Commencement 2007 Remarks
Kathy Smith, Chair, John C. Hench Division of Animation & Digital Arts
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I am struck by the dislocation of space seeing the landscape all at once beneath me in time as opposed to traversing it in real time on the ground, experiencing the time it takes to move from one moment, event or place to the next.
This is a metaphor for so many things that we experience in animation, the time it takes to create one image frame by frame and the millions of thoughts and ideas that are imbued in these elongated moments to finally culminate in the animated form brought to life appearing magically all at once in time and space.
I say this every year, we are animate beings and this desire via perception to understand our existence transcends time, space and culture; and as the evolution of the human mind increases in its potential for expression so too does the desire for new ways to illuminate this through art, technology and science. And all of you have at some point in your three years have expanded this art form.
As Maurice Nicoll states in Living Time "Remember that we do not live only in this little visible moment
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| Smith addresses the class of 2007. |
It is this mystical framework that we employ via animation and digital media to convey the temporal experience of everyday life.
As human beings and artists you have the desire for something beyond yourselves to find meaning in existence, - and imagination, joy and desire play a big part in finding that truth. Passion and commitment is something we can’t teach you, it is something you must bring to us and take away enhanced from this time. All we can say to you is believe in your art and the importance to imagine and never lose that desire."
*Nicoll, Maurice Living Time and the Integration of Life, Stuart Publishers 1959
