Before Shrek (2001)
If I remember correctly, in the summer of 1980, my fellow classmates and I walked into a bright entry, filed with SIGGRAPH people,. The brightest of the brightest. The excitement was permeable. This was the future!
From the brightly lit entry way, we entered the theater. The large hall was dark, lit only by small lights which guided our way to our seats. When we opened our programs, the excited whispering began.
“Hey Mag! Look at your program!”
I borrowed a pen flashlight and scanned the print Among the videos and films being listed was “Only Eyes”, an animation I had just entered in the art show. It was just a classroom project a friend recommended I entered. I was astounded to see it listed in the evening show!
The large screen on the far wall became alive. Wire frame animations demonstrated accomplishments in motion. Still frames which took larger machines hours to generate in full color.
At last, my animation started,
“When I was young,
I wanted to be a rooster.
And then,
I wanted to be a walnut.
So breathe through your mouth
And not your eyes.
Breath through your mouth
And not your eyes.
They look and stare,
Look and stare,
But no one’s there.”
Walnuts and rooster combs danced across the screen. It ended with an Image full of eyes.
The applause was loud. It was a success! I even had a few guys follow me after, asking questions. I couldn’t understand their interest, their fascination.
In the next few years, I had a few more animations in the art show and watched computer graphics improve at an exponential rate.
I’ve seen and met some wonderful people along the way. The most fascinating was when I had posed anonymously with my breasts exposed for a 3D image which was used in a triptych showing them with other male and female sex organs along with computer generated viruses like HIV and papiloma.
Andy Warhol was at that reception and insisted on whose exquisite breasts were in that picture! He found out through a friend, sought me out, came over and kissed me on the cheek;
”I LOVE your breasts!”
Being the closet nerd that I was, couldn’t think of anything to say. At another reception, a guy was pointed out to me.
“He’s some actor guy on a new TV series called, I think, In Living Color or something. I think his name m is Jim Carrey or something.”
© copyright 1991 Margaret M. Rawlings
About the Author:
Retired Associate Director
Electronic Visualization Laboratory
University of Illinois at Chicago
BA,MFA Electronic Visualization
Handicapped with MS, affecting vision, coordination, walking. Attempting writing to help pay bills.
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