Internet search engines are a wonder. Today not only did
Google solve an old itch of mine but it gave me far more information about a
subject than I ever imagined or hoped to find. And for that, I am thankful.
I know that my search was something I could have handled and solved
years ago but I delayed and pondered and let the matter go time and time again.
And really, sometimes those things you discover as a young man don’t really
translate well into the world you occupy as an adult so it’s easy to let them
go, you know? In this case it had to do with a song, a theater and a film, and
together at the time they were magical. I never imagined that together and
apart still had the power to inspire and bring joy an awful lot of people after all these years.
First off, we can't blame the mania about this experience just on dope. Sure, Mexican grass was THE game changer in my life back then (aw, I call bullshit on that,,,sex was, too). And yes, I know, we are all gathered
here today because that particular kind of grass from the other side of the border WAS greener and made everything, I mean EVERYTHING, a complete and total gas under the influence. It
didn’t matter what it was, everything was more fun, more interesting, more
freaking wonderful on weed. Homework changed, housework changed, relationships changed, and for the most part, everything changed for the good.
I am sure the day that I smoked Thai stick and swept the driveway at the drive-in changed my life forever. When I found out that even
the most mundane tasks were cool and enlightening on dope I had to apply that new found
wisdom to other things I liked and enjoyed, like food, music and film.
It was around that time that I found myself grooving on
international animation. PBS had an animation program that aired late on school
nights and it brought a whole new and interesting art into my life. Once I
attained wheels I was able to take my jones for film on the road and was able to catch movies all
around the county. In the end the combination of wheels, cash and cannabis made for
a perfect storm.
Sometime during the winter of 76 I bundled my fellow stoner
buddies into my Galaxie 500 and drove off to the Surf Theater in Huntington
Beach to catch a special kind of flick. That night, instead of watching surf or ski films, we smoked some spliffs and caught an
animation festival that truly rocked our worlds. One piece in particular, French
Window, by Ian Emes, with music by Pink Floyd, really captured my imagination
hard core. A year or so later I was able to take in another film, the Fantastic
Animation Festival, at an art house in San Diego, and that piece was wrapped up in that
play list as well.
I am not sure what it was about that film that rocked my world so hard but it did. After catching those first animation festivals I sought out others with the
hope of seeing French Windows again but not once did it ever pop up. I went out and
bought Pink Floyd’s Meddle album and played One of These Days over and over
again, just to replay that rich visual imagery in my head. As the years went on I
had a general idea of what the film looked like, or thought it looked like, but
lost the feel for the visuals completely. In the end it was just the powerful effects of the song that drove me to wonder what that animated piece was all about. That is, until today.
Today I worked that research magic that librarians throughout the
land are famous for and was able to track down not only French Windows but
information about the animator as well. It wasn’t hard at all, really. I typed
in One of These Days and animation and viola, there it was, French Windows, in
all its glory.
From there I was able to find out more about the fable 1977 animation
festival, the rights surrounding the song (which makes it hard to find that
animated piece just about anywhere) and the general unavailability of a recording of the festival itself. But thanks to a poster on YouTube you can catch a VHS rendition of the animation festival it's entirety, the same one that I grooved to long ago. Included are Will Vinton’s
Closed Mondays and Mountain Music as well as an assorted of absolutely
incredible animated pieces.
Today the internet provided a sort of time tunnel for me.
I was able to plug in French Windows and jet back to that funky old theater by
the sea and groove on a film that moved me so way back when. But more I was able to find out more about the man who not only
changed animation history but is still revered throughout the world for that one
particular animated piece. Somehow I knew when I saw it at the Surf Theater back in the seventies that Emes’
French Windows was timeless. Today I found out that I wasn’t off the mark at
all. It truly is.
Salud!
A New York Times article from that era about the fest!
http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=980DE7DE1E3FE334BC4052DFBE66838C669EDE
Ian Emes website!
http://www.ianemes.com/
Wiki about Ian!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Emes
French Windows!
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x17acm5_pink-floyd-one-of-these-days-ian-emes-french-windows_music
Gallery IKON!
https://ikon-gallery.org/event/ikon-icons-ian-emes/
An interview with Ian!
http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/ian-emes-interview
A note about the Surf!
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/3697
A current roster of animation festivals throughout the world! WOW!
http://www.animation-festivals.com/
Lastly, a wiki on Meddle!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meddle
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