Animation
World Magazine, Issue 3.2, May 1998
Eight Point Star: A Mind Experience in Animation
by Marcos Magalhães
Download Quicktime movie clips from
Eight Point Star by Fernando Diniz. © Fernando Diniz.
star 1MB.
horse 1MB.
harmonica
1MB
What is the
real boundary between reality and imagination? As animators we frequently
explore this mysterious territory, by submerging ourselves in universes
totally alienated from the material world. This going back and forth between
fantasy and reality sometimes provokes effects similar to those of drugs
or mental disorders; which is why we keep them under control during an
artistic production. But for certain people, these boundaries have vanished
altogether, and are no longer meaningful or important, as they are for
most of us.
Reinventing Animation Instruction
For six years, I helped Fernando Diniz, who is now 79, make Eight
Point Star, his first animated film. In 1996 this film won three prizes
in Brazil's most important film festival, Gramado's Film Festival, and
was also awarded the first prize for best animated short in the Havana
Film Festival.
For the past 50 years, Fernando has been living in a mental hospital in
Rio de Janeiro. There he learned how to draw, paint, and sculpt, soon becoming
one of the most distinctive fine artists in the city. Working and sharing
moments with this artist was a profound and touching experience. I had
to reinvent many of the concepts I had as an animator, in order to understand
the totally different parameters of time and space experienced by Fernando.
Contrary to my expectations, I met a fully dedicated artist, concentrated
in his work, and very conscious of his objectives. This could sound "off
the wall," but his unconditional love for researching and experimenting
with art, reminded me of master artist Norman McLaren, whom I met while
interning at the National Film Board of Canada. The film structured as
a "show reel," presents some of the main ideas explored by Fernando
and opens a window into his universe. It was very gratifying to prove that
animation can be an alternative language for people with a perception of
reality beyond the normal standards.
This drawing of an elaborate 16-point
compass
is part of Fernando Diniz's film, Eight Point Star.
© Fernando Diniz.
His
Past and a New Beginning
Fernando grew up in a very poor and modest
neighborhood, but as a child his mother would frequently take him to wealthy
homes, where she worked mending Haute Couture clothing. During this period,
he developed a taste for luxury and savoir-faire, and became enamored with
a rich, white girl named Violeta. The young Fernando was convinced he had
to conquer Violeta's heart, and so he began to study for many years to
become a rich engineer.
One day, as an adult, he discovered that the woman of his dreams was engaged
to another man, who was white and wealthy. Disillusioned, Fernando abandoned
his studies and isolated himself from the world. Sad and lonely, he found
relief in the waters of Copacabana beach, until one sunny Sunday when he
forgot that being in the nude was socially unacceptable... When
the police arrived, he resisted arrest and was taken to a mental hospital
where he was isolated from his family and treated with drugs and electroshock
therapy, a common practice at the time.
What has made Fernando's story different from those of many other mental
patients, was his encounter with a very special woman, Dr. Nise da Silveira.
An admirer of Jung's ideas and convinced that conventional treatments for
mental patients were inhumane and inefficient, Dr. Nise revolutionized
a traditional public hospital when she introduced fine art studios inside
the building. In 1952, she founded the Museum of Images of the Unconscious,
where the patients would materialize their impressions and feelings
in canvas, drawings and sculptures. The museum's program flourished as
a new phenomenon for the arts and science. The results of the workshops
allowed Dr. Nise to interpret with surprising clarity the mental process
of individuals with very little or no verbal expression at all. When she
met the quiet and absent Fernando, Dr. Nise invited him to join the workshops.
Fernando rediscovered his passion for studying and soon devoted himself
to art in both body and soul. Years later he said, "I have moved to
the world of images." Even though Dr. Nise's purpose never meant to
evaluate the artistic quality of the patient's work, art critics soon considered
Fernando and some of his colleges as brilliant artists.
Fernando Diniz. Photo by Claudia
Bolshaw.
The Birth of a Filmmaker
The museum's reputation, after decades
of great success, attracted the attention of filmmaker Leon Hirzman, who
shot a feature length documentary called Images of the Unconscious.
The life and work of Fernando Diniz was captured in the film, and his contact
with the film crew immediately provoked an obsession in him for creating
cinema.
Fernando didn't have access to a camera or film, so he made drawings frame
by frame, one after the other. Sometimes he would do different drawings
next to each other similar to a storyboard, and on several occasions he
would paint with oils making different layers on the same canvas, hiding
one picture under the next one, creating a film that only he could follow.
When I first met Fernando in 1988, he was working on such a series of drawings.
The Museum's team wanted to document it on film, so they approached me
to explore the possibilities of producing a film with an animation camera.
When I first saw Fernando's designs I had the sensation of being in front
of an animator's work; beautiful animation "layouts." Some were
abstract and geometrical, others were figures, but all had a high aesthetic
quality and displayed exquisite colors and shapes.
I was enchanted with Fernando not only for his work, but also for his personality.
It was very difficult to understand his speech because he has no teeth,
but he was always very curious and always had a great sense of humor when
trying to explain his work or learn new things.
Despite the communication difficulties we had, my experience as a teacher
showed me I was in front of a very special student. Fernando convinced
me of his capacity to direct his own creative process. From that day on
I decided to help him carry out his animation onto film: a project that
lasted for six years until Eight Point Star was completed.
Our Production Process
The first step was to give him a light table, and explain to him that
from now on he had to draw on separate sheets of paper with punch holes.
I also gathered some raw stock and borrowed a 16mm camera from the animation
studios at the National Foundation for the Arts (Funarte).
Fernando handed me his first scenes a few weeks later. He had filled the
thousand sheets I had given him with colored drawings. Although he knew
how the light table and the animation pegs worked, he didn't use them at
all. However, when I flipped the animation I was surprised to find that
it certainly worked. He relied on his visual memory to follow on to the
next drawing, using the edge of the paper as a reference. Despite my insistence,
he rarely used pegs or transparencies until the end of the process.
Every Wednesday, I would meet Fernando to revise his new scenes (500 drawings
per week) and prepare them for the shoot. These scenes usually had very
defined themes, and I encouraged him to create titles for each one. Some
were very easy to understand, a series of animals or people playing sports;
others were incomprehensible geometric scribbles, which sometimes darkened
the paper completely.
According to Dr. Nise, these variations revealed his psychological condition.
When he suffered with depression, he would resort to geometric images in
order to reorganize his emotional state. When he felt secure and surrounded
by affection, Fernando would draw more organic figures. We proved this
several times, particularly in the last sequence of the film which depicts
a character riding a horse past a long stretch of scenery. This scene was
completely done on an animation table at the Funarte studios, and during
his working hours, Fernando would avidly talk to the people around him.
It was the only time he decided to use the animation pegs and light table.
This sequence has biographical elements, with scenarios and characters
from his early paintings.
The dark, compressed style of this drawing
of a
person on a horse illustrates Fernando's tendency
towards geometric images in order to reorganize
his emotional state when he suffers with depression.
© Fernando Diniz.
Fernando's Language
We used to talk for hours about his drawings.
He created a proper system of classifying the geometric figures, and he
would explain this to me in his confused language. It took me a while to
understand that when he talked about "pineapple," "fish,"
"bread," "watermelon," etc., he was referring to the
form of these objects, and not their real meaning.
One day, he showed me a scene he insisted on calling "The Bottle."
When I took a close look at each drawing, I came to the conclusion that
he was mistaken. I couldn't identify any object that looked like a bottle.
After he had insisted so much in the title, I decided to shoot the scene.
When we projected the print, I was totally surprised when I perceived the
silhouette of a bottle vibrating within the scribbles. From that day, it
became clear to me that Fernando had an objective in mind and that he was
able to control his technique to get the results he wanted.
Fernando never showed too much enthusiasm when looking at the rushes. Always
seated in the first row, he would rather study the fast flashing numbers
in the counter under the screen than the picture itself. I also noticed
he had a strong myopia, but he would refuse to wear glasses. It was as
if he had already seen enough while creating the drawings. He could care
less if he couldn't clearly see the animation. However, he loved to comment
and discuss the meaning of everything he had produced. Above all, he enjoyed
the applause of the audience and the positive response to his work.
The film, Eight Point Star, was named after Fernando Diniz' most
preferred subject. Claudia Bolshaw, a graphic designer who studied Fernando's
work, took over the production of the film during the last two years. She
wrote her master's thesis on the film in which she deciphers the meaning
of Eight Point Star. Fernando conceived the "star" as
a graphic system that organizes space and from which all of his other figures
are born. The "eight point star" is represented by a cross and
two diagonals, like the British flag. Almost every time Fernando starts
drawing, he begins with these basic lines. They are his guidelines to maintain
the proportion and to register the movements and shapes that emerge from
his animation. In almost every scene of the film, we can see the lines
of the star defining the space. The star is Fernando's salvation, the system
that provides him with control and security.
A horse of a different color:
When he feels secure and surrounded
by affection, Fernando draws more organic figures, such as
this looser image of a person riding a running horse.
© Fernando Diniz.
Thanks to his devotion to art, Fernando hasn't
been treated with any psychiatric medicine for decades. He has a very productive
life, and he's integrated well into the community. He still lives in the
hospital only because he doesn't have any family, or someone who can take
care of him on a daily basis.
Eight Point Star's success in Brazil has renewed interest in Fernando
Diniz' work, and posed questions regarding the rights of people with mental
conditions to participate in our society. Fernando continues to live in
a hospital, painting and preparing scenes for other animated films. He
also plays music on the piano and harmonica, and some of his compositions
were incorporated into the soundtrack of the film. Eight Point Star's
sales on video contribute to his personal expenditures for a more comfortable
life inside the hospital.
Translated from Portugese by Alejandro Gedeon.
Eight Point Star is being distributed by Funarte (National Foundation
of Arts) at the price of 25 reais (around $20 U.S.). Inquiries may be sent
by e-mail to decine@funarte.gov.br
Written inquiries may also be sent by mail:
CTAv - Funarte
Av. Brazil, 2482
20.930-040 Rio de Janeiro Brazil
To purchaseEight Point StarandMarcos Magalhães'own
video, visit the AWN Store.
Marcos Magalhães is an animation filmmaker and teacher, and also
one of the directors of Anima Mundi International Festival in Brazil.
Note: Readers may contact any Animation World Magazine contributor
by sending an e-mail to editor@awn.com.
Table of Contents
Feedback?
Past Issues
[about | help
| home | info@awn.com
| mail | register]
© 1998 Animation World Network