Emerging from the recent explosion of alternative experimental animators entering Hipster domain, Jim Trainor has to be by far the most sophisticated of them. Inviting viewers to observe the animal kingdom - an area of animation thought to have long ago been conquered by Walt Disney, Trainor's films transcend Disney; his animals do not have cherubic eyes or happy voices, their anatomical proportions are constantly shifting and never seem quite right. It is these differences that make Trainor's films work so well. Rather than make his animals more recognizable in human terms, he draws the viewer into the world of the animal, focusing his drawing skills on the anatomical features (such as accurately drawn reproductive and sensory organs) that drive the animal's existence in real life. Trainor taps into the minds of his animals with the understanding of a biologist; his protagonists are driven by primal desires like reproduction and food. While the animation might seem 'crude' when compared to Disney, Trainor's style is simple and to the point, much like the lives of his animals.
Where the cartoons of Don Hertzfeldt can be categorized as "surreal", Jim Trainor's films fall into the "existential" cabinet. Both "Bats" and "Moschops", two of Trainor's most notable films, deal with the life span of their respective creature (For what exactly a moschop is, see this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moschops). The animals wish nothing more than to spend their days foraging and fornicating, but like all things on this planet, they must one day die. The films ask how our own lives will be remembered: through the people we sleep with, through the 'rainy seasons' we survive, or through the way we die. As narrator of 'Moschops' says: "Nothing on this world has a right to live, only a chance...a chance".
Trainor's films transport the viewer into a primal world that is nearly void of human influence - it is only his choice biology lingo that keeps us anchored in a human world. His animation is equally primal, simplified down to a black marker, white paper and a camera. Were Trainor to simply narrate his bizarre biological statements over actual nature footage, the concept would be lost. The animation serves as a human touch, a staple in western civilization that connects us to the animals on screen and provides the most discomfort that we might feel when listening to Trainor's blunt narration. Through this process the primal instincts of Trainor's animals are reflected back onto us, placing us back into the natural order of the animal kingdom of which we will always be a part of.
"Bats" can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDizcCTUGdw
"Moschops" can be viewed here (in two parts): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZE_dBxM9IE&feature=related, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVOlV8277Vk&feature=related
1 comment:
Am not familiar with this work. But I will check it out. You say he draws, black on white. But the image on the blog is white on black which I like.
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