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Masterworks of Czech Animation

(This article expired 11.03.2015.)

The National Gallery of Art will present a program of Czech animated shorts as part of their two-part series Masterworks of Czech Animation on March 16 and 29, in the East Building Auditorium. The series features animations of legendary animators Karel Zeman, Jiří Trnka, Jan Švankmajer, and Břetislav Pojar, among others. Enjoy an afternoon at the gallery watching the animations of Czech greats come to life on 35 mm film. Admission is free.

Orator courtesy Národní filmový archiv
About the Series:
The animation arts reached a creative pinnacle in Czechoslovakia after the Second World War. Dozens of artists and puppeteers, making hundreds of short films at the state-run Studio Bratri v triku in Prague, were daring, witty, and essentially unrivaled by animators anywhere in the world. They often combined different techniques that might include painted cels, cut-outs, puppets, and live actors. This two-part series is largely a chronological survey (1946 through 1989) and includes many artists, from the well-known Karel Zeman, Jiří Trnka, Jan Švankmajer, and Břetislav Pojar, to other lesser-known but equally influential animators. The power and prestige of Czech animation has been recognized in the recent filmmaking of Timothy and Stephen Quay, Terry Gilliam, and many more. 35 mm prints are from the collection of the National Film Archive in Prague, with thanks to Michal Bregant, the archive staff, and the Embassy of the Czech Republic.

March 16 at 4:30 pm
East Building Auditorium

The Jumper and SS Men (1946, 13 minutes); The Revolt of Toys (1947, 14 minutes); About a Millionaire Who Stole the Sun (1948, 8 minutes); Inspiration (1948, 10 minutes); One Glass Too Many (1953, 19 minutes); The Merry Circus (1951, 12 minutes); The Lion and the Song (1959, 15 minutes); television commercials (1950s); A Place in the Sun (1959, 5 minutes)

March 29 at 1:30 pm
East Building Auditorium

Passion (1961, 8 minutes); The Opening Speech Will Be Given By (1962, 11 minutes); What the Earthworm Didn’t Know (1969, 7 minutes); The Incorrectly Drawn Hen (1963, 13 minutes); Archangel Gabriel and Mistress Goose (1964, 29 minutes); Bird Lives (1973, 9 minutes); The Hand (1965, 18 minutes); The Extinct World of Gloves (1982, 17 minutes); Dimensions of Dialogue (1983, 11 minutes); Etude from an Album (1987, 4 minutes)

For information about the program, please visit:
http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/calendar/film-programs/czech-animation.html#czech-animation.html?pageNumber=1&_suid=13944119058600052321099924520886