Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase

August 14, 2006 11:31 PM

Mona Lisa and other classics in clay animation. Joan C. Gratz is the talented artist behind this and other projects. This particular short film won an academy award for best animated short film in 1992. I am surprised to have never viewed it before today. Wikipedia has next to nothing on Gratz or her works.
posted by jkafka (6 comments total)

I've been fortunate enough to have worked with Joan Gratz when I assembled--did the post for--a couple of her pieces. I've always thought of her work as clay painting as it is done in thin sheets of clay, pushed around like fingerpaint, in a tray underneath a downshooting 35mm Mitchell.

She is a bit flinty in person but possessed of a wry wit and humor. I admire her artistry and stand in awe of the technical difficulty and rigorous focus required for her level of mastery.
posted by bz at 11:46 PM on August 14, 2006

I heard she wore her fingerprints off.
posted by psychobum at 12:10 AM on August 15, 2006

That was beautiful, jkafka, thanks for sharing! I probably would have enjoyed it more, though, if I wasn't such an ignoranus about art. Was there an order to the transformations or was it just random?
posted by Citizen Premier at 10:04 AM on August 15, 2006

Made my day.
posted by whimsicalnymph at 10:58 AM on August 15, 2006

During one of the Picasso sections, there was a brief audio excerpt of Gertrude Stein reading from her Portrait of Picasso -- nice!
posted by treepour at 11:35 AM on August 15, 2006

Wikipedia has next to nothing on Gratz or her works.

Well, the easy fix for that is to create an article about her.

Thanks for the links. I was unaware of her or the techniques she users. Very cool.
posted by wheat at 1:30 PM on August 15, 2006