Animation Cels...art?

[McMurphy]

I was wondering what were people's thoughts on production cels from either Western animation or anime pieces being considered art. Do you agree that they should or do you feel that a single frame from a larger production should be considered more of a building block than actual frameable artwork? Would you ever collect this form of art?



[The full size and complete cel version of this moment in the anime series Escaflowne has been priced over $1,000 (U.S. dollars). Should it?]

[AmonRa]

i think that both the cells and the over all film are artistic... in different ways.

the cell for the usual artistic reason you get in any still picture.
and the film for the way it's directed, sound, meaning, visuals etc.

[kyektulu]

I suppose they should be classed as art although it doesnt float my boat. each to thier own.... No I wouldnt collect this form of art, purely dragons, griffons and elves for me!
xxxkyexxx

[stormbard]

Originally Posted by kyektulu

I suppose they should be classed as art although it doesnt float my boat. each to thier own.... No I wouldnt collect this form of art, purely dragons, griffons and elves for me!
xxxkyexxx

Hi, I'm no artist but thought I'd give my opinion. Each individual frame is a drawing, so I don't see why that's not art. If a film or cartoon is about dragons etc. then a freeze-frame would capture that art just like a painting or drawing.
A good example is Shrek, where any frame frozen is definitely a work of art to me.
To me, the main difference between these artists and the other type, ie painters etc, is that they have to create pictures in a series, not just one-offs, and are in some ways harder for that, as they have to develop multiple personalities.
Anyway, just my thoughts

[Maxwell Jennison]

I would never collect animation cells as art simply because I would never be able to afford it. Kind of an expensive hobby. But sure as I breath, if I had the cash, I'd have a museum dedicated to old Warner Bros cells. The artists that work on those are increadibly talented, in my opinion, and they deserve to have their works displayed just as much as any other painter/sculpter/etc (that, and Chuck Jones is one of my heroes).

[wee_free_hobbits]

Originally Posted by Webster's Dictionary

Illustrative material as distinguished from text.

I think animation cells are art. Someone had to create them, one way or another, and invest time and creativity into it to make it come out right. Animation Cels are very much artful in my opinion, and I would collect them from certain things if I had the money because as listed before me, it's a pretty costly thing to do and I'm a tad bit broke.

[aurelio]

I have worked in the animation industry for over 20 years here in the States, so I can add some useful information to this discussion.

Animation is ALWAYS a group effort. It is much more like building a Gothic cathedral than painting a painting, so as far as "Is it art?" goes, that's a better way to look at it. I believe it is art in the cathedral sense, but that means the whole is the sum of its parts - a cathedral brick is just a brick apart from the rest of them.

Cels from the actual films are more like relics or pieces of nostalgia than art, so in that sense they could be looked on as collectible, I suppose. They are usually created by several, if not dozens, of people. Since the mid-80's, most of the animation work was being "inked and painted" on computers, so the "cels" for movies like Beauty and the Beast or Aladdin were created for the gallery market and were not actually used in the film.

Some of the cels are quite beautiful and make nice wall hangings, and if you enjoy looking at them then that is great, but beware that fake cels are VERY easy to create too, so to spend a large sum of money on one is a risk.

The very old cels from the earliest films: Snow White, Pinocchio etc. were on nitrocellulose, which deteriorates over time and can become highly explosive, so if someone is trying to sell you a cel that they claim is that old, beware that it may be a fake or worse, it may spontaneously combust. Many times they simply fall to pieces.

I hope that all helps. I obviously love the art of animation, otherwise I wouldn't have worked in it most of my life, but a cel is just a cel.

Cheers!