Now in its ninth year, the Eyeworks Festival of Experimental Animation, curated by artists Alexander Stewart and Lilli Carré, remains the best annual survey of the form, one that takes care not to limit itself.
Decades-old short films by children’s book creator Lisze Bechtold, abstract painter Maria Lassnig, and animator Faith Hubley will be projected from 35-millimeter prints; this year’s Eyeworks features more films in that gauge than any previous edition. The varying formats and lack of established through lines speak to the festival’s own experimental spirit, running the gamut from old-school computer animation (the 1985 short Calculated Movements by Larry Cuba, who designed the animated Death Star blueprints in Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope) to hand-painted animation (Cheng-Hsu Chung’s 2018 short Adorable). The latter is a graphic exploration of queerness, a reflection of how important diversity is to Stewart and Carré. “We think of the idea of diversity in multiple ways,” they write, “including gender and identity, geographical and cultural perspective, and creative sensibilities.” Through their seemingly random assortment of animations—limited only by the stipulation that they be experimental—they achieve that and more. v
Sat 11/10, 1 and 3:30 PM, Block Museum of Art, 40 Arts Circle Dr., Evanston, 847-491-4000, blockmuseumnorthwestern.edu, free.
