Andrew S Allen
This chillingly simple animation of Gabor Barabas poem “The Spider” cracks into the depths of the human cycle in a sharp three minutes. Inspired by the art of sculptor Louise Bourgeois (known for her nightmarish 30-foot spiders), The Spider shows us the contradictions of lifelove and death, beauty and indifference.
If her web be art, then she is an artist of symmetry who walks on air ”
The simple, child-like illustration style draws much from Bourgeois’ spindly sculptures. The Spider won a 356: AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Artists) Award for motion graphics this year (where I found it online), so it speaks well to my design-conscious side. The motion is well-choreographed, moving and morphing in time and breaking dimensional boundaries at key moments to create a visual style who’s perceived simplicity is broken by a deep and textural world teeming just beneath the surface.
“And if it is true that the great themes are death and love, then surely she is preoccupied with greatness.”
The filmmaker, Juan Delcan (Nola Pictures), has said he’s interested in expanding this idea to other contemporary poemsperhaps enough for a feature.