How to Build a Zoetrope - Part I (An artist's journal)

How to Build a Zoetrope - Part I

(An artist's journal)

1. Assemble Materials

2. Mathematics

3. Cut and Paste

4. Structural Integrity

5. Aesthetic Considerations

6. The Blank Canvas 

+ Stay tuned for Part II of our journey - 

where the young artist will finish the piece and attempt to bring drawings to life!

With love,
bekky O'Neil
www.bekky.ca

So - what is a Zoetrope?

 

Dear dear Friends of the Fine Arts Reading Room,

Greetings!  My name is bekky O'Neil and I will be the artist in residence at the FARR through the month of October.  Here is a little about me and my project, just to introduce what I'll be up to : 

bekky O’Neil is a multidisciplinary artist, animator & director.  She is a graduate of Concordia University's Theatre Department and holds BFA Playwrighting. bekky is currently enrolled in Film Animation at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema.  Over the course of her residency at the FARR bekky's project Philosophical Toys: Tactile Art & the Animated Image will explore the rich history of early animation objects, and the marriage between art and science which made them possible.  (www.bekky.ca)

You can find out more about me and my work at my website (above) and you'll be able to follow my progress with my project Philosophical Toys right here on the FARR Residency Blog - as well as on Instagram at @philosophicaltoys (www.instagram.com/philosophicaltoys).  I'm really looking forward to delving into the project - and hope that you enjoy the journey.  My work will be on display shortly at the FARR (in the EV Building of Concordia University's Sir George Williams Campus), but until then - here are a couple of inspiring videos I think you might enjoy.

Some gorgeous footage of an antique Zoetrope in motion.

Mark Simon Hewis' incredible animation telling the story of one man's life in a giant Zoetrope.

With love and illusion,

bekky