FOREWORD OK so it’s May. Spring is rumbling in the jungle and your hormones (or something) are giving you emotional rollercoaster rides. All these women just makes you wanna... wanna... ARGH! Cockroaches are crawling under your skin! Your facial hair is growing fast and moving around like a storm in a cornfield. You might dig a hole in the ground and fill it with water and then put your head in it, just to cool off your brain. You wake up at 2:30 in the morning coz you know there’s meat in the fridge but it’s not the kind you need. You might feel like climbing up into a giant tree and start breaking off branches and eat away of the inside of the trunk. Or maybe you should just go and talk to that girl that you’re so into these weeks. If she declines there’s always NBA Playoffs on DK4 every Sunday! Enjoy whichever works for you!
- Christyan
Hey, g the magauzys! Visit blazing the fresh ine and send it squids.blogspot. “like” on est news, become to your friends. com to read blazingsq the Blazing Squ a fan in Facebo To receive you think uids) and intera ids page at face ok (press book.com/ ct with u ! s. Let us know what PS: Franz Frazetta
-Igor R.I.P.
Blazing S quids #03 Created an d e Christy an Lunddbiltaed by Igor Nor d and onha 400 copies Thank tors: yCoaur, contribubal, Kari men HanniEsben Slotna Posborg, let, Rikkeh, John MalSteffen Ha Skovgaard, nsson, Sti Frandse ne n , A ty Freddi ndreas Mone, Eduard o Medeiros. Contac b l a z i ntg:s q uids@gmai com l. Financ all y su by the iO pen Worpkpsohrted op. This m from aangyazpine is freed commercial olitical or interests.
Steffen Hansson, KAU07
Steffen Hansson, KAU07
Esben Jacob Sloth , CGA07
John Mallett, CGA07
Rikke Skovgaard, KAU07
Benny, KAU 09
Stine Frandsen, CGA09
Carmen Hannibal, KAU09
Karina Posborg, CGA07
Esben Jacob Sloth, CGA 07
Igor Noronha Tlob Studios
KAJ PINDAL
One of the oldest guys still kickin’ it!
What are you working on these months If anything? I am busy with several things lately. We are planning an ANIMATIONS FESTIVAL in RIBE for November 2010 to celebrate BØRGE RING and RIBE’s 1300 aniversary. It was my idea, and we want to use the occasion to show local people that animation is more than what they see on TV. It will not be a competitive festival. We hope for support from VIBORG. I have designed a poster for the festival, and I am now doing an animated version. I have been teaching at Sheridan since I came back from Denmark last November. I have a collection of antic toy trains and together with our teacher
The Blazing Squids team has the honor to present an interview with one of the most famous Danish animators. If you don’t know his work (where were you for the past 50 years?) you can learn more about him at kajpindal.blogspot.com.
Chris Walsh of stop-frame animation, we plan to illustrate H.C. Lumbye’s ‘JEFINBANE DAMP GALLOP‘ by using stop frame technique. Have you got 5 top short films that you think everybody should watch ? There is a wealth of top short animated films, and they keep coming. I find it difficult to pick 5, because I change my mind all the time. It is the animator’s ability to surprise and amaze we want to show the good people in Ribe.
Have you got kids and if so, do they do art/animation? We have three children, total age 136. They all took animation at Sheridan back in the 80’s, but only one, Jens, is still animating. He’s a hot shot. What are your future plans? I’ll spend my next 20 years trying to chew what I have bitten off. Is there anything that pisses you off? Yes. The trend to render our hands obsolete. I’m proud of my hands. Are you a collector type of person? Do you have thousands of jazz records or short films? I collect inspiring films (my favorites are “Neighbours”, “Logdrivers Walz”, “Why Me?”, “Every Child”, “The Cat Came Back”, “Crack”, “The Street”, “Ryan”) and antic toy trains as a real animator should. What’s your relation with comics? Do you read them, have you ever tried making any? In 1949 I did a daily strip for the paper ‘København’. It was inspired by
‘FERD’NAND’, and it lasted only 3 months. ( The paper folded ). I use to be a fan of comics from my earliest childhood. I don’t follow comics any more. I find most of them too wordy. I know of graphic novels, and applaude their success. Once you told me that you would love to have had the structure TAW gives the students here. How did you learn animation since there
were no animation schools? I think The Animation Workshop inspires everybody. If it was not for my old age I would move to Viborg and be inspired every day. As a young teacherless animator I had done all the mistakes, made all the wrong assumptions and failed to grasp the obvious logic to the whole process, until BØRGE RING came to my rescue. That is my degree.
most important spawning About the National Film ground of creativity in Board of Canada, tell us a the art of animated film. bit about the time you were If it were not for my old there and how it is differage, I would drop to my ent today. Can anyone apply knees to pay homage to this for a place there? How does Mecca of Montreal it work? where the soarDerek Lamb sent If it was ing imagination not for me this note some of artists from my old age I years ago: would move to all over the “I treasure a Viborg and be copy of a note world have kept inspired evto former minme smiling with ery day. ister Trudeau delight for many from legendary years.’ Disney animator Ward KimWho can argue with that? ball, who wrote in 1979: Amen.” ‘After the machines and And that’s the way it computers have swallowed was. Today the NFB has been the world of hand-made cut back and reduced in the objects, it will long be spirit of privatisation. fondly remembered the NABut the private film inTIONAL FILM BOARD of CANdustry has never made qualADA was historically the ity films here in Canada.
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Stills from the production “Gefion”, still to be funded. Gefion’s legend is worth looking up, folks! In your shorts for NFBC, I notice a critical tone towards society. Who do you think best achieves this objective today - in and outside the animation field? When I grew up in Denmark, I was very inspired by the incredible editorial cartoonist in the press. I even got a chance to editorialize myself in ’FRIT DANMARKS NYHEDSTJENESTE’, an
illegal anti-german weekly newsletter published during the war. So to me the pen was a weapon, and should be used as such - with humour. I knew television was coming, and I speculated on what role cartoonists could play. I imagined that their role in the press could directly be transferred to this new medium. It never happened.
But at the NFB, where we animators thought the medium belonged to us (who else ) I had the oppotunity to use my pen as a spear from time to time. That’s what I always should have done. That’s what every animator should do all the time. We should encourage students to editorialize. I am a Danish cartoonist.
What is the best legacy you think you’ve left to the world so far ? Animation has the power of persuasion when applied well. I have enjoyed dealing with important issues and wrapped them in humour. A former student who works for George Lucas watched our films for the street-
kids about Aids and drugs. He said: “That’s what I really want to do, rather than making a rich man richer.” Message to our (Sheridan) students on graduation 2010. “We taught you not only technology, which is fleeting. We have taught you to communicate ideas with humour and emotion. That experience will be valid as long as there are humans at the receiving end of our medium.” - Kaj Pindal
“Animation starts where live action films give up.”
-Nothing newBy Andreas Monty Freddie
A
pproximately 32.000 years ago, in what today is referred to as the upper Palaeolithic period, or “stone age”, dating back to between 40.000 and 10.000 years ago, the Aurignacians started drawing on the walls of the Chauret caves in Aldéne in the south of France. Images of bison, aurochs, horses and women, the sun, moon, mountains and rivers. Not realistic, but true. There have been many theories of why; some explain it as hunting magic, some say it’s the result of adolescent fantasies. James David Lewis-Williams has studied contemporary hunter-gatherer societies, and explains the pre-historic drawings as the work of Cro-Magnon shamans, retreating into caves, where they would enter a state of trance, and then paint the images of their vision. Most of the drawings we know of today, are located
in caves deep below the surface of the earth, in remote and almost inaccessible areas of complete darkness. What where we up to? I doubt, that whoever did these drawings, ever felt uninspired, standing there, in the flickering light of the fire, charcoal in his hesitant hand, starring at that big blank piece of rock, trying to come up with something original that would impress the rest of the tribe. Or at least fulfill the need to express himself. I say; 32.000 years ago, man drew on that rock, in the name of co-existence.
For a few hours a day, Between hunting, eating, and making love. Rejoicing in the name of all-thereis, was, and will be. The Universe expressing itself. These drawings on rock Of Deer and Owl Mountains and Rivers Oak, and Larch Pictures of relatives.
I like to think of these people, distant relatives of ours, as the poets of their time. Reminding their fellow man to live in this world, reminding them to stay together, come one come all. Let’s remember our brave ancestors, and spend less time in front of desks, and instead, go outside, and get to know each other.
Cristyan’s Note: Yeah, we’re sure between all the sacrifices, the rapes, the accidental murders, the wars of the different tribes that male chauvinism, the children who froze to death and the exclusion of tribe members they had a real smashing time with lots of life-confirming art discussions :) However, I did read that instead of having individual egos they had this group mentality that made them put the tribe before anything else, which must have meant great teamwork and a dedication for a thriving survival.
Freedom
I
wanna write something about freedom. To me freedom is one of my important basic human needs. Especially when it comes to being free as an artist. I am free to go anywhere in the world, and do whatever I feel like as long as it is within the borders of the law. Which is fine by me. In my apartment which I’m renting, I don’t own a lot of stuff. In fact I can carry most of my things alone except for my bed and my drawer. I’ve got wheels under my locker. This means I can move anywhere I want to relatively fast as long as I know someone with a car who I could pay for helping me. I do own more records, clothes and shoes than I actually have room for, but
all of these things I could give away to the salvation army if I really wanted to in less than an hour. So it’s not really a burden for me. I don’t have a bank loan. I cut my own hair and I make my own rock tshirts with a black textile marker. I don’t own big things like a car, a house or a boat which would be things that I would have to spend a lot of money on to preserve and maintain and I would need a bank loan to own things like these. With a car I would have to pay gas and find parking spaces. Without it I can go by train or bus or plane and have to give one thought to the vehicle as soon as I’m out of it at the arrival. I’ve got some money saved up in the bank, this means that if I had a job, I would be able to take some ar-
tistic risks and not having to fear getting fired, because if they fired me I could take care of myself for at least a couple of months. I don’t have a wife, children nor a pet, which means I don’t have a responsibility towards other living beings than myself. With a family, I would have to have a full time job to give them housing, transportation and food. I would have to get up early and go to work every day, a job I might not like so much because at work they produce mediocre, half witty rainbow cartoons but I might just keep up working because how else would I be supposed to pay for all these heavy things we own at home and how else would I supposed to keep these creatures alive that my wife and I accidentally created our-
selves with my sperm and her eggs? I would be trapped! I would hate that. I would be artistically imprisoned! NO FUN! I am today as free as a wolverine in the Ancient woods, I am very grateful for that. I can paint, play and say what I want and I don’t have to think about no stupid target audiences. And I think I will prefer this for a long time. Anyways, this is how I feel about right now in these years. I’m not an idealist because I think that it turns you into half a person. Like a vegetarian standing in front of a stake house. I might change when I’m 44, like all those hippies now wearing suits and driving Mercedes Benzes. If I ever realize the benefits of it. - Christyan
Beat Happening Black Candy
K Records 1989
B
eat Happening was a band from Olympia, Washington (about an hour away from Seattle). The city has been known for growing its own music scene since the 70s, with strong punk and lo-fi aesthetics. With lyrics about innocence, coyness and teenage romance. Everybody would play in each other’s bands and help each other out and they would release their record-
ings on K Records, an indie label founded by Best Happening’s frontman Calvin Johnson. If a band would not have a venue to perform at they would play in back alleys or empty buildings and draw maps on the posters so people would have a chance to find the place. At one point they even built their own all-ages venue in an abandoned butcher store (if I remember it correctly) because there wasn’t a place like that in the area in the 80’s. Beat Happening formed in 1982 at Evergreen State. Part of their ideology was to rehearse as little as possible and to swap instruments a
lot. What I like about this band (and the early Sonics and so many other punk bands) is that their music lies somewhere between being good and being shitty, and most of the Beat Happening material is to me on the wrong side of this border. The album Black Candy from 1989 happens to be on the good side. The guitar is not quite in tune, the rhythm is a bit off but the songs work. They are simple and they make you wanna sing along.
It’s sometimes sixtiespop-inspired, sometimes perverse slowbeat creeping songs, with minimalist use of instruments, with memorable and repetitive drum patterns. Of good songs from other albums they did, I can mention “Indian Summer”, “our Secret”,, “Don’t Mix the Colors” and “Youth”. Enjoy. - Christyan
JAM 7th May 2010 I arrived at 9:05. Tue (KAU07) was already on stage, playing the blues with some older folks. I went up there to play the drums in one of their songs. My band: Tue, Husballe (KAU07) and Sara K (TDA) had planned a 3-song set to fire off when the time was right for it. So far, there weren’t so many people, so this blues thing that went on on the stage was quite right for the moment. It was also nice that Tue changed his bass riff every 4 minutes. It gave a good variation for the audience. One hour later, the blues had gone dull and tired,
and people kind of stopped playing. A lot of people from our school arrived at this point. When the stage had been left empty for 5 minutes, I went up and played the drums, slowly and fiercely, just to warn people about what was coming :) I called up my band and we did our 3-song set, a power stoner song to set it off (which made the older people leave), a slower pop stoner thing and a slippery cover of The Admiral, by Shellac. I threw myself to the ground and was all over the place. Yet again we had hit a climax of the evening. After us, some people started a slow, gentle sound/ jam that was perfect to put on right after us. Nice and smooth. It went on for some time. Later, Denis Chapon (OW) went on stage with his ukulele and gave their jam a reggae/world kind of feeling. Good stuff. 20 minutes later, Saman-
tha Torres (KAU09) went on stage and did Freakazoid on piano, yet again a great little change. I really appreciate these little changes as a listener, because most people just go up there to play some cover of Sweet Home Chicago for 15 minutes, and it’s so tiring for the audience, just because it’s a jam, doesn’t mean people can’t be creative, or inventive. Have the audience in mind, musicians! Anyways, some music school people went on and played some of this and some of that. People got excited and started dancing, with both
me and Husballe on drums at the same time. More than 80% of the crowd was dancing in a tight space, and everyone was like: “Wow, this is great! I wish I had gone to other Jams before!”. It was really wild, and I’d say it was one of the most successful Jams at Paletten so far. It ended with Ida Maria (CGA09) and I singing an Eagle Eye Cherry cover, and that was it. Ther had been an 80’s party next door, so people from there were totally happy as well. Most of us went to Dickens and had a fun time.
A great night outside of the Animation Workshop. Info: I talked to the bartender, and apparently they have enough money to do another Jam in June, so don’t miss out on it, people!
attention:
Kika Club The once so famous and well-used Kika Club forum closed down around 6 months ago. But it will now be restored by former students and enthusiasts Tore Poulsen (KAU03) and Kennet Haunstrup (KAU 04). The forum is a discussion board where you can upload your work and get propper critique from fellow students and people from the industry. It’s also just a fun place to hang out, discuss animation and chit-chat. If it sounds interesting and you want to become a member, go to www. kikaclub.dk. See you there!
Eduardo Medeiros
is a Brazilian comic book artist and illustrator that lives in Porto Alegre, extreme south of Brazil. I found his work through a Danish friend - how unusual! - and I thought maybe you guys would like to see a bit of his work. He is a part of a collective called Mondo Urbano, together with Matheus Santolouco and Rafael Albuquerque, two other great artist that would be worth your attention. Enjoy! -Igor