Overview

Full Product Details

9780190949754

Table of Contents

Reviews

"""Figure and Force in Animation Aesthetics is a major intervention in the history of modernism. In this beautiful book, Pierson so carefully, so lovingly tracks the formal and philosophical seriousness of abstract animatorsâMary Beams, Robert Breer, Norman McLaren, to name only a fewâwhose work has caused major categorical discomfort for scholars of popular narrative-based forms of animation, on the one hand, and for the gatekeepers of the modernist canon, on the other. Moreover, Pierson has opened up a whole new vocabulary for thinking about form in the realm of philosophical aesthetics. His conceptualizations of force, movement, figure, re-centering, illustrative and demonstrative metamorphosis alone will be with us, I predict, for a very long time."" -- Brian Price, Professor of Visual Studies, University of Toronto ""Figure and Force in Animation Aesthetics constitutes a tour de force in animation studies. Rejecting conventional forms, Pierson turns to figure and force to overturn everything we thought we perceived in animation.ÂThrough careful analyses of animated films, Pierson shows how every distinct figure is a threshold, generated differentially through the force of the sensible, imperceptibly minute perceptions. But what makes this book so compelling and challenging is that Pierson does not stop there. Figure and force provide a springboard for asking how aesthetics orients questions of life and living â exposure, complexity, alienation, love."" -- Thomas Lamarre, Duke University ""Our theoretical terms and frameworks for understanding the moving imageâdeveloped primarily through encounters with live-action mediaâfit animation awkwardly, if at all. Pierson wipes that slate clean and starts anew with refreshing and insightful questions about animation and movement. His answers are stunning and elegant; no one who cares about animation can ignore them. This book will reset the conversation about what animation is."" -- Scott Curtis, Northwestern University"

Our theoretical terms and frameworks for understanding the moving imagedeveloped primarily through encounters with live-action mediafit animation awkwardly, if at all. Pierson wipes that slate clean and starts anew with refreshing and insightful questions about animation and movement. His answers are stunning and elegant; no one who cares about animation can ignore them. This book will reset the conversation about what animation is. * Scott Curtis, Northwestern University * Figure and Force in Animation Aesthetics constitutes a tour de force in animation studies. Rejecting conventional forms, Pierson turns to figure and force to overturn everything we thought we perceived in animation.Through careful analyses of animated films, Pierson shows how every distinct figure is a threshold, generated differentially through the force of the sensible, imperceptibly minute perceptions. But what makes this book so compelling and challenging is that Pierson does not stop there. Figure and force provide a springboard for asking how aesthetics orients questions of life and living exposure, complexity, alienation, love. * Thomas Lamarre, Duke University * Figure and Force in Animation Aesthetics is a major intervention in the history of modernism. In this beautiful book, Pierson so carefully, so lovingly tracks the formal and philosophical seriousness of abstract animatorsMary Beams, Robert Breer, Norman McLaren, to name only a fewwhose work has caused major categorical discomfort for scholars of popular narrative-based forms of animation, on the one hand, and for the gatekeepers of the modernist canon, on the other. Moreover, Pierson has opened up a whole new vocabulary for thinking about form in the realm of philosophical aesthetics. His conceptualizations of force, movement, figure, re-centering, illustrative and demonstrative metamorphosis alone will be with us, I predict, for a very long time. * Brian Price, Professor of Visual Studies, University of Toronto *

Our theoretical terms and frameworks for understanding the moving imagedeveloped primarily through encounters with live-action mediafit animation awkwardly, if at all. Pierson wipes that slate clean and starts anew with refreshing and insightful questions about animation and movement. His answers are stunning and elegant; no one who cares about animation can ignore them. This book will reset the conversation about what animation is. * Scott Curtis, Northwestern University * Figure and Force in Animation Aesthetics constitutes a tour de force in animation studies. Rejecting conventional forms, Pierson turns to figure and force to overturn everything we thought we perceived in animation.Through careful analyses of animated films, Pierson shows how every distinct figure is a threshold, generated differentially through the force of the sensible, imperceptiblely minute perceptions. But what makes this book so compelling and challenging is that Pierson does not stop there. Figure and force provide a springboard for asking how aesthetics orients questions of life and living exposure, complexity, alienation, love. * Thomas Lamarre, Duke University * Figure and Force in Animation Aesthetics is a major intervention in the history of modernism. In this beautiful book, Pierson so carefully, so lovingly tracks the formal and philosophical seriousness of abstract animatorsMary Beams, Robert Breer, Norman McLaren, to name only a fewwhose work has caused major categorical discomfort for scholars of popular narrative-based forms of animation, on the one hand, and for the gatekeepers of the modernist canon, on the other. Moreover, Pierson has opened up a whole new vocabulary for thinking about form in the realm of philosophical aesthetics. His conceptualizations of force, movement, figure, re-centering, illustrative and demonstrative metamorphosis alone will be with us, I predict, for a very long time. * Brian Price, Professor of Visual Studies, University of Toronto *

Author Information

Ryan Pierson is Assistant Professor of Film at the University of Calgary.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available