Will Ryan asks Aleksandra Korejwo a few questions -- 9 1/2 to be exact -- about her unusual production technique.
Aleksandra Korejwo has, without question, the most unusual animation style of any animator working in Hollywood. She uses no pencil, no paper, no clay, no dimensional figures or objects and no computer. Her tools are a camera, film, air and a condor feather. Oh, and one other secret ingredient, which we'll learn more of later.
I spoke with Aleksandra in Los Angeles as she was preparing for her first U.S. art exhibit, silent auction and screening of her work. It will be held at 8:00 pm Saturday, September 29, 2001, at the Directors Guild of America building at 7920 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. The entire animation community is invited to take advantage of this rare opportunity to view the work of one of the world's most singular and honored animators.
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Will Ryan: Your films have received awards throughout the world, from the Grand Prix at the Shanghai Animation Festival to your many European awards. Everyone who sees your films is fascinated by the magical, ethereal movement you create onscreen. And we all wonder how you do it! What is it that we, the audience, see moving around on the screen in your films?
Aleksandra Korejwo: Salt.
WR: Salt?
AK: Salt.
WR: That's not some computer technique? All of those swirling images the horses, the dancers, the swans they're all just ... salt?
AK: Salt.
WR: Nothing else? But, but ... what about all those colors? What are they?
AK: Salt!
WR: Oh, I see! You dye the salt to create the colors. So do you mean to tell me that those exciting transmogrifications in the main title sequence of the feature film The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit, which you single-handedly animated, and which won the praise of Ray Bradbury, Roy Disney, the Annie Awards nominating committee and all the critics, were nothing more than the artful manipulation of mere ?
AK: Salt.
WR: And are you standing there telling me that all those evocative, sensitive, award-winning films of yours set to the music of Bizet, Mozart, Saint-Saen, Schubert and Strauss were created using the same common household item, which I need not name?!
AK: Uh, salt?
WR: Salt!
AK: Salt.
WR: Salt. Wow! Amazing. Simply amazing! So ... when you go to the movies, what do you put on your popcorn?
AK: Butter.
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Aleksandra Korejwo was not actually interviewed for the above witty piece, however the facts remain true!
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Aleksandra Korejwo is currently in Los Angeles for a brief visit before returning to Europe. You can meet her and see her amazing films at the Directors Guild Saturday, September 29, 2001. Attendees will also be able to witness a demonstration of her animation methods. There will also be an auction of Aleksandra's storyboards and artwork, the proceeds of which will be used for the production of her next film. Despite what you may infer from the above interview, Aleksandra is usually and delightfully loquacious.
Will Ryan is president of Will Ryan and Company Ltd., a production and design organization now affiliated with the architectural firm of McFarland, Eyth and Cabarga. The combined companies specialize in the creation of animated films, theme parks and creative consumer environments. He is currently on a salt-free diet.
