Cleaning the Past

Rewriting history, making the past safe for Political Correctness, does a disservice to the present. But that is what is done time and time again.

Bosko, the creation of Rudy Ising and Hugh Harman, launched 2 major animation studios. Bosko was the original star at Schlesinger/Warners and at MGM. And he was a racial stereotype but that is no longer correct so they miss remember.

By they I mean Harman and Ising. In later years they would say Bugs was a bunny and Mickey was a mouse but I can`t remember what Bosko was. He was a Black Boy in the minstrel tradition and trying to pretend that our country did not have a racist past is like trying to deny the Holocaust. Which some people do but I have seen the numbers tattooed on the old people`s wrists.

Here are a couple of model sheets that put the lie to Bosko being a funny animal. I understand being ashamed of our racist history but hiding it not only lets us, as a nation, off the hook it also hides a lot of good animation. Animation which I will be showing in my animation history class today when we deal with Bosko.

Casting

Today my son and I will be casting the head of my student so that she can start work on the sculpture for the head of her lizard custom. Haven`t worked with the rest of the crew she has got together for this event but we will take it slow and plan the whole molding process and get everybody on the same page before we start. I will post photos later.

Q.B. Student Dazes

I just found out about this fan site out of the web dedicated to my old friend Rick Grimes. They emailed me and ask for info on a zine I published years ago. Rick and I went to the Kubert School together and I published a couple of Xerox zines with him because I dug his stuff, DogStar Funnies No. 1 and No. 2 by name.

Here is one of Rick`s pages from issue No. 2. It features 2 of my characters drawn by Rick, the Acid Dwarf and Cowpie. And here is a link to the site: http://www.rickgrimesfansite.net/index.html and also a link to the written details on DogStar Funnies http://www.rickgrimesfansite.net/gpage17.html Maybe I will dig out all the pages and let them post them.



While digging out a copy of the DogStar No. 2 final printer dummy I tripped over a number of cool pages from other Q.B. students that I will have to post. Notable Cara Sherman, who died why too youth of the same decease that took her mother young. I miss Cara, she was a real talent that the clock ran out on before she had a chance to fly. Here is one of her drawing of Ivan the Vampire.



In other details of my on going life here is the wax for a gargoyle I am working on. It is half way through the sprueing process. The red wax is the path that hot metal will take into the mold. Since this is a hollow piece for rain water passage the spruing in a bear. I am not sure what that has to do with old Q.B. students except I am one.

Report on Afternoon Of Remembrance:

The Afternoon Of Remembrance is always informative with fascinating details of accomplishments quite often outside the field of animation.

John Ahern was not only a story and layout artist he was also an avid rock climber who once repelled down on vandals, relieved them of their spray cans of paint and then proceeded to spray paint their faces.

Bob Allen redesigned Howdy Doody and created the Zoo-It-Yourself toys.

Gordon Bellamy lived 2 blocks from the Twin Towers and did a series of drawing of the aftermath of 9/11 that were published he national magazines.

Brice Mack put wheels on a boat and drove it to Las Verges where he had a crane lift the boat into the swimming pool at the Sands.

Bob Winquist created the giant male sculpture that Little Alex turned into a murder weapon in Clockwork Orange.

And these are just some of the stories that were related from the podium. I talked to Ted Thomas about an upcoming documentary he is doing about the fampus trip that Walt, Frank and Ollie, Mary Blair and others took to South America in 1941.

I also talked to Mark Kausler about his next Cat short, There Must Be Some Other Cat, which is in Ink and Paint and bogged down for lack of funds. Anybody wanting to help out on that front should contact Mark over at his CatBlog http://itsthecat.com/blog/ . Or just stop over and check out the coolness in the way of past cartoon pages.

Tee Bosustow, with a new beard that made him hard to recognize, told me about the Internet Animation Festival they are running and his ongoing UPA documentary project. For more information on either http://www.upapix.com/ .

The following are photos from the event. In this case a thousand pictures are not worth the few words you missed if you were not at this year`s Afternoon Of Remembrance.




Ted Key original Hazel, Ted also created Mr. Peadbody & Sherman for Jay Ward.


Tom Sito and the Peep Show


Art Leonardi Artwork






Gus Arriola Artwork from Gordo


Mark Kausler




Wearing his colors Local 44


Dave Folkman, National Cartoonist Society




Nephew of Bill Perez, also an artist, who heard about the event on NPR and came and spoke about what his uncle meant to him.

AN AFTERNOON OF REMEMBRANCE

The Afternoon of Remembrance is one of the high lights of the year. It is a celebration on the careers of the talented people of animation who have left are ranks in the year past. It is never morbid, sometimes sad and often fascination and even down right funny when the stories of animation and animators come out. As a student of the History of Animation I have learned more at the Afternoon of Remembrance than from glossy books. Do not miss this event. I never do.

AN AFTERNOON OF REMEMBRANCE
Saturday February 7
Reception 1 pm / Memorials, 2 pm
Lasky-DeMille Barn, 2100 N. Highland, Hollywood
Across from the Hollywood Bowl

Sprue You and the Wax You Flowed in On

A sprue or in this case sprue tree is the wax path/paths that leads the metal into the area of the burned out mold to be cast. Here I have set up 8 sculptures, 5 of which are throw aways that are along for the pore. (if they come out cool, if not no biggy).

I am also putting some work into floating a stop motion class, hopefully for Summer. A lot of what I am doing now seems to be 3-D practical. I have also been mentoring a student building their first Hollywood quality monster custom.