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Joan C. Gratz

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Joan C. Gratz
Born1941 (age 82–83)
Burbank, California
Occupation(s)Artist, Animator, Film director, Producer
Known forAnimation pioneer with technique in claypainting

Joan Carol Gratz (born 1941) is an American artist, animator, and filmmaker who specializes in clay painting. Gratz is best known for her 1992 Oscar-winning animated short film Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase.[1][2]

Early life

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In 1941, Gratz was born in Burbank, California. Gratz's father was an electrical engineer and her mother was an English teacher. From a young age she had an interest in art.

Education

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While Gratz was a student in architecture, she began painting. Gratz was filming her painting process. In 1969, Gratz obtained a degree in professional architecture at the University of California, Los Angeles.[3] Before graduating, Gratz began to experiment with the possibilities of animation and started to explore the idea of "making paintings breathe" with a technique she explained as "clay painting". After graduating, she moved to Oregon, making a living by creating puppets and poster graphics.[1]

Career

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In 1976, Gratz was asked to work for Will Vinton in the new up and coming Will Vinton Studios,[1] and began working in the film industry during the production of Rip Van Winkle (1978).[4] During her time at Vinton Studios, Gratz worked on many films as an animator, but in 1987 she decided to work as a freelance animator and filmmaker due to issues involved with collaborative film projects, and not receiving the proper credit for her work.[1] In 1987, Gratz established Gratzfilm, her own studio to direct and produce her films.[3]

Once a freelance animator and filmmaker, Gratz continued to be represented by Vinton Studio,[1] and her success led her to receive commissions for commercials from large companies such as Coca-Cola.[5] In 1990, Gratz animated a commercial for United Airlines entitled Natural, which consisted of her clay painting technique.[6]

After eight years of planning and researching, and two years of working through the creation and animation process, Gratz completed her film Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase in 1992.[7] The title of this seven minute long film[8] combines the titles of Leonardo DaVinci's famous painting, the Mona Lisa (1503), and Marcel Duchamp's iconic modernist piece, Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 (1919).[9] [7] Consisting of fifty-five[7] twentieth-century paintings, Gratz uses her clay painting technique to present her audience with the history and evolution of modern art,[10] beginning with Impressionism, and continuing until the Pop Art movement and Hyperrealism[7] through metamorphic transitions between each work of art.[1] The sound and music for the film were provided by composer Jamie Haggerty and Chel White.[7] It won the 1992 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film,[7] and won many other awards at various film festivals around the world.[5]

In 1993, Gratz co-directed and animated Pro and Con with Joanne Priestly.[1] Using mixed media including writing and calligraphy, and creating through black clay on white backgrounds, Pro and Con illustrates a docudrama about prison life seen through the eyes of a prisoner and a corrections officer.[1]

Gratz is also an author. In June 2014, Gratz was a writer and illustrator of My Tesla: A love story of a mouse and her car, a disguised children book for adults.[11][12]

Joan C. Gratz is featured as one of six interviewees in Martin Cooper's feature documentary History, Mystery & Odyssey: The Lives and Work of Six Portland Animators (2023). The other interviewees are Joanna Priestley, Chel White, Jim Blashfield, Rose Bond and Zak Margolis.[13] The film premiered at the 2023 Ottawa International Animation Festival.[14]

Accolades

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At the Academy Awards, Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase (1992) won an Oscar for the Best Animated Short Film in 1993.[15][5]

Filmography

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Director and producer

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As animator

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  • Rip Van Winkle (1978)
  • Legacy: A Very Short History of Natural Resources (1979)
  • The Little Prince (1979)
  • Dinosaur (1980)
  • A Christmas Gift (1980)
  • The Creation (1981) [22]
  • Candyjam (1988)
  • Kubla Kan (2010)
  • Lost and Found (2014)
  • No Leaders Please (2020)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Pilling, Jayne (1992). Woman and Animation. London: British Film Institute. p. 123. ISBN 0-85170-377-1.
  2. ^ 1993|Oscars.org
  3. ^ a b Zahed, Ramon (July 11, 2013). "ShortsHD Offers Special Spitlight on Joan Gratz". Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  4. ^ Frierson, Michael (1994). Clay Animation. New York: Twayne Publishers. p. 26.
  5. ^ a b c Sarson, Katrina (April 27, 2017). "Animator Joan Gratz Embraces Technology To Create Her Newest Films". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Archived from the original on December 4, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  6. ^ Great Women Animators
  7. ^ a b c d e f Halliday, Ayun (May 27, 2017). "Take a Trip Through the History of Modern Art with the Oscar-winning Animation Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase". Open Culture. Retrieved January 30, 2018.[permanent dead link‍]
  8. ^ Frierson, Michael (1994). Clay Animation. New York: Twayne Publishers. p. 27.
  9. ^ 1993 Mona Lisa Descending A Staircase: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming: Internet Archive
  10. ^ Frierson, Michael (1994). Clay Animation. New York: Twayne Publishing. p. 29.
  11. ^ "My Tesla: A love story of a mouse and her car by Joan C. Gratz". goodreads.com. June 19, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  12. ^ "Women in Animation:Joan C. Gratz, Part 2". smudgeanimation.blogspot.com. March 15, 2016. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  13. ^ Six of Portland’s most gifted animators are the focus of a new documentary
  14. ^ Six Portland-Based Animators Step In Front Of The Camera
  15. ^ Short Film Winners: 1993 Oscars
  16. ^ "Candyjam (1988)". IMDb. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  17. ^ "Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase (1992)". IMDb. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  18. ^ Parker, Charley (July 30, 2006). "Joan C. Gratz". Lines and Colors. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  19. ^ "Primal Flux". nwfilm.org. 13 October 2016. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  20. ^ "No Leaders Please". Spark Animation. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  21. ^ "No Leaders Please". IMDb. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  22. ^ The Creation on Internet Archive
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