THE PIONEER Thursday, November 11, 2010 7 Arts & Entertainment ’s Life and Legacy

A painting of “Ratatouille” hangs in the Oakland Museum, which is displaying a large Pixar exhibit. ROBERT KONDO/ DISNEY / PIXAR

By Carole Reynolds and been charmed by, a Pixar This significantly enhanced Metro Editor character would find this walk- presentation of the exhibition through tour of behind-the- came home to Oakland after a The destination was the Oak- scenes artistry disarming. It had world tour that began at New land Museum of California, the effect of looking through the York’s Museum of Modern Art in (OMCA) and of the myriad rea- childhood photo album of some- 2005, and includes an updated sons to visit, “Pixar: 25 Years of one you know well, but didn’t version of Pixar’s Artscape. Animation” was high on the list. know as a child, and getting to The Artscape, a widescreen There could be no more fit- see all their odd relatives for the tour of animation, immersed ting a place for this OMCA/Pix- first time. the audience into the animated ar partnership than here. Pixar Sulley, one of the characters world, and allowed them to trav- is headquartered a few miles from “Monsters, Inc.,” for ex- el into and through what had, away, in Emeryville. ample, was shown in paintings just seconds before, been a still Renowned for producing the identical to each other as far as drawing or painting of project- first-ever completely computer- ed Pixar art that seemed to be animated feature film, 1995’s hanging on the wall. “,” Pixar and OMCA It was most fascinating to combined their efforts to re- see a wall full of eyes come mind, or perhaps inform the to life because one set of eyes Xtigone premieres this Friday. public that the pencil-to-pixel shifted a tiny bit. transition is not a simple one. “We’re thrilled to see this ALDRIN BULAYO / THE PIONEER “When I was reading about greatly enhanced version of CGI [computer generated imag- the exhibition come to the ing], I always figured someone newly reopened Oakland Mu- was cheating, but this has been seum of California, our home- an eye-opener for me,” said an town museum and practically unidentified visitor to his fe- a neighbor,” said Lasseter. male companion in the Pixar “Most people don’t realize display. that many Pixar artists work “Xtigone” A Modern “They have real ‘people-pro- in traditional media— draw- duced’ art here,” he added. ing, painting, pastels, and He, like many people, as- BUD LUCKEY / DISNEY / PIXAR sculpture—as well as in digi- Twist on A Classic Tragedy sumed that CGI meant tech- tal media,” he said. nology from start to finish. “One thing to keep front and This exhibition was designed center is the fact that this exhi- to celebrate the many artists bition is all about the art behind uuFrom Xtigone , Page 1 who worked in traditional me- expression and pose, but each the animation, which is why it is with the Shakespeare company dia, from pencils and pastels Sulley— displayed in different a museum show,” said Kelly A. over the next twelve months, to paint and sculpture to create colors and patterns—was like Koski, OMCA communication ever-present violence is a domi- hoping that “Xtigone” will be the characters that enchanted seeing his strange uncles on the manager. nating force, “Xtigone” shows seen by the masses. audiences the world over. golf course in funny clothes. “The Bay Area has emerged as how such struggles can dictate This moving, emotional story “This artwork plays a particu- Front and rear views also re- the global center for animation a life. The acting in “Xtigone” is an open expression of what larly important role in the pro- vealed that the artists toyed with today, making OMCA an ideal is passionate, emotional and violence does to a community. cess of concept design, story the idea of a hairless or perhaps venue for this comprehensive intense, which captures the in- “Xtigone” honors the friends, and character development,” scaly Sulley. exhibition of Pixar’s achieve- tended atmosphere perfectly. families and especially mothers said , Chief Cre- Unlike many museums, OMCA ments,” said Lori Fogarty, OMCA “Xtigone’s” journey doesn’t of those who have been lost to ative Officer at Pixar and Disney did not have “stuff” on display Executive Director. end at CSUEB, as it will resume the streets. “Xtigone” will run Animation Studios. against a white wall. The walls “This museum’s mission is in San Francisco next year. Jones Nov. 12-13 adn 19-20 at 8 p.m. “OMCA celebrates the breadth were in warm rich tones that to connect communities to the will continue to direct and work and Nov. 21 at 2 p.m. of California creativity trough pleased the eye, calmed the spir- natural and cultural heritage of its collections and it is wonder- it and gave a sense of welcome California, and we believe that ful to revisit the craftsmanship to the visitor. Pixar is, in many ways, a quint- of Pixar artists in this context,” Additionally, the information essential California enterprise,” he added. panels were directly on the wall Fogarty added. Anyone who has ever seen, in a matte finish, and not housed “Not only does Pixar carry in reflective rectangles of Plexi- on the extraordinary legacy of glas. They were easy to read, and animation in California—and were written in English, Spanish particularly the pioneering and Chinese. creativity of the Walt Disney Certainly one of the highlights Studios—but it represents the of the Pixar exhibit was the hyp- dynamic marriage of art and notic 3-D Toy Story zoetrope. technology that is a hallmark of This was incredible and very California innovation,” she said. difficult to describe. A series of figures, characters from the movie, were arranged WEDNESDAY NITE PUB TRIVIA (Sign Up at 7:15pm) in slightly varied poses on a Bring your Team large disc. When the disc be- gan to spin at a high rate of 1st Place: $20 Pub Credit speed, a strobe light came on, 2nd Place: $10 Pub Credit and the magic of animation 3rd Place: Go home and study! happened right in front of the delighted audience, with rows (510) 300- 3388 of identical figures endlessly www.Buddysbitesandbrews.com performing identical motions. 24297 Hesperian Blvd. Hayward, CA 94545 BOB PAULEY / DISNEY / PIXAR