This is the final of six posts on the creation of experimental fish prints using woodblock printmaking techniques. These were exhibited as art prints. They were also used as animation frames in my experimental animated film Toxic Fish (see the photos below).The fish in this post is the kohada. It has a static shape on the woodblock and in the film frame. This contrasts with the surrounding coloured toxins from commercial pollution. These eventually poison the fish. Variations in the volume of ink applied to the block produced a range of similar but different outcomes. Once edited in sequence, these contributed to the creation of the illusion of movement. The associated movement of both fish and toxins frantically appear to twitch and jump all over the frame. The action looks frenetic. That effect is reinforced by the percussive soundtrack. The film was selected and screened at CINANIMA, the Animation Festival in Esphino, Portugal. It was also screened at the Art Gallery of NSW. Later it was shown at the Big Day Out rock festival in Sydney. There is a certificate and photo on a previous post: PRINTMAKING: Fish Four).
Sitting at the Oxberry animation film rostrum stand back in 1990. I was shooting my film, frame by frame, from the individual woodblock prints I had made. It took a really long time. I appear both happy and calm and pleased with the process despite the frantic impact that the film makes. I do listen to music while I work. I don’t recall what I was that day but it looks like I was enjoying it.
A later grouping of one species of the fish for art gallery exhibition. This composition had torn and collaged prints assembled in a school formation. It completed the process from design to printmaking to animation to film.
This is the fifth post documenting the production of the experimental prints that I made with woodblock printmaking techniques…for both gallery exhibition and also as frames in my experimental animated film Toxic Fish (see photos below).The fish in this sequence is the gizzard shad. It has static shape on the woodblock…this contrasts with the flooding of toxins from commercial pollution which are overlaid around it which eventually poison the fish. Variations in the volume of ink and the choice of hue produced a range of similar but different outcomes. When edited in sequence these contributed to the creation of the illusion of movement. The film was screened at CINANIMA, the Animation Festival in Esphino, Portugal…and at the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney…and also at the Big Day Out rock festival. also in Sydney. (See certificate and photo on previous post: PRINTMAKING: Fish Four).
These and other examples of the art from the animation have been posted on the Doctor Comics website (doctorcomics.com) under the post heading PRINTMAKING: Fish 1, 2, 3 etc.
This is the fourth post documenting the production of my creative fish prints. I made these using woodblock printmaking techniques for use use in my experimental animated film Toxic Fish (see photos below).The fish represented in this sequence is the Kohada. Its static shape on the woodblock contrasts with the flooding of coloured toxins. These represent commercial pollution that is spread around the fish and eventually poisons it. There are variations in the volume of ink applied to the block and the choice of hue. These produced a range of similar outcomes when edited in sequence. This contributed to the creation of the illusion of movement. Film screenings: Animation Festival, Esphino, Portugal (see certificate at bottom of post),…Art Gallery of NSW and the Big Day Out rock festival.
This is the third post based on the fish prints I made using woodblock printmaking techniques…for the experimental animated film Toxic Fish. The fish in this sequence is the Kohada or Gizzard Shad. Its static shape on the woodblock contrasts with the flooding of coloured toxins around it.
Making overlay textural effect inking of a sequence of prints on the floor of the studio…for inclusion as frames in the animation. (Photo by Louise Graber).
This is the second post in my series of fish prints created using the woodblock printmaking method…for my experimental animated film titled Toxic Fish. Dramatically, after ocean fish are poisoned their bodies swell up, die and disintegrate. The static shape of the fish from the woodblock design starts firm before being flooded by toxins. It then falls apart to illustrate this. The method I employed was to gradually over-ink the block. This resulted in details being dampened into puddles…definition and sharpness were blurred and reduced into a dramatic sequence of atrophy.
Below is a photo of me carving one of the blocks using a Japanese chisel. I must add that this is not the recommended way to of doing it! It has been posed for a photograph and shows a compromised pose of the process for promotional purposes. The woodblock carving process is done on a fixed bench with one carving away from, not towards, one’s body.
This series of posts will profile a collection of creative prints that I have made, beginning with a series of fish. I used the woodblock printmaking method with variations in inking to make monoprints so that the prints produced could also be used in animation sequences. Six species of fish were featured, the first of which is the Japanese Tai or sea bream. I was very attracted to the idea of working in both animation and printmaking at the time but found it difficult to sustain both in the available time and ultimately had to choose between the two. I found the solution in combining both mediums. Animation’s enormous need for artwork could be more speedily met by using the printmaking medium. I was doubly happy but have since settled on making comics which falls in the space located somewhere in-between and requires a lot less artwork.
This symposium continued the productive association between the University of Technology, Sydney and Supanova of co-staging comics related research events. In this case topics were not confined to the study of comics in general nor Australian alternative comics in particular. Rather, the papers reflected a more wide-ranging list of subjects that included connections between comics and fashion, film, animation, literature, calligraphy and computer games. There was also a presentation on the design of comics for young readers with vision impairment. This range of topics reflected the a broad scope of the university’s teaching and research areas. This had resonance with Supanova’s own broadening interests that had spread from an initial focus on comics (it was originally known as ComicFest) to a wider pop culture spread.
Page from the SUPANOVA program listing the event.
In this symposium researchers focused on the use of the design elements image and space and the manipulation of these in the creation of fantasy worlds in various media forms. Co-curated by Dr. Vicki Karaminas and I, the symposium was staged at the UTS city campus in the Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building on 14th October 2005 and opened by the Dean of the faculty.
This is the twelth in a series of posts called Archives of Australian Comics History that document moments in the recent history of Australian comics, particularly alternative comics and the Australian Small Press, however, as stated above, this post has a broader orientation. I began researching this subject in the late 1990s and it eventually led to my PhD thesis and doctorate: Ph.D. Macquarie University, Division of Society, Culture, Media and Philosophy, A Study Of Contemporary Australian Alternative Comics 1992-2000 With Particular Reference To The Work Of Naylor, Smith, Danko And Ord, 2003. On completion of the research I donated the materials and comics I had collected to the National Library of Australia: Michael Hill Collection of Australian Comics.
I now have two three dimensional sculptures of Gigantor and Gojira on the kitchen walls of our home: Gigantor the giant, remote controlled, peace-keeping robot, based on the manga Tetsujin 28-go (Iron man No.28) by Mitsuteru Yokoyama and adapted for animation, plus Gojira (Godzilla) star of the famous Japanese movie directed by Ishirō Honda. These plaques are the work of model maker, artist and comics creator Lewis P. Morley and were exhibited just last month at a gallery in Redfern, Sydney. Once installed, Lewis agreed to perform their christening.
Gigantor installed …above the stove in the kitchen. (Photograph and ceramic tile design by Louise Graber)
I have always thought that Gigantor’s body resembled a pot-bellied stove so I decided that it was appropriate he be positioned above the stove. His clunky design with rivets and pistons, prior to those more elegant mobile suit robots, such as Gundam that succeeded him, have some resonance with the metal stove and the various pots and pans on the shelves.
Gojira installed on the Japanese graduated toned wall. (Photograph by Louise Graber)
The whale eating Gojira, on the other hand, coming from the depths of the ocean and memorably seen in the 1954 Godzilla movie wading through Tokyo Bay, had to go over the kitchen sink.
Lewis and his magic silver signing pen signing Gojira. (Photograph by Louise Graber)
Christening Gigantor in steampunk style with steam from a boiling kettle. (Photograph and ceramic tile design by Louise Graber)
Christening Gojira with water from a metal jug. (Photograph by Louise Graber)
It was very kind of Lewis to come over, appropriately dressed in his Gundam T-shirt and perform this ritual. He now has visiting rights. This post was first published on the Doctor Comictopus blog.
UPDATE: GODZILLA GETS RESIDENCY CERTIFICATE IN TOKYO, June 2015
News photo: Godzilla officially welcomed to Shinjuku by the Mayor.
Well that’s 40 days since my last post…that preferred publishing frequency rate is getting more like it. Feel free to post about my blogging, comics art history and creative projects. I shall reply. Doc.
UPDATE: POSTER DESIGNS FOR THE NEW SHIN GODZILLA FILM, April 2017
Last month I spent a wonderfully productive week in Fiji…on behalf of the Japanese Embassy and the Japan Foundation in Sydney…to present a lecture and workshop at the School of Arts, Language and Media, University of the South Pacific. I also introduced films at an Anime festival held there. It was part of Japan Culture Week 2011 in Suva, the capital city on the largest of the 300 islands. It seemed like an act of cultural colonisation…with the raising of the Anime and Manga flags and the flying of their colours on Treasure Island…creating a little Anime and Manga paradise in the Pacific Ocean.
Dr. Michael Hill at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji…presenting a slide lecture for the Japan Foundation on the global spread of Japanese pop culture in the 1980s. (Photo by Louise Graber)
My lecture titled Up In The Air: Anime’s Journey To The Stars described the global success of Japanese animation…and its rise to prominence both in the film world and in popular culture. It covered the work of Osamu Tezuka and its international success. It also referred to Rintaro’s involvement with him as an animation director on Astro Boy…prior to his subsequent productions that included his Tezuka homage film Metropolis…his adaption of Leiji Matsumoto’s manga Galaxy Express 999, and of Sanpei Shirato’s manga The Dagger of Kamui. Describing Shirato’s beginnings as a kamishibai artist…before moving to manga and the alternative publication GARO…the lecture included anecdotes from my time as a lecturer at Sydney College of the Arts…and the University of Technology, Sydney where I observed the growing interest of students in Japanese popular culture. They became fascinated with manga, Anime, cosplay, fashion,…J-Pop, scanlations, computer games…cameras, turntables, TV game shows,…food and fashion, not to mention learning Japanese and visiting Tokyo. The lecture concluded with an analysis of the productions…and the rise to prominence of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli…who, like Tezuka, found both both an international audience and critical acclaim.
The tools and materials for the printmaking workshop. My Rugby woodblock print is on the table alongside some of my art postcards and printmaking tools. (Photo by Louise Graber)
In addition to the theory lecture I presented a practical arts workshop…demonstrating the printmaking technique I had developed as part of my artistic practice. Based on the Japanese creative print movement Sosaku Hanga,…and the work of Koshiro Onchi and Shiko Munakata in particular. I showed examples of my work that had been made using this approach and methodology…and applied to my prints, postcards, T-shirts and comics.
Dr. Michael Hill teaching printmaking techniques to students of the University of the South Pacific. In the foreground his Rugby themed woodblock print is being studied. (Photo by Louise Graber)
After the demonstration the students had the opportunity to make their own prints. By chance, the cultural activities took place in the same week as the Rugby World Cup finals…and the only paint colours to hand were those of the Wallabies, yellow and green. My own rugby woodblock print (being passed around the class, in the photos above) provided some amusement and interest.
The ‘sosaku hanga’ creative printmaking workshop. (Photo by Louise Graber)
Downtown, on the roof of the Village Cinema complex Batman and Spiderman look down…intrigued at the sight of people going in to see the Ninja super hero Kamui. It was here that the Anime Film Festival was held each evening. Films screened included Galaxy Express 999…The Dagger of Kamui…Laputa: Castle in the Sky and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. Anime is now a fixed part of the Japanese cultural coat of arms…emblematic of the country’s long history of graphic arts which feeds into and nurtures both Anime and manga. The week long festival of Anime films and supporting cultural events was an alternative offering to American movies…and helped spread Japanese popular culture in the South Pacific.
Village Cinema Centre, Suva, with superhero cinema on the screens. (Photo by Louise Graber)
At the bottom of the hotel pool in Nadi, the elegant octopus tile design. (Photo by Louise Graber)
Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics playfully poses in shark jaws at the University of the South Pacific in 2011. (Photo by Louise Graber)
In the Fiji Museum in Suva, the Eel God sacred club. (Photo by Louise Graber)
In addition to my admiration of the octopus and various fish I am also a fan of the eel. During my Fiji visit I was pleased to find that the eel had acquired the status of a deity…and a creative one at that…in Melanesian mythology. Below is an artwork I had created, featuring eels once found in the Parramatta River near Blacktown in Sydney.
Another treasure inside the Fiji Museum was this old metal Hopkinson & Cope printing press…imported from England in earlier days. At my printmaking workshop in Suva I demonstrated an alternative, Japanese method…that employs one’s body weight as a press instead of a device such as this.
Old metal, pre-digital printing press. (Photo by Louise Graber)
On this “Treasure Island”…in addition to the art and marine life…there were collections of coconuts, palm trees and flowers including red hibiscus and white frangipani.
An example of the abundant frangipani presence on the island. (Photo by Louise Graber)
Many thanks to Sayuri Tokuman and Susan Yamaguchi of the Japanese Studies & Intellectual Exchange Department…and Tokiko Kiyota, Director of the Japan Foundation in Sydney…and to Nobuko Iwatani, Mako Nakauchi and Mele of the Embassy of Japan in Fiji..and His Excellency Yutaka Yoshizawa, Ambassador of Japan, for their ideas, assistance and support with this project.
INVITATION: Please respond to this post if you would like to make a comment…or suggest topics for future posting. Being new to blogging I would love to hear any feedback about my posts. Are they too long?…have too many images?…or too much text?…or there are too many of them?…or not enough? Michael.
Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto! Earlier this evening I went to the opening of a comics art related exhibition in Chippendale. This area of inner Sydney is becoming something of an arts hub. In recent weeks I have visited galleries located within a stone’s throw of each other: MOP, NG and White Rabbit. This exhibition, titled Toy Porn 2, showcased the work of established artist Nick Stathopoulos. Nick recently made a portrait of the comics creator Shaun Tan for the Archibald Prize competition. It was on display in the restaurant downstairs. The portraits here, however, were of cartoon character creations from animation, comics and films. Titles selected included Astro Boy, Tintin, Batman, Thunderbirds, Robby the Robot, The Beatles in their Yellow Submarine, and assorted others.
Title: He always comes between us – Acrylic and oil glaze on canvas-2011-60 x 60 cm
Stathopoulos paints in a hyper-realistic style on a flat canvas but manages to deliver a convincing three dimensional effect. He does intensely detailed, fine painting with no visible trace of brush strokes. His rendering of plastic surfaces is extraordinary. It is a labour of love. There is tension evident in the work. He always comes between us portrays a moment of drama between the cartoon characters Snowy, Tintin and Captain Haddock. A painting of the package containing the Yellow Submarine toy is a delight. Collectors and toy hunters will enjoy its scratches and dents pointing to its less than mint condition.
Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics with the artist Nick Stathopoulos at the opening. (Photo by Louise Graber)
The show was enthusiastically opened by Claudia Chan Shaw, of ABC-TV’s Collectors program and a former student of mine. She admitted to being something of a collector herself. She has a weakness for plastic and vinyl. She even brought one of her toys along to the event. Her speech was both erudite and amusing. She demonstrated a fine understanding of the business and motivation for collecting. In this instance, the need for re-connection with the playthings of one’s childhood. Discussing her own collecting habits Claudia mentioned the therapeutic value of going public and sharing stories with other collectors. From this she gained empathy in a form of collaborative complicity. She was the perfect choice to launch this exhibition. I am familiar with the term ‘shelf porn’ referring to the display of treasured collections. There are photos by comics collectors of their bookshelves with the spines of all the graphic novels they own. The notion of display, or as Claudia Chan Shaw described it, “one’s habit”, is an element of this behaviour. You look at these images of someone’s collection and envy the items and titles that they have and you don’t…a love for the object in question and the desire to add it to one’s own collection.
“Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto!” Claudia Chan Shaw, Doctor Comics and the artist Nick Stathopoulos posing with Astro Boy dolls. (Photo by Louise Graber)
To the music of Domo arigato Mr. Roboto by Japanese band Polysics…and with robots, rockets, plastic and vinyl around…this exhibition is an affectionate tribute to toys, their collection and preservation. Well done Nick! Good show. Comics lovers should definitely see it. Toy Porn 2 is on in Sydney at NG Art Gallery Little Queen Street, Chippendale, 26 July-13 August 2011, Michael.
Doctor Comics 