Published in 'Cinema' by Montejorge on May 23rd 2008, 'Art in Motion' briefly follows the time consuming technique of stop-motion animation adopted by Blu.
Montejorge claims that Blu's technique is an extremely laborious type of animation, i found this interesting as most animation techniques tend to be painstakingly tedious, although the way in which Blu demands the process to be carried out is highly precise. Stop motion is where objects are photographed frame by frame. Between each frame, the object's position is moved slightly, so when the film is shot there is an illusion of motion. This technique has been used by many animators in the past, for example, Nick Park-'Wallace and Gromit' and Tim Burton-'The Nightmare Before Christmas', 'Vincent' and 'Corpse Bride'.
Whilst reading the article i wondered why Blu's technique differed from the conventional use of stop motion. My question was shortly answered, as Montejorge asks the reader to imagine this technique using graphite, paint and city walls. Apart from being an insane amount of work, the results are simply ingenious and inspired. This is exactly what Blu did in the movie 'Muto'. in order to create a free flowing animation, Blu would draw an image, take a photograph, paint over the image with a thin layer of white paint, then draw the image again in the next position. Obviously Blu repeats this technique until the animation is finished, resulting in a free flowing motion blur animation, filmed in the streets, walls of Buenos Aires and its outskirts, the artist had a monstrous amount of work, although had some assistance.
Montejorge claims that Blu's technique is an extremely laborious type of animation, i found this interesting as most animation techniques tend to be painstakingly tedious, although the way in which Blu demands the process to be carried out is highly precise. Stop motion is where objects are photographed frame by frame. Between each frame, the object's position is moved slightly, so when the film is shot there is an illusion of motion. This technique has been used by many animators in the past, for example, Nick Park-'Wallace and Gromit' and Tim Burton-'The Nightmare Before Christmas', 'Vincent' and 'Corpse Bride'.
Whilst reading the article i wondered why Blu's technique differed from the conventional use of stop motion. My question was shortly answered, as Montejorge asks the reader to imagine this technique using graphite, paint and city walls. Apart from being an insane amount of work, the results are simply ingenious and inspired. This is exactly what Blu did in the movie 'Muto'. in order to create a free flowing animation, Blu would draw an image, take a photograph, paint over the image with a thin layer of white paint, then draw the image again in the next position. Obviously Blu repeats this technique until the animation is finished, resulting in a free flowing motion blur animation, filmed in the streets, walls of Buenos Aires and its outskirts, the artist had a monstrous amount of work, although had some assistance.
I found this article useful because Montejorge has investigated how a simple technique such as stop motion has been transformed into a process, which takes considerably more time to master. I have also learnt that Blu uses his work to express the urban culture and busy city life. Blu communicates to his audience by focusing on something we see everyday, 'graffiti', and brings it to life. The majority of viewers will be pleasantly surprised, graffiti, which is usually an example of defacing property, has been transformed into a medium of art through Blu's animations and art pieces.
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