When you think of animation, you probably think about the old Warner Brothers cartoons or perhaps the Disney movies. It’s natural because even today, animation is viewed as an
artform that exists solely for children. The most prevalent purveyors of animation in the beginning of the 21st century are the WB network children’s programs, Disney films, and
Nickelodeon. Some of this animation is becoming more savvy and aimed at perhaps a slightly older audience, but in America we are still coded to associate animation with children. This is of course a mistake.

Animation approaches filmmaking in a frame by frame way, allowing the animator to build a film brick by brick. This is an idea that has excited a great deal of avant garde animators since the early days of cinema. Breer’s presentation (April 4th in the cinema at 8pm) will feature a number of his films which demonstrate a tremendous affection for this property of cinema. His interest in abstraction, color, and speed, combined with a substantial sense of humor make his films visceral and entertaining. It is uncertain which of his films will be shown, but a great experience is guaranteed. In Swiss Army Knife with Rats and Pigeons (1981) he takes a drawing of a swiss army knife and eventually has the red oval at the center of the drawing moves about on its own. In A Man and His Dog Out for Air (1957), he plays with abstraction by having a thick meadow of black lines eventually shift to form said man and dog. Some of his films play with frames of photographed film, pulling abstractions from them. In other films he plays with rotoscoping, a process of tracing part of a photographed film frame by frame. His tracings will subtly alter the real drawings in a revealing way. Do not allow yourself that Breer is just playing with imagery, however. The implied narrative is one of the most exciting facets of his work. Bang! (1986) features footage of a young Breer trying to row a canoe, intercut with images of the cartoon heroes he drew as a boy. He then begins to incorporate sporting images and eventually images of plane crashes. The whole of the film works to imply a meditation on endeavoring without success.

Breer’s presentation should be an overwhelmingly awakening affair, and should delight all who come. Breer has been a filmmaker of a different stripe for over fifty years, in addition to being an inventor. This is a guarantee that you will leave the presentation with at least new ideas about art and film, and probably with a burning desire to change people’s perspective on your work as well.