Response on Wells

Laying out styles of animation and the factions that define them. I was vaguely aware of these subgroups, as a result of exposure, but Wells clearly defined them, laying them out in black and white. I really enjoyed the paragraph, Dynamics of dialogue", where he defines Disney sound as symphonic and Warner Bros. as cacophonic. Leonard Maltin has a film, Songs of the Silly Symphonies, which are a collection of old lesser known Disney shorts. I enjoyed them when I watched them a few years back and it enlightened me to the distinct sound that accompanies Disney animation. In my view, for the majority of people, the cacophony that saturates Looney Toons, especially at a young age, is the most appealing. These noises and catch lines are the most easily duplicated for a person in the everyday scenario. Children find these impressions especially fun. I agree. I know "What's up Doc?" escaped my mouth more often than any Fantasia segment, and I watched the film every day after preschool. In general, I have no bias for either. They are equally pleasing to me. One must find good in everything.

As for abstract animation, I find that my exposure is far less. Besides Brakhage and Fantasia, I little of this style is known to me. It's limits and potential remain hidden. Personally, I enjoy the exploration of symbolism and the enjoyment of finding a firm backbone that will lie below the surface. But going further, I find, as of now, that story draws me more and though the incorporation of abstract form is not without possibility, I tend to find myself wary of it. I believe this stems from seeing abstract art without that meaning that resonates far below. I detest standing before my peers abstract art. For the most part I find myself unsatisfied with what I see, that the symbolic message is corny, cliched or poorly executed. For this reason I fear attempting it. I don't fear failure but think within life, if abstraction were strong within me that I would have known it already. I know this is not the case, for Picasso's divergence into cubism came well into his late 20's with Les Demoiselles D'Avignon. A painting that upended hundreds of years of western art philosophy. Turn of the century artists were on the look out for a style new and unseen. They believed the classical style could no longer express what they felt. Currently, I am content with what I have before me. My canvas is traditional and for now it pleases my eye.