in exploring the potential of the optical toys as devices that produce animation independent of a screen. These optical toys based on flicker and rotation not only contributed incrementally to the technological knowledge that led to cinema but today are reanimated as a specific kind of animated installation. The theoretical reflections of the thesis are complemented by practical investigation, specifically the author’s invention of a new optical device, the Silhouette Zoetrope, and exploration of it as a toy, art object, research tool, and potential animated installation. Indeed, the development of and subsequent improvements to this practical investigation propelled forward the theoretical research, and vice versa. The trinity of history, science, and art are at the foundation of this thesis and its fundamental search for a new perspective on the expanding role of animation in the 21st century.
author2 Sorensen Dorrit Vibeke
author_facet Sorensen Dorrit Vibeke
Veras, Christine
format Thesis-Doctor of Philosophy
author Veras, Christine
author_sort Veras, Christine
title Contemporary reinventions of early devices that flicker and rotate : a particular type of animated installation in the quest for an expanded animation experience
title_short Contemporary reinventions of early devices that flicker and rotate : a particular type of animated installation in the quest for an expanded animation experience
title_full Contemporary reinventions of early devices that flicker and rotate : a particular type of animated installation in the quest for an expanded animation experience
title_fullStr Contemporary reinventions of early devices that flicker and rotate : a particular type of animated installation in the quest for an expanded animation experience
title_full_unstemmed Contemporary reinventions of early devices that flicker and rotate : a particular type of animated installation in the quest for an expanded animation experience
title_sort contemporary reinventions of early devices that flicker and rotate : a particular type of animated installation in the quest for an expanded animation experience
publisher Nanyang Technological University
publishDate 2018
url http://hdl.handle.net/10356/73238
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