Geoff Dunbar’s Animation Celebrated by Barbican Exhibition
Skwigly
The multi-award-winning animation work of Geoff Dunbar, whose films include ‘Rupert Bear and the Frog Song’ for Sir Paul McCartney and the BBC’s ‘The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends’, will be exhibited at Barbican Music Library over the next two months.
Dunbar, who collaborated with Sir Paul on the ‘Frog Chorus’ and ‘Daumier’s Law’, based on the work of the French caricaturist and painter, Honoré Daumier, has won several major awards, including two BAFTAs, a Palme d’Or, and a Golden Bear during a prolific career that spans over four decades.
Geoff Dunbar. Art into Animation opens at the City of London Corporation’s Barbican Music Library on Thursday 11 July and will showcase some of the meticulously hand-crafted drawings created for the films by Geoff and his team of animators.
Dunbar’s interest in animated films began at an early age, stimulated by the art of cinema and the work of early animators, which he studied at Saturday morning cinema clubs in his hometown of Abingdon in Oxfordshire.
Leaving school at the age of 15 to work in a wide range of jobs, he saved enough money to buy an 8mm movie camera and taught himself the rudiments of moving drawings. He then secured a trainee position at the Film Producers Guild in London, where he honed his skills as an animator, designer, and director.
His other work includes adaptations of Alfred Jarry’s ‘Grand Guignol’ UBU ROI and ‘The Cunning Little Vixen’, as well as the BAFTA-nominated ‘Tuesday’. Dunbar continues to work on his writings and drawings at his studio in Abingdon.
Geoff Dunbar said:
I am delighted to have been invited to exhibit a selection of artwork from my animated films at Barbican Music Library, and that the opportunity makes it possible for me to put most of it on display for the first time.
As well as bringing back happy memories of watching the films, I hope that visitors will share my enthusiasm for viewing art from the so-called ‘golden age’ of British animation, before CGI wizardry and digital manipulation were introduced.
Graham Packham, Chairman, City of London Corporation’s Culture, Heritage and Libraries Committee, said:
This free exhibition will remind us that artists like Geoff Dunbar painstakingly drew and photographed their work – frame by frame, hour after hour – to make these remarkable animated films.
It took considerable skill, dedication, and talent to bring these animated characters and scenes to life and as well as offering many insights into the art of animation, it will celebrate Geoff Dunbar’s outstanding achievements in the field.
The City of London Corporation, which owns and manages Barbican Music Library and is the founder and principal funder of the Barbican Centre, is the fourth largest funder of heritage and cultural activities in the UK and invests over £100m every year.
The City Corporation is also developing Culture Mile between Farringdon and Moorgate – a multi-million-pound investment which will create a new cultural and creative destination for London.