Philip StappPicture In Your Mind (1948)
Sent by the U.S. government as a participant in the Marshall Plan with a specific mission to assist the French in re-gearing their animation studios, Stapp discovered a Europe much-decimated by war, but in further danger of annihilation by nuclear weapons. Returning to the U.S., he produced this alarming-yet-hopeful film, replete with its lonely, Tanguy-inspired landscapes peopled with static figures casting long shadows across charcoal-colored plains. While taking the risk of leaning a bit toward didacticism, Stapp managed to urgently convey the thought that world destruction was not necessarily inevitable, provided that people embrace, rather than reject their cultural and racial differences. ‘Picture’ is a unique document resulting from the sometimes dreamy, sometimes nightmarish vision of the artist in a war-torn land, with the spectre of death hovering ever-so-slightly ahead. Visit Philip Stapp's AFA webpage at www.afana.org/stapp.htm
This item is part of the collection: Academic Film Archive of North America
Producer:
Philip Stapp
Production Company:
International Film Foundation
Audio/Visual:
sound,
color
Keywords: animation, Marshall Plan
Contact Information:
geoff@afana.org