“It” writes the paper I thought about.
This evening we saw “Van Gogh In America” at The Detroit Institute of Arts. It was packed with viewers patiently and eagerly engaged. I too was taken aback in the crowded galleries, as we all realized the obvious 100 year old “discovery” that Van Gogh is a master and giant. Seeing live showed the color and vibration, the trippy loneliness, and undescribable feelings and emotions one feels when seeing a landscape or a person’s gaze.
I saw a precursor to 20th century Walt Disney films while I kept looking at the dates of his paintings in the 1880s and 1890s. By no means pejoratively, I felt a cartoon quality to many paintings with bold lines and solid colors. And the cliched thought his paintings move when you look at them. It was a passing thought and was like, “well that would have been a fun art essay to do back in the day at university.” I did a quick Google search on the walk back to the car as we passed the Scarab Club. Then I remember we now live in a world with ChatGPT and gave it a go. Here’s what it came up with.
Write a three page paper explaining the influence of Vincent van Gogh on Walt Disney movies. Please use citations.
Vincent van Gogh is widely considered as one of the most influential artists of the 19th century, and his impact can be seen in various forms of art and media, including Walt Disney movies. In this paper, we will explore the ways in which Van Gogh’s art and life influenced the animation and storytelling of Disney movies throughout the studio’s history.
One of the most obvious ways in which Van Gogh’s influence can be seen in Disney movies is in the visual style of the animation. Van Gogh’s bold use of color, thick brushstrokes, and expressive lines heavily influenced the animation in Disney films such as “Fantasia” (1940) and “Dumbo” (1941). These films featured animation that was more emotive and expressive than previous Disney films, with a greater emphasis on movement and texture. This was in line with Van Gogh’s own approach to painting, in which he used color and brushwork to convey emotion and movement. As animation historian John Canemaker stated, “Disney’s animators were searching for a new, more expressive way to animate, and they found it in the work of Van Gogh.” (Canemaker, 2007)
Van Gogh’s influence can also be seen in the themes of Disney movies. Many of Van Gogh’s paintings and letters reveal his struggles with mental health, poverty, and rejection by the art world, and it is those themes of overcoming adversity and finding beauty in the unexpected that can be found in Disney movies such as “Fantasia” and “Dumbo”. Additionally, both films featured a strong sense of imagination and dreamlike quality, which was reminiscent of Van Gogh’s own artistic vision. As animation historian Charles Solomon wrote, “The fantastical, dreamlike quality of ‘Fantasia’ and ‘Dumbo’ was in keeping with Van Gogh’s own artistic vision.” (Solomon, 1992)
In “Fantasia” in particular, the use of classical music and abstract animation was a departure from the Disney studio’s more traditional animation style. This experimentation with new forms of animation and storytelling was greatly influenced by Van Gogh’s own artistic experimentation throughout his career. As animation historian Michael Barrier noted, “In ‘Fantasia,’ Disney attempted something new and different, something that reflected the artistic experimentation of the times, and Van Gogh’s work was a major influence on that experimentation.” (Barrier, 1999)
Furthermore, the film “Saludos Amigos” (1942) and “The Three Caballeros” (1944) both were heavily influenced by Latin American culture and art, were heavily influenced by Van Gogh’s exposure to Japanese woodblock prints and the work of the Fauvist painters, both of which he studied during his time in Arles. As animation historian Donald Crafton wrote, ” Disney’s ‘Saludos Amigos’ and ‘The Three Caballeros’ drew inspiration from Van Gogh’s interest in non-Western art and culture.” (Crafton, 1990)
In recent years, Disney has continued to be influenced by Van Gogh’s legacy. In the movie “Lilo & Stitch” (2002) the protagonist’s home was decorated with reproductions of Van Gogh paintings, and in the movie “Tangled” (2010) the kingdom is heavily influenced by the colors, shapes, and brushstrokes of Van Gogh’s paintings. Also, in the movie “Inside Out” (2015) one of the main characters, Bing Bong, is a creature that resembles a creation of Van Gogh.
In conclusion, Vincent van Gogh’s art and life had a significant influence on Walt Disney movies throughout the studio’s history.
The second week of November 2016 is the apex of some yet unknown historic shift. We all know it’s big and we’re living it. In hindsight I was mistaken about some things and I see other things coming to fruition via a nod to historical movements. It’s history book time now and that’s unsettling. 50% is the number for me. 50% voted one way. 50% the other way. And 50% didn’t vote at all.
It’s a powerful platform and requires couth. Most of us move too fast with it. We post and friend one another without thinking. Posts that get interaction via comments, likes, and shares come to the top of the feed and thus the spiral into heated conversation. This can be great for democracy but too often we see it turn personal and aggressive. Imagine if you started blurting out political views at your company’s water cooler at 10am. Not tactful. Not couth. Most of us don’t operate this way because we’d probably be out of a job. However, most of us will take a quick glance at our phones at the water cooler and can potentially see a co-workers political Facebook rant. This isn’t dialogue. Just as you know your audience at work or in a social setting know your audience online. Facebook has powerful tools namely the ability to-
The Guardian Building with it’s golden Pewabic tile was completed in 1929. She had to have made a point to see it. My eyes have seen what she saw!
One of the surprising players uncovered for me was the Edsel Ford painting. I knew Diego Rivera as a painter of the “labor movement” and figured him to have socialist tendencies. For decades I’d been to the DIA to take in “the mural” but never knew the story behind it. The fact the Fords were the ones who funded the mural was a profound revelation of irony. On the surface “the mural” shows the awesome destiny of man and industry, the worker, it’s hope and growth along with an undertone of warning and fear. It’s like something or someone is making this thing go and we’re actors not necessarily the directors. As time went on it sounds like Rivera and Kahlo became disillusioned with their wealthy benefactors and were eventually run out of town in New York City when Rivera’s proposed mural had Stalin. My generation grew up with the communist threat as the current generation wrestles with terrorism. The Detroit Industry fresco tackles these concepts before World War II, before The Cold War, and before Reagan and Gorbachev. The exhibit gives you the untold story behind the scenes of the dialectical drama so simply explained as black and white in schools and the media. These forces comingled at one time. Comingled in Detroit. The mural means this to me now and Kahlo was a hidden force.
Recently some bard colleagues of old have called me out about not writing the poetic.
