The Shoemaker and the Hatter

An animation (long before there were such things) for Oscar Brown Jr’s track “But I Was Cool”, from his 1961 debut album Sin & Soul. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.

Directed, assembled by Hy Hirsch.

Directed by Hy Hirsh. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2000.

A children's fable about the power of advertising, the meaning of life and ultimately the test of a mother's love. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2016.

"Light animation and original poetry in this initiatic journey by Dennis Pies, who is now known as Sky-David." - Daily Psychedelic. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2013.

A symbolic reflection on issues of female sexuality, art and identity constructs.

Del is a song writer for the obnoxious Mr. Mega, and in love with Didi, Mega's secretary. His quest to write a hit tune brings him to the wacky world of Flooby Nooby, where he just might learn to write songs from the heart.

Animated short film. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2009.

Krumins’ fantasy sets the world of flora and fauna on its ear. At one moment grotesque greenish mushrooms grow, wither and reverse their life-cycle, at another, strange crustacean-like animals speed around on a bed of feathers, next a room is inundated with giant ladybugs… Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2009.

The fourth film by a member of the '2nd generation' of computer filmmakers, artists who do their own programming. Abstract imagery includes some hand drawings. Synthesizer soundtrack. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.

A vibrant animation by Patricia Marx. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2000.

The bizarre adventures of the cartoon character Foska, drawn by 22 animators working in collaboration. Each animator worked on his or her own sequence only and did not know what action preceded or followed his or her sequence, except that the first drawing of a sequence is the last drawing from the previous sequence. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2010.

An animated comedy short from the 1920s. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2008.

Odds & Ends is a sly comment on the collage film and Beat culture. To discarded travel and advertising footage found at a local film laboratory, Belson Shimane added a mélange of animation—assemblages, cutouts, color fields, and line drawings—and faux hipster narration by Jacobs (credited via the anagram Rheny Bojacs) punctuated by a bongo backing. Strung together with doublespeak and non sequiturs, the monologue skirts the edge of nonsense as Jacobs waxes on about poetry, jazz, “reaching the public,” “having a good time,” and—although “money doesn’t count”—the “possibility of subsidy” through grants. Footage of champagne, tropical beaches, and exotic peoples intermingle with rhythmic drawings and stop-motion flights of fancy. The visuals race on through dazzling transformations, both amplifying and undercutting the patter. —National Film Preservation Foundation. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with Iota Center Collection in 2006.

As Christmas approaches, Frannie Stein learns from her snide friend Gloria Oestriger that there is no Santa Claus. Frannie's disbelieving, but her father confirms the horrible truth. Frannie enlists the help of her younger brother, Kenny, and they go to a graveyard to dig up some parts, which they assemble in the Stein basement. Soon, they've finished their creation and are ready for revenge on Gloria. Who says there's no Santa? Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.

NO NO NOOKY TV posits sexuality to be a social construct in a "sex-text" of satiric graphic representation of "dirty pictures." Made on an Amiga Computer and shot in 16mm film, NO NO NOOKY TV confronts the feminist controversy around sexuality with electronic language, pixels and interface. Even the monitor is eroticized in this film/video hybrid that points fun at romance, sexuality, and love in our post-industrial age. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2017.

Opens with a short canonical statement of a theme upon which the entire film is constructed. The canon is repeated in contrasting variations by means of color. A second section poses the same image in deep film space. The image unfolds itself repeatedly, leaving the receding image to continue on smaller and smaller. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2005.

The animation, music, and optical printing of Kitsch in Synch was produced by Beckett and the students in two classes he was teaching at CalArts. Although a group project, it is clear that Beckett was the director. The playful, catchy soundtrack is used to create a cycle of building tension and release. The brightly colored shapes create approximate symmetrical formations and become more densely layered, with glimpses of iconographic objects and even live footage near the end. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive, in partnership with the iotaCenter, in 2007.

A 1968 animation/documentary that criticises the industrial system.

"A destitute room, transmuted by the startling magic of stop-motion photography into a luxuriant explosion of color. A new work by D’Avino (THE BIG O)." – Cinema 16 program notes, May 1959. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2007.