John Frame has been making sculpture in Southern California since the early 1980s; his work has been exhibited extensively in the United States as well as in Europe, Japan, and Taiwan.
He twice has been the recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and received the New Talent Award from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. In 1995 he was awarded the J. Paul Getty Museum’s Individual Artist Fellowship. He received an Honorary Doctor of Arts degree from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle in 2009.
A survey of the artist’s work was held at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1992. In 2005 the Long Beach Museum of Art organized a retrospective exhibition, “Enigma Variations: The Sculpture of John Frame, 1980 to 2005.” In 2011, “Three Fragments of a Lost Tale” became the first major solo exhibition of the work of a living sculptor to be mounted by the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens.
His work can be found in more than 300 public and private collections, including the permanent collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Orange County Museum of Art, the Long Beach Museum of Art, the Palm Springs Desert Museum, the Renwick Gallery of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution, and the University of Southern California.
Frame has been artist in residence, visiting artist, or guest lecturer at more than 50 museums, universities, and art-related institutions around the United States. He has also taught at the University of California at Los Angeles, Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, and at the Claremont Graduate University. He lives and works in Wrightwood,
For information about his work, see http://johnframesculpture.com/the-tale
---- CTAN 522: Animation Dept. Seminar ---- Fall 2011 
John Frame is a self-taught sculptor and now animator, and his presentation made me remember how it feels to learn something on my own. The first animation I ever tried to do was just an experiment, I was using Adobe Flash for the first time and it was totally awful, but I didn’t think about it being awful, I just saved the file and started doing another one, this one slightly more ambitious. I spent like five hours making a three-second loop of a cat sitting in a window. It was fun, and at the time I was really proud of it, but mostly it made me want to keep going and do more.
You can tell when you look at Frame’s stop-motion work that he is really inside his own head (in a good way), and he is not worrying about his audience. But he’s also not making something that is egoistic, because he is not worrying about himself either. He’s just doing it, because it is new and fun and cool and fascinating, and he’s proud of it. I think having that kind of clear focus is what most artists wish they could sustain all the time, trying to balance between thinking about yourself and thinking about your audience, while not really focusing on either, but instead having that constant tunnel vision into your own imagination.
I found this week´s seminar very challenging. When I left the room, I had a dilemma in my mind about the artist.
First of all, I really liked Mr. Frame as a person and I appreciated his work as a sculptor and creator of images. His characters were intriguing, evocative and produced a unique feeling that comes from his background and approach to the creative process. I am very thankful that he shared his time with us.
On the other hand, I found it very difficult to connect with his statement as an artist and found very few ways to relate to his experience. I respect the fact that he is creating these kinds of movies (If he doesn’t do them, who would?). But as I watched them I found myself with no questions about their content because it was explicit that everything was coming from the universe he created during these periods of dreaming and seclusion. This might have been the reason why I was enjoying his work mostly in a formal way, remembering still images and not motion sequences. Except the bed inside the growing grass which was a beautiful shot.
I’m not implying that every artist should fill this idea of a general communicator (as seen in last week comment) for everyone to relate with. Some artists take the risk of challenging the public with more a more cryptic language and the world of art is richer by having them in it.
In conclusion, I think Mr. Frame is an artist that lives in a very different world than mine, and I appreciate the fact that he, through the internet, is showing us what this world looks like. A world without market driven movies and bad television. In the end, if his path is so different than mine, at least he’s building a different one, and that is a stance that I can applaud.
After listening to John Frame speak about his practice I could tell he was a formidable intellect. One who has spent the last 30 years scrutinizing his work and identifying it’s place in the contemporary world of fine art. I found myself more interested in his puppets as physical objects, than in the film itself. I’d never actually seen his sculpture before the seminar, so the brief slide-show introduction we got during the beginning of his speech was a nice treat. All of his sculptures felt personal, and the visuals they created seemed heavily considered. Content aside, every object is an impressive testament to craftsmanship.
I found it harder to make the leap of faith into his animated works, and I can’t really discern why. The film seemed to be so much about the material, all it did was make me want to interact with the puppets. My mind might be changed if I had seen the piece in a gallery setting where the sculptures are present, but personally, seeing the film alone wasn’t enough.
John Frame and Mathew Barney are the only two artists I’ve ever heard of that have experienced a phenomenal amount of success out of the gate. The lack of formal training and necessity of isolation in his practice is definitely something I can never relate to, as I’m receiving my MFA and enjoy pop-culture. But Mr. Frame’s commitment to his work makes his personal life and artistic method almost indistinguishable. I find that to be simultaneously inspirational and mind-boggling.
Trying to survive in the world of fine art is a prospect I consider immensely intimidating. For me, it’s tantamount winning the lottery. Four years of my undergraduate degree made me certain I couldn’t survive as a fine-artist.
John Frame, however, seemed like a true artist to me. A man that was devoting his life to this work, and that would be doing so even if nobody was looking. In that respect I was very happy to see the amount of success he’s found without compromising his path as an artist and a craftsman.
John Frame quoted another John, John Ruskin, during his speech last week. He uttered something along the lines of “Fine art is that in which the hand, the head, and the heart of man go together.” After reading a bit more on John Ruskin it is not difficult to detect the continuity between the two like-minded thinkers. I came across another quote I thought befitting of the seminar content; driving home one of the most progressive ideas descending from his discussion: “An architect should live as little in cities as a painter. Send him to our hills, and let him study there what nature understands by a buttress, and what by a dome,” John Ruskin.
The skill of isolation and its’ relation to the act of creativity is a discussion worthy of further debate and research. Much like what John Frame suggests, I too am a big advocate of creating filters as a means of keeping the mind active and consciously aware. I believe this practice gives rise to an authentic sense of human agency that levitates away from passive participation; an unfortunate norm when confronting the majority of today’s media. Within this context, before any raw content is even seen, it is filtered through strategic/purposeful filters. If placed and used in a productive way, filters as such can enhance the quality life, and thus the outcome of that life, which the thinker strives towards in order to make his etch in this world. With that said, there are slippery slopes one must travel down when defending an argument so multifaceted and delicate. A route I am very willing to lend my support. But with all good ideas, the one that resonates best with me personally and in any case, is always: Everything in moderation, said best by my mother.
One of the cool aspects of animation is how much the art style can influence the feel and direction of any project. In many ways, the art can be just as compelling as the story and the animation. Sometimes, animation isn’t just about what happened, but how it feels while whatever is happening. I found myself very drawn into the world John crafted in his presentation and thoroughly enjoyed it. The color palette, the textures, the intricate details of every piece of artwork on camera was incredibly rich and filled with a tangible, old-world atmosphere that just about anyone can enjoy. Even his work is reminiscent of other high profile stop-motion animators like the brothers Quay, I felt that what he brought was extremely unique.
It’s a fascinating concept within the world of the artist that after enough time, everyone eventually hits their creative wall. The fact that he was at the wall for years is both terrifying and comforting, because it lets us know to look out for it and to not be discouraged when it last for a longer time than we might anticipate. While I don’t look forward to it in the slightest, it’s great to know that I too can come out on the other side with a renewed purpose and a continued period of creative expression. Thanks, John Frame.
I found John Frame’s talk a bit inspiring. The fact that he took up sculpture at 30, found enough success that when he felt boxed in after 20 years, he was able to walk away and still support himself, and then take up animation. His work definitely brought you to an alternate place that makes you try to think about what it means, even though he says it has no meaning, but is not without meaning. Really what is sticking with me most of all from the evening are the terms “hypno-pompic,’ and “universal human soup.” Plus I want to know why there was a massive helicopter landing in his front yard during his “behind the artist,” video.
There is no question that John Frame is an accomplished artist — he has exhibited his art worldwide (even to millionaire clients!) and he has a lovely home (w/ a helicopter view!). Frame’s sculpture work possesses a curiously awesome style and they are a marvel to stare at. I truly admire the woodwork/ craftsmanship which is evident in each unique piece Frame has laid his hands on.
I am not sure whether Frame’s presentation was along the lines of what he had originally planned (unfortunate technical difficulties w/ his iPad), but I felt that the first 20 minutes involving the sculpture slides was the best part of the seminar. Once Frame showed his mini documentary I became confused about what he was attempting to evoke as an artist. I get it that sometimes art is not meant to be a clear cut narrative (aka abstract/ experimental) but it was difficult for me to absorb Frame’s work as an animator. After a short while I disregarded the crude animation style and saw beauty in it (mainly because of how beautifully crafted the puppets were AND the gorgeous lighting set-ups) but my appreciation for Frame’s venture as a stop motion animator dissipated once he expressed his utter dislike to animate. At first I wondered if he was joking but I quickly realized it made sense because, like pimpin’, stop motion animation ain’t easy (especially to the untrained).
Art students from all disciplines could find inspiration in Frame’s fine art, which is why I wish he would’ve focused on presenting his past work as a sculptor– the art which has made him a brilliant fine artist of our time. But instead he chose to present a work-in-progress of hobby and I was left feeling very, very sad.
As others have pointed out before seeing John Frame at seminar resulted in mixed feelings.
Granted he is a talented sculptor and his characters are inventive and texturally pleasant but sadly his animation and films leave a lot to be desired. As of yet it feels he is still in the stage of exploring the possibilities of moving his characters in time and space and right now his films are just dealing with the textures of his characters and the fact that they are moving rather than designing movement which animation is all about. John Frame is however new to this type of work and it will be interesting to see him evolve past his current limits. I for one would love to see what a trained animator could do with his work….
That being said, it was great pleasure to be able to listen to him talk about his work and to see his chosen method of working as well as to listen to his ideas on art making even when I found myself in complete disagreement. Frame’s visit kept everyone’s mind and mouth going long after he left which has to be a good thing.
It is inspiring to know that some of the most successful artists are self-taught. The manly John Frame created a vision for himself and followed it through on his own. Many of the greatest ideas are born from endless research and years of brainstorming, lack of sleep, or even drugs. I am bond by my references and influenced by so many things, but seeing John Frame works proves that powerful work can come from freeing the mind of the outside world. Furthermore, he said he was “touched by a the muse”. Inspiration can be born from anywhere; sometimes its just a spark of luck that pushes you to create interesting work. It was fascinating to hear his enlightened moment coming from a prolonged waking dream. Dreams are fantastic and imaginative; they happen in a world where anything can happen. John’s waking dream reminded me of a rare, vivid and deep lucid dream I had after taking numerous dream journals and training my mind. I also saved the world in one of my dreams; maybe I can bring these experiences into my stories as well. John said his animation “The Tale of the Crippled Boy” wasn’t “about anything”, but I think it was about something- something insane and amazing. John is quite a talented master with an “intuitive lock” that I hope to obtain someday.
Frame is most definitely a modern artist, which in and of itself can be rather confusing in its philosophy. The art world is currently going through what I can call “counter-Modernism”. True Modernism is not the deconstruction of the medium but rather the creation of a new “pure” medium. Post-Modernism was an expansion on that concept yet reincorporating ideals and artistic vision.
Counter-Modernism seems to be in opposition to the creators of the past and John Frame himself stated that he wanted to create work that was in opposition to the art scene in the seventies, which was dominated by Minimalist readymades and Pop Art. But then there’s the conundrum: in opposing other artists, you somehow have to depend on knowing what you’re trying not to be. Therefore, you ARE ultimately depending on other artists, even if it’s the opposite.
He’s a craftsman and an artist at heart and I can attest to that being a Fine Arts Major (originally I was going to specialize in Painting). And that level of dedication to the figures and settings is apparent in his shorts. However, at this stage he is moreso a sculpter who animates rather than an animator who sculps. Animation is an incredibly meticulous medium that’s surprisingly not as subjective as sculpture; therefore, the mechanisms and fludity behind it are of utmost importance. Frame’s almost there and as an artist he will surely expand his animation understanding.
Having unintentionally first seen John Frame’s work at the Huntington I was immediately charmed by the mysterious atmosphere that his exhibit created, seeing his film again in seminar I felt the exact same sensation and wholeheartedly enjoyed the experience. John Frame’s work to me is cohesive in the sense that his puppets are styled to be overlooked character’s from another time. With “Three Fragments of a Lost Tale” we are presented with the pieces of an epic and must try to imagine the events that have brought about such strange and complex characters. For me this is enough, any written story could not live up to the sense of wonder brought about by these fragments.
While Frame might deny any rigorous symbolic language or concrete meaning in his films, I do feel like his work is packed with content. The poses and objects in the film refer to the pursuit of knowledge that existed in a bygone golden age that is now forgotten and unappreciated. This message could coincide with John’s current stance toward the art world, since he is looking back toward a more beautiful and rich era of art making, where art was made for art’s sake and has less to do with conceptual in jokes.
Overall the beautiful artistry in John’s figures in unparalleled in any stop motion figure I have ever seen, and his patience and dedication toward learning a new craft is admirable, I look forward to seeing the second installment.
Frame was an interesting speaker. His work is unique in the field. There are some obvious parallels between early stop motion animators like Ladisla Starevich as well as contemporary artists like the Quay Brothers or Jan Svankmajer. However, his work has a singular spirit. There seems to be more of a focus on narrative and character, than gesture or atmosphere. Frame’s work is in the same vein as Peter Greenaway. He works somewhere between the avante-garde and traditional narrative structures. It seems true that this sort of work would have a small but dedicated following. The work is too mainstream for the modern art world at large, but it is too abstract for the mainstream audience. That being said, because of the limited market for the work, the amount of people working in this fashion seems extremely limited. Therefore, it is easy to carve out a niche. Frame is able to work in a truly unique fashion. I can see this series continually expanding into a larger and larger series. I do enjoy the craftsmanship of Frame’s work and hope to see him continue in his line.
It seems that the puppets John Frame creates are alive and full of energy even though they are standing still. Only by looking at these sculptures can I feel the emotion and the personality the artist try to convey. I think it’s not a big deal if he chose not to animate the puppets, for the works themselves already tell a lot of story. But I appreciate that John Frame made a big challenge for himself—animating the sculpture. Now we can see the timeline of the story, changing of the surrounding, and the interaction between these sculptures. They come out of the exhibition glass box and begin to perform their stories. The relationship between sculptures and animations is like novels and movies. The words in the novel are fixed and what makes them alive is our imagination or mind! The movie adapted from the novel makes the scene for the words so that we can “see” the story. Both are good ways of presenting scenarios. For John Frame, by animating the puppets, though he thinks the process is painful, I believe he had experienced a dramatic art-working.
Having first seen John Frame’s work is at history of animation class. At that time, I was totally impressed by his work. So last week, I was so excited to look forward to his speech.
The most charming part in Frame’s work, for me, is the emotion contained in the sculpture. Definitely the sculptures are delicate and beauty, but I got confused by the expression and feature, which made me feel the sculpture is lively. Especially through the their eyes, even just one sculpture in the image, it convinced me that must be an animation character.
Also Frame mentioned “isolated” many times in the speech. How should we find the best way to animate our own animations? Should we keep a quite and secret environment to work? Sometimes it’s a paradox, means in the animation industry, social is an important way to learn the knowledge. We hardly separate ourselves with other peoples most time. But being isolated is also a good way to make animation. Because we can pay whole attention and energy on animation, the only thing we need do on that time. For me, now, I think balance is appropriate, which means keeping my own private time on animation when enjoying the colorful life.
Mr. John Frame’s art work give me a lots of inspiration. The story he told us about the muse knock on his door when he about to give up as an artist is really touching and mistrial. Mr. John has a purely beautiful heart and a simply life style as an artist, I really could feel his honestly and simplicity attitude towards his life and the things he is passionate about. I am really glad there is still people like him chasing and working on the work they love regardless the influence from outside world.
The animation he showed us I especially love the part of the grass growing and the character trying to reach the ladder but he failed and then fall sleep on the bed in the grassland. The green, vivid atmosphere of grass growing strongly contrast the desperate mood of the man who failed to catch the ladder to the heaven reminds me of a movie called . I know the author maybe had another meaning behind it but I couldn’t stop feeling that blue and strong desperate emotion cover over my heart. The only part I feel really pity is the animation part of the puppet, I just thinking of my own if there is better animate movement of these character that might bring more identify for the audience to connect with the characters in the animation and also it will bring more recognition with the emotion inside of the story.
But again, that is just my opinion, besides this part, Mr. John Frame’s work is absolute excellent. I love the concept behind it , and the texure and the colour. It looks amazing when the character are together on the stage and the light shoot straight from the top. Seems like next minute, when we are not there, they will be ready to display a story we will never find out.
John Frame is such a rare artist as an ancient hermit, searching isolatedly for a cryptic art world.
Those earlier sculptrues he made was so marvolous, using the various materials in their natural way, and splicing those precise sections together to build a new living body in still. I was deeply attracted by the progress he created his works, into isolated nature or his own cubical for inspiration, then cut, cave, paint, wipe soil, and spit as well.
As for his animation I feel like he gave the puppits gain a temporary life in their dreams or in his subconcious world with the “midas touch”. The way he animated is totally followed by nature. He is the” almighty creater” but also a objective observer in his own art world with whole his mind, heart and the hands. In which way, I see a pure artist.
Thanks for he shares his work with us and gave us a different aspect to see an isolated art corner with those unforgetable characters which comes from a cryptic world.
One of the best aspects of animation is that it can be used in so many ways to express such abstract and profound ideas and emotions. I really appreciate how John Frame is using animation to explore his own thoughts and views about life and the human condition. I think animation is very appropriate for his work because he is literally creating life and therefore developing his theme and concept even further.
I agree with everyone that his puppets were very impressive and the textures he created were a delight for the eye. I can’t wait to see his work and animations develop and see how far he can push his films.
Emblematized by the skeletally graceful flexing of a spidery finger, the editorially enhanced fracturing of the quasi-narrative world John Frame showed during his presentation last Wednesday easily numbered among the top most eerily enthralling stop-motion film I’ve had the opportunity to screen during my (short) stint as a (student) animator. Hearing him speak about the autodidactic principles that had long (informally) governed his practices as a mixed-media sculptor-turned-animator (or, for that matter, his experiences in the commercial realm of fine arts) was similarly unexpectedly entertaining, and his lecture was actually incredibly enjoyable. The undying dedication (and unerring enthusiasm) which he displaying when speaking about his work (particularly about how he had spent the past five years) was truly amazing — and definitely suffused me with envy! John’s frank honesty and anecdotes were genuinely amusing, and I very much enjoyed his lecture last week.
Thanks, John, for spending the time to speak to us last Wednesday — and I hope that the oh-so-drudgerous* task of animating becomes even marginally more enjoyable for you in the future!
*To employ a wretched semi-neologism.
I really love John Frame’s puppet. I like the way that he used the wood joint hand to connect with the puppet’s body. It is really special. John Frame is a sculptor, but for me I think he is an author telling the fairy tales. All the puppets which he made were like the characters in the fairy tales, even though this kind of fairy tales is a little different and special. It is a little surrealistic, such as the human body with animal head, the only one bed in the grass and the mouse with the branch. All of them make the animation fantastic and amazing.I really like that style. And I also think the puppets which John Frame made were full of emotion and energy. They were really vivid.
Besides, I really like the way he used the light and shadow to tell the story, which made the film more mysterious. And it is really useful to develop the plot.
I had watched some puppet animations in the past, like Jan Svankmajer animations. I really love his works. Before this seminar, I haven’t touch John Frame’s film. But when I first watched his film, I loved it very much. Both Jan Svankmajer and John Frame are doing puppet animation. But their styles are totally different. I love John Frame’s puppets and the way he telling the stories.
I really enjoyed John Frame’s presentation and getting a glimpse into one of the few solitary figures who straddle the worlds of animation and contemporary fine art. Coming from a contemporary art background, I really appreciated his frank discussion of financial matters in the position he is in. It was also interesting to hear him talk about technique. One side effect it seems of straddling these two worlds is his reluctance to hire outside help- keeping things on a personal, more or less solitary work schedule. This does lead to new discoveries and investigation is essential, however, I believe there are even more discoveries and open doors to find when the artist adopts a more film studio mindset! His graph measuring new technology with new investigation was really interesting, but with certain art, the individual can only go so far.
That being said, I was lucky enough to see his exhibition at the Huntington. Getting to walk through perfectly lit rooms of his puppets and sets was mind blowing. His work presented through seminar did not have nearly the same impact and effect. It was so great to see his crazy intricate finger joints, set pieces, and carvings in person. It put the viewer in the proper headspace to suddenly see these sculptures move.
John Frame’s lecture left a surprisingly deep impression on me…not only because he is an amazing sculptor in stop motion animation but for his outlook on life and art. He had A LOT of REALLY meaningful things to say on the topic. They were profound and ideas that I had never really considered.
For example, he spoke on how he embraces the self-taught method because in the long run you short cut your intuitiveness when you get someone to teach you. Personally, I learn best from others. I’ve always been a firm believer on getting the basics down from teachers and peers, and then exploring the rest on my own. I hate fussing with something for a few days that can be clarified in a minute. However, I realize because my brain is wired to learning this way, I have a difficult time learning a new subject on my own. I need that teacher. I believe that is what John means when you shortcut your intuitiveness: you don’t rely on yourself as much as you should. When you take the time to learn something the hard way, really you are programming yourself to learn anything in the long run.
Another profound process that John talked about was isolating himself from the mass media when he started his stop motion project. He did not want to be influence or draw references from what already existed. He wanted his idea to be purely him and original. He sees the large impact that media has on what society thinks and do. As I thought about this in class, it struck me pretty strong. “The man is right,” I thought. Almost everything we artistically produce is influenced by something that already exists. As a result, there are very few original ideas. When I saw John’s stop mo project, it was unlike anything I had seen. It was totally new and fresh. This was due to his careful isolation during the process. I draw from reference all the time that I wonder if I separated myself, what kind of work I would produce or would I be totally empty.
Thanks John for an exceptional presentation and lecture! Good luck on getting the necessary funds for your next stop motion project. I look forward to seeing it!
It was truly a pleasure to have John Frame come and speak with us this week! I was inspired by his discussion of art and his view that the work is a manifestation of who the artist has created themselves to be. It’s interesting to think about his unique process of incubating himself and his work for many years before releasing it for public (and private) viewing. It seems like a good way of getting in touch with and protecting your own process.
One of the things that I found particularly powerful about John’s talk was his discussion of the moment he felt his sculptures weren’t really progressing as they should be. He displayed a lot of courage in deciding that he should not proceed with the medium, despite the fact that he knew he had a steady client base who would continue appreciating his work. I value his honesty with himself and with us in moving forward toward something that resonated with him more. I find John Frame’s films to be successful, but anytime you begin something new there is a certain learning curve. An excitement toward that process of discovery, but also a unique moment when you are still forming a language in the medium. It’s inspiring to think of how John was able to transform and evolve his work in sculpture into a moving medium. I once met a wonderful artist who was discussing work with me and saying how each project presented it’s own new hurdles, at least if you were evolving as an artist. It’s nice to think of this in the context of John Frame, who found a powerful way to reconfigure his approach, and a new method that presented him with new challenges.
I also enjoyed hearing about John’s creative process and his experience of inspiration. I find it hopeful to hear about snippets of life when creativity bubbles up from some deep, unknown place and reveals something interesting and significant.
The first time I saw John Frame’s work at the Huntington I was floored by his craft an vision. His lecture at USC filled me in on many of the questions I had while viewing the exhibition. Initially I did not know that his puppets were made with animation in mind, because I didn’t know about his previous body of sculpture. After I learned that he taught himself to make articulated parts for the purpose of animating his vision I was awed by his ambition and intuition. One of the comments he made that especially resonated with me, was his statement that he selectively filters what he sees to prevent a flattening out of his imagination and visual vocabulary. I thought about how for me imagination and creativity depends upon an uncertain balance between absorbing my interests and finding a unique voice. I look forward to seeing John Frame’s new body of work develop and evolve.
John Frame is very interesting artist. His talent in creating puppet is very impressive. I love the complexity of his puppet and the entire environment that he built has a strong poignant feeling. He uses the colors and textures very effectively and and the scene he shot does not look like a small scale set. I also love the grass growing part in the animation, he uses time lapse effect very cleverly and it fits the style of stop motion perfectly. It is also interesting that he created everything in his house and spent several years doing it. I appreciate his passion in focusing on his artwork and his persistence.
John Frame’s presentation was a wonderful look into the world that lies between traditional sculpture and animation. His work is crafted from a most skilled and thoughtful hand.
I also really appreciated how his stories were a great intersection of many tales spun into one narrative. His tales crossed many genres and situations which allow them to relate to a universal audience. I was most impressed by Frame’s statement on being sensitive to the materials that enter our creative cortex. There are so many times when I have found myself being influenced by the massive amounts of creative media that comes into my field of view. I thought it was a most logical and brilliant approach to simply decide where and when to let these outside sources be part of day to day activities.
Frame’s many levels of wisdom and self awareness was more than inspiring. It was a new look on well aged principals combined with a fresh approach to the artistic process of a filmmaker. Thank you, John Frame, for providing your time and knowledge.
I’m jealous of everyone who got to see John Frame’s work in person. I can imagine that would be the perfect atmosphere to soak in the textures and details of the intricately designed puppets and backgrounds. I enjoyed the first half of the presentation immensely and it was inspiring to see Mr. Frame’s sculpture evolve over so many years. Many of these images I sketched down and they seemed to burst with a life of their own, even though they were sitting still.
It’s inspiring to see that an artist can switch mediums of expression after such a long career, and I think it was a bold move to hear Mr. Frame explain his transition to animation. It was interesting to see these first films of his, where the entirety of the project was created completely by just him. It’s rare to see a complete stop motion film of this level of detail completed by mostly just one person. I’d be interested to see how Mr. Frame’s vision would translate to a project with a larger team.
Thanks for sharing your work with us Mr. Frame. The message I took from this lecture was to never be afraid to change and evolve as an artist.
John Frames sculpture work is beautiful he is a skilled artist, and I say artist. His film work is fine , but to disregard the whole animation world, as if he is reinventing the wheel was a bit too much. Decades of animation work from across the globe, and not researching other animators and films work that’s out there. You must do your research before your dive in to any form of art or field in that matter. Planning a must. Again beautiful puppets, the film language, narrative experimental and only an experience, need more fine tuning.
Mr. Frame’s seminar was pretty interesting last week. I immediately fell in love with his sculptural work and really found that it inspired me to want to animate my own puppets. Like many others before me, I did find some fault in his presentation of his work. I understand that he was still learning, as we all are, but it felt to me as if he was neglecting that aspect of the film instead of committing himself to the art. I understand trying to animate in a new and different style that still conveys one’s ideas, but there is still something purposeful that I feel was missing. I say the same for the narrative of the piece. Being an extr3emely narrative person, I love a good story and one can usually even find some story in an abstract piece, but I felt there was some room for more thought in the piece.
That being said, I did really love all of his still work, compositions, set dressing, lighting, puppets, and the actual presentation. He was smart and energetic and a pleasure to listen to.
John Frame is definitely a good artist who created his own world.
I have seen his work in our animation history class and I thought
his sculptural is very amazing. His animation is very unique, but
I like his sculptural more. I will definitely follow his new work in the
future.
I was so impressed with Mr. Frame’s sculptures. They were highly rendered and made with loving exactitude and attention to detail. I wish I could have seen them displayed when they were at the Huntington. I am also charmed with his newly acquired interest in animation. Since animation is a difficult, involved, and intricate study that takes a lifetime to master, I am so deeply impressed by Mr. Frame’s new predilection for the field and wish him the best as he pursues it. I think the entire class was moved by his freshly obtained dedication to animation. We were all remembering when we first became not only interested in watching animation, but in creating it. I think we all saw a little bit of ourselves in Mr. Frame as we remembered those first moments when we would set out to make a dedicated study into a world that has been growing and evolving since film began. Animation may be old, but it’s so wonderful to see that the beauty of it can continue to attract new blood; to sweep up even an established sculptor and convince him to join up with the 24 Frame Per Second Club. It’s great to realize that new animators are born every day. Or, at least, that new animators show up everyday from unique and interesting places. They kind of just pop up. Like daisies.
There is something relatable to John Frame’s artistic career. I like the fact he attempt to create a stop motion film with puppets he built himself. I admire that because I feel the same way coming from a live action background and trying animation for the first time. What I like about his piece is the use of lighting and the unique puppet designs, which shows off his sculpturing skills.
Although Frame wants to do everything himself, it would be interesting to see a film, which he collaborates and directs animators and other artists. His designs are great, and a good animator can get a great performance from the puppet.