Like his unconventional approach to college admissions, Mouris' collage animations are set apart by their singularly zany, playful style. Many of his most popular works feature strands of ordinary, even mundane dialogue that contrast with clever and colorful images used to illustrate the story.
"Bits & Pieces: An Evening with Frank Mouris" will showcase the works of this renowned cutout filmmaker, collage artist and storyteller. The event, taking place Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the Loew Auditorium in the Hood Museum, will feature screenings of Mouris' groundbreaking animated shorts including the Academy Award-winning autobiographical "Frank Film" and a visit from the filmmaker himself.
Like many of Mouris' shorts, "Frank Film" uses whimsical images to build on the story being told in his dialogue. When Mouris mentions his "political phase," for example, images of dozens of tiny flags converge onscreen to illustrate his words. Similarly, Campbell's soup cans dance across the screen when Mouris talks about his interest in Andy Warhol.
In the video, Mouris combines cutout animation from magazines and layered audio tracks to achieve the striking effect that characterizes his body of work. In addition to "Frank Film," Friday's program will feature "Screentest," a film about nine drag queens, and "Coney Island" which Mouris refers to as a "pixilated documentary." "Frankly Caroline" and "Impasse" will also be shown.
In an interview with The Dartmouth, Mouris described the artistic journey which began in his college years that led to his career as an animator.
After studying at Harvard, Mouris moved on to a three-year graphic design program at the Yale School for Art and Architecture. It was during his time at Yale that Mouris got his first taste of the animation world when a department chair forced him and three peers to participate in an animation seminar. The seminar was "simple and primitive," Mouris said.
Although he lacked workshop space to complete his work, Mouris fell in love with the animation process over the course of the seminar. Visiting artists, from experimental filmmaker Red Grooms to the prolific Robert Breer, inspired Mouris to pursue animation as a career, he said.
Mouris said the idea for "Frank Film" came to him while he was taking a class taught by Stanley Kaufmann, a critic from "The New Republic." When Kaufmann instructed his students to pen their own movie scripts, Mouris created an autobiographical work.
"I thought, why not just do a blatant naked autobiographical film, except that it's by someone who hasn't done anything yet?" Mouris said.
Several artists collaborated with Mouris on the project, including Tony Schwartz, who arranged the music. Layering multiple voices, Schwartz constructed a soundtrack every bit as complex as Mouris' detailed visuals, adding to the richness of the piece.
The project was awarded the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in 1973. In addition to showings of "Frank Film" and four other animated shorts, Friday's program will include a discussion with Frank Mouris and film and media studies professor Jodie Mack.
