Richard Condie: Aarrgg!

February 7 – March 7, 2009  |  Curated by Cliff Eyland and Dr. Shelley Sweeney

Curated by Cliff Eyland of Gallery One One One and Dr. Shelley Sweeney of the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections, this exhibition featured work by Richard Condie, the Winnipeg-based Academy Award nominated animator.

In addition to screenings of Condie's The Big Snit, Getting Started, and La Salla, many of Condie's animation cels, pencil drawings, dope sheets (as well as background paintings by Condie's sister Sharon Condie) from the recently acquired collection of the Archives were shown.

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1942, Condie received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Manitoba. For years he worked as a sociology researcher, performer, and musician. Condie considered his drawing talent simply "fooling around" until 1971, when he was awarded a grant from the Canada Council. Condie used the funds to produce the animated film Oh Sure which was later purchased by the National Film Board of Canada.

With his raw visual style and humorous character portrayals, Condie has garnered a multitude of awards from around the world for over two decades. He has received many international awards for Getting Started in 1979. Then came The Big Snit, the 10-minute short that has become Condie's best-known film. The Big Snit was nominated for both an Oscar and a Genie, and has won 16 international awards including: The International Film Critics' Prize at the 15th Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Best Short Film Award at the Montreal World Film Festival, A Silver Plaque at the 21st Chicago International Film Festival, and the Best Animation Film at the XVI Tampere International Short Film Festival. Following the success of The Big Snit, Condie released The Apprentice in 1991. Richard Condie completed La Salla, his first 3-D computer animation, in 1996, produced by the National Film Board of Canada. La Salla was also nominated for an Academy Award.

Special thanks to the Manitoba Arts Council for funding this exhibition.

  • The gallery. There are four animation stills hung on a detached wall in the centre, four stills of a boat lined up in a wooden display case in front, and a cartoon animation projected onto the very back wall behind them.
  • Animation still of a cartoon woman in a purple outfit playing scrabble, laying back in her chair with her hand covering her eyes and her mouth open. The figure is made of solid vibrant colours, but everything around her is painted in desaturated watercolours.
  • Two stills of cartoon men in coloured sweaters and bowties screaming with their arms raised, displayed in a wood case. The left one depicts its subject sitting in a pink chair at a table, while the right’s subject is drawn on a transparent field.
  • A segment of film rolled out and mounted on the gallery wall, with an indiscernible still mounted to the lower right.

Events:

  • Reception: February 7, 5:00–8:00 PM
  • Screening and Talk: February 27, 7:30 PM – by Shelley Sweeney, Cliff Eyland and Alison Davis


 Publications and Press:

 

Exhibition Archive (Downloadable PDF)