Caroline Leaf
Caroline Leaf (1946-) is a Canadian-American filmmaker whose animated films are recognisable for their loose, painterly aesthetic. Led by experimentation in texture with different materials, Leaf's work is playful and fluid to look at. Bordering on a crude or naive feeling, this also gives her films a vitality that is distinct and entirely of her invention.
"My animated films are known for their story telling, emotional content, and graphic style, which evolved from the innovative handcrafted animation techniques I invented. At different times, this has been beach sand manipulated on a lightbox, watercolor and gouache fingerpainting on glass, and images made by scratching in the soft emulsion of exposed color 35mm and 70mm film stock."
These photos show Leaf at work, using sand to construct images for animation. She would put sand directly onto a light-box, then push it around frame by frame. Exploring her work is an important reminder to keep searching for new methods and at least allowing for some sense of play when things get stale.
Leaf's work puts me in mind of Picasso, who I admire for constantly seeking new means of picture-making. There's a similar kind of confidence in almost straying into ugliness (smearing rather than cleanness, chunky distortion of the human face and figure, etc). It's a brave approach which can lead to a really human feeling, an immediacy that just gets lost when you're too cautious.
The Owl Who Married a Goose (1974)
'The Street' (1976)
Prior to 'The Street', Leaf had only worked in black and white, using sand for high-contrast imagery, but here she wished to work in colour and make a more complex story about people.
"I experimented with fluid mediums, looking for a way to keep watercolour paint from drying, so that I could push it around with my fingers - like I pushed around the familiar piles of beach sand. It turns out the glycerine keeps paint from drying".
It was interesting to see an entire short film which did not use traditional cuts between scenes but instead found creative ways to seamlessly transition. There was a flow all the way through the film, creating a meandering style of narrative that felt very true to life as we experience it. The sound of voices in the background was similarly loose and ever-moving. The disjointed nature of much of these moments recalls how it feels to be a child as well as the unstructured, often clumsy piecing-together of random memories when looking back. The naive style of the drawing worked harmoniously with the overall themes. It fits that the world is portrayed visually as crudely put together when the story is from the perspective of a child who is new to the complexities of life. There is also something to be said for the earthiness of the colour palette, which feels homely and cosy, appropriate for a nostalgic family tale.
It may usually be the intention of an animator to disguise their efforts but he process of the animation here is quite visible to the audience. It is evident that the animator (Leaf) is moving their drawings around a surface, leaving a trail behind. Everything remains on one plane, rather than layering foreground and background elements, so parts of the image bleed into other areas. Watching the effect of this makes me question my pursuit of a more 'perfect' finish to my work. Rather, if the story is working, then why not include or even emphasise the messiness?
