Hey folks, Harry here... As many of you could tell, by watching my AIN'T IT COOL with Harry Knowles show, I love the ephemera of Film. There's so much that can be learned from a doodle upon a sheet of paper. And while I do have quite an extensive collection, every day of my life I see things that I can't afford to collect. Contrary to popular opinion, AICN has never made me rich, not yet - and who knows if it ever will. That isn't its purpose. I created Ain't It Cool News to be a place where I could discuss my passion for cinema, its past, present & future. I've decided to start a new Sunday Column. Why Sunday? Well usually it's a slow news day film wise - and well... I think you'll love some of the discoveries that I find online.
This first one is spectacular. I actually attempted to bid on it twice, with it jumping out of my budget. Darn it. You see, when animators are working together, there's the art work that we see on the screen, there's the artwork that inspired what you see on screen and then there's the artwork that the artists do to blow off steam and make their fellow animators laugh or perhaps just themselves.
The piece you see below is AMAZING! It comes from the 1920s according to HERITAGE AUCTIONS. The man drawing at the table - a Mickey Mouse drawing on the animator's desk - is none other than a young Walt Disney. The man yelling at Walt is none other than UB Iwerks, the man responsible for a great deal of Walt's success - and the innovator that founded so many of the techniques that went into animation and visual effects filmmaking from the earliest of days.
What particularly strikes me about the piece is seeing UB as the task master over Walt. If any artwork shows just how powerful Iwerks was in the earliest days of Walt's fledgling steps as a filmmaker, it is this one. You could own this piece, it is up for sale at Heritage Auctions here, and the auction ends later this month! Now, journey back in time when Walt Disney was drawing at a desk...
