MUTO: an ambiguous animation painted on public walls is a masterful production hosted at blublu.org. This approximately 7 minute long film is composed of hundreds of stop-motion stills, a well-compiled audio track, and hours into days of constant labor on an overall large scale.
The bizarre story of MUTO can only be described as the very definition of ambiguity. By constantly changing in a variety of unpredictable manners the viewer’s attention is easily captivated and locked in place. Though MUTO is only a 2D wall animation, the subjects of the story randomly interact with their environment (eating papers, crawling into holes, running across the ground, pushing aside objects, etc.), providing an unbelievably eerie dimension of reality to the piece. Sound effects and a small amount of rhythm were also carefully selected and compiled. The element of silence in particular was thoughtfully incorporated. In this manner between audio and visual cues the audience is at the complete mercy of the artist’s direction the entire duration of the film.
What I find to be the most amusing though is the fact that this entire film was created in an area where public interaction appears for the most part, unavoidable. Therefore countless passerby could be (and probably were) glancing over and watching the production at hand, merely to accept the event to be “just another artist” and continue on with their lives. Unless they later gained access to the film they may never understand the true amount of work, purpose, mindfulness that was taking place so close to them. Then again, this would be just another example of how impersonal society is.
I have seen this video a couple of times before you posted the work on your journal. I really enjoy the concept and the media that is used for this piece. I like the work. I’m a huge fan of graffiti, but something is keeping me from loving this piece. I respect the shear amount of time and work that went into animation this piece, however, I just can’t seem to like this drawing style nor the length of time the video goes on. I feel like it’s overly drawn out and a shorter video of 3-4 minutes would be an easier video to sit through.
ReplyDeleteI disagree about your thoughts on the impersonality of society. I feel that the shear scale of his work would draw attention, questions, and many stares. It would be hard to see what he is doing when you only catch a glimpse of a single frame being painted on the wall. It would be hard to grasp the shear size of his project. Considering how quickly his video spread online, a lot of people took notice of the final product.
Wow, this is quite interesting. I find it most appealing based on my interpretation of the word animation. Being heavily influenced by Computer Graphics and 3D Studio MAX, I tend to relate the term "animation" with more of a digital sense composing of character rigging and model manipulation and framing. This article and video has opened my mind up once again to the possibilities of art and animation. To animate using drawing is not new technology by any means such as CG, however, to do this using graffiti and different textured walls and even the floor is quite amazing. The same mechanics used in CG animation is used here such as materials and keyframing. The canvas is the only difference between the two and both look stunning when in progress and in play.
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