Pixar Exhibit at the MOMA December 14 2005 - February 6 2006 Written by Eleanor Goldberg

On opening day of the four floor MoMA Pixar exhibit, John Lasseter, Executive Vice President of Pixar (who was dressed in a loosely fitted, vibrantly colored Hawaiian shirt paired with a casual black suit), still seemed incredulous about the fact that he and his fellow techy partners had found their way into Manhattan’s prestigious Museum of Modern Art.

“God almighty, what’s happening?” he stated in amazement, while looking out on the crowd of museum-goers. “We’re just a bunch of computer geeks from North Carolina”.

Geeks or not, the four floor exhibit, titled “Pixar: 20 Years of Animation” features an impressive and extensive body of work created by the artists of Pixar Animation Studios; feature films; short films; and the first public display of more than five hundred sculptures and sketches.

The Pixar exhibit is the MOMA’s largest exhibit devoted to animation. The essence of the exhibit is to allow an observer to see the process that artists undergo while developing a character, backdrop and/or a plot. Since Pixar relies on every aspect of its staff’s imagination, the company retains every piece of art from the production process.

“Any doodle or scrap is saved and stored in the archive room,” Production Designer Lou Romano Designer explained. “Even a gag or joke drawing,” he continued.

Thanks to Pixar’s pack-rat policy, MOMA visitors now have the opportunity to observe the work-product of nearly every meticulous decision that the artists made while designing and creating their art.

One small area features the varying seaweed backdrop options for the film Finding Nemo, each with a scribbled annotation next to it. The more ominous sharp grass has “threatening scenes” written alongside, while the wavy and creatively shaped grass has the words “silly scenes” scribbled. And the less definable grass has the words “I dunno” scrawled next to it.

The artists at Pixar are intent on inviting fans and onlookers into their creative, vibrant and constantly developing world. And they hope that the museum’s visitors can see the laborious amount of work and creative energy that they apply to even the minutest details of their projects.

It’s not just the impressive art work and enticing quotes that draw the visitors in, but it is also the characters that are present and alive in every room that lead the exhibit’s guests through the animation menagerie. While descending the escalator to the first floor of the exhibit, museum goers are treated to a penciled sketch of Jack-Jack from The Incredibles dancing down the wall.

Life size landscape paintings from Toy Story and Monsters Inc. line the walls, along with smaller portraits of characters.

Pixar has also donated an array of colorful and elaborate storyboards which are an intricate tool in the development of an animation film. The storyboards consist of four or five colorful slabs, each representing several scenes in the movie. These storyboards allow the creative staff to stand back and observe the film in its entirety. “The lighting department uses the storyboards to understand the tone and the feeling of the scenes,” said Romano.

Alongside the intricately crafted paintings and sculptures are painted quotes from the artists themselves, commenting on the industry and the work in which they are involved. “Story and Character spring from imagination,” Lou Romano stated.

In addition to the plethora of sculptures, paintings and sketches are several short films that are continuously playing. One of the short films is Pixar’s first, which features the famous Pixar lamp and its battle with a relentless bouncy ball.

In addition to the short films being featured throughout the exhibit, Pixar also premiered its newest short film, One Man Band, which plays every five minutes in the theatre. The film shows two street musicians vying to obtain one passerby’s coin.

In describing Pixar’s name, John Lasseter explained that it is the combination of the pixels and the art which ultimately create each masterpiece that the company produces... But it is apparent that not only are art and pixels responsible for each work but also the company’s endless creativity and genuine commitment to enhancing the animation community.