Sally Cruikshank
Spectacle is proud to present HEAD SPACE, a showcase of animated works exploring dimensions both interior and outlying. Featuring an extremely talented and creative group working in a diverse array of styles, the shorts wander through strange and sometimes sketchy landscapes, including alternate-universe appliance stores, the ramblings of Charles Manson, environmental catastrophes in the Dutch style of painting, and a houseplant’s musings. Some, like Sally Cruikshank’s Make Me Psychic, are established classics; others feature newer animators working in looping GIF format, presented away from the small screen’s momentary pleasures to fully appreciate the art that it is. Occasionally gross, often beautiful, and always interesting, HEAD SPACE is a sampler of the thoughts happening inside and out of each frame.
Happiness, sadness, love, and surprise manifest themselves in various ways.
An animated film compiled by David Ehrlich consisting of 27 animators from different countries all explaining themselves through their animation.
A frog is driving his alligator-shaped car when he is stopped by a shapely she-frog who steps into the road. She tells him that her house is haunted, so he goes along to assist.
Candy commercial. With lyrics like, "chewy, delicious, bigger than your finger," or was it "bigger than you figure"? Anyway, I designed and directed this commercial right after Ruthless People. A number of very talented animators working at Playhouse Pictures did the animation. The product never took off-- it was like chewing gum, but you swallowed it.
The bizarre adventures of the cartoon character Foska, drawn by 22 animators working in collaboration. Each animator worked on his or her own sequence only and did not know what action preceded or followed his or her sequence, except that the first drawing of a sequence is the last drawing from the previous sequence.
A PBS documentary from around 1982 about San Francisco bay area animators. It features Marcy Page, Jeff Hale, Sally Cruikshank, Bud Luckey, Rudy Zamora, John Korty, Vince Collins, Drew Takahashi
Anita the duck buys a psychic device at a novelty store in an alternate universe and creates mayhem at a crazy party.
This cartoon follows two ducks and a pet robot at an amusement park in the future where time travel is exploited.
"I made this film when I went to the San Francisco Art Institute, after graduating from Smith a semester early. It was my reaction to California. "Sweeping the Clouds Away" is sung by Charles "Buddy" Rodgers, who was Mary Pickford's husband. huh? who? The doctored photo was of an astronaut on the moon-- I thought he looked like a duck and made him one. From 1971... yikes!"
