Nina Paley
Encyclopedia
Nina Paley is an American
cartoonist
, animator
and free culture
activist.
She directed the animated feature film Sita Sings the Blues
. She was the artist and often the writer of comic strip
s Nina's Adventures and Fluff, but most of her recent work has been in animation. Her early short films include Fetch!, The Stork, and The Wit & Wisdom of Cancer.
, Illinois
, to Hiram and Jean Paley. Her father was a mathematics professor at the University of Illinois
and was mayor of Urbana, where they resided, for a term in the early 1970s.
She attended local elementary and high schools, illustrating a "History of the North Pole" comic in collaboration with University High School
history teacher Chris Butler, and attended the University of Illinois, studying art for two years.
, and began to write and draw the strip Nina's Adventures. In 1991, she moved to San Francisco. In 1995, she began to draw the more mainstream Fluff, a comic strip about a cat, which enjoyed a modest success in syndication. In 1998, she also began to experiment with animation.
In 1999, she made the world's first cameraless IMAX
film, Pandorama, a short Modernist film which was shown widely at major film festivals in 35 mm form during 2000 and 2001. In 70 mm form, it also ran for about a year as a short feature at Berlin Cinestar and has been shown at IMAX theaters elsewhere.
In 2001, she produced Fetch!, a humorous short cartoon feature based on a variety of optical illusions, which has enjoyed popularity ever since.
She then embarked on a series based on a more controversial subject, population growth. The centerpiece of the series was The Stork, in which the natural environment is bombed to destruction by storks dropping bundled babies. The film is a compact expression of the conflict between increasing human population and the ecosystem in which it must live. While the 3½ minute film angered some viewers, it was a considerable success at festivals, and resulted in an invitation to Sundance
in 2003.
Early in 2010 Paley started drawing a new three-panel comic strip called "Mimi & Eunice." She is distributing it on the web using a copyleft license.
Between projects, Paley has worked as a freelance director at DUCK Studios
in Los Angeles
.
In 2002, Paley moved to Trivandrum, India
, where her husband had taken a job. While she was visiting New York City
on business concerning her third comic strip, The Hots, her husband terminated their marriage. Unable to return to either Trivandrum or San Francisco, she moved to Brooklyn
, New York
. Her personal crisis caused her to see more deeply into the Ramayana
, the Indian epic, which she had encountered in India, and motivated her to produce a short animation which combines an episode from the Ramayana with a torch song
recorded in 1929 by Annette Hanshaw
, "Mean To Me".
Since then she has added episodes and other material to the work, which is now called Sita Sings the Blues
, thus expanding it into feature-length treatment of the Ramayana focused on Rama
's wife, Sita
, using a variety of animation styles and techniques. Many of the episodes have appeared in recent animation festivals. The finished work premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival
on Feb. 11, 2008.
Due to the obstacles encountered when trying to clear the rights
to Hanshaw's recordings used in the film, Paley began to take part in the free culture movement
. She made an illustrated guide to the idea of free content
("Understanding Free Content"), wrote and performed the song "Copying Isn't Theft" meant to be freely remix
ed by other people and plans to publish much of her work, including "Nina’s Adventures", "Fluff", and all original work in Sita Sings The Blues, under a copyleft
licence.
The website for Sita Sings the Blues includes a wiki where its fans contributed translated subtitles for the DVD of the film.
She has taught in the Design and Technology section of Parsons
, part of The New School
.
Archives
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
, animator
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
and free culture
Free Culture movement
The free culture movement is a social movement that promotes the freedom to distribute and modify creative works in the form of free content by using the Internet and other forms of media....
activist.
She directed the animated feature film Sita Sings the Blues
Sita Sings the Blues
Sita Sings the Blues is a 2008 animated feature film written, directed, produced and animated entirely by American artist Nina Paley , primarily using 2D computer graphics and Flash Animation.It intersperses events from the Ramayana, illustrated conversation between Indian shadow puppets,...
. She was the artist and often the writer of comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
s Nina's Adventures and Fluff, but most of her recent work has been in animation. Her early short films include Fetch!, The Stork, and The Wit & Wisdom of Cancer.
Early life
Paley was born in UrbanaUrbana, Illinois
Urbana is the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,250. Urbana is the tenth-most populous city in Illinois outside of the Chicago metropolitan area....
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, to Hiram and Jean Paley. Her father was a mathematics professor at the University of Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
and was mayor of Urbana, where they resided, for a term in the early 1970s.
She attended local elementary and high schools, illustrating a "History of the North Pole" comic in collaboration with University High School
University Laboratory High School (Urbana, Illinois)
University Laboratory High School, known as Uni, or Uni High, was established in 1921 and is a laboratory school located on the engineering part of the campus of the University of Illinois. Its enrollment is approximately 300 students, spanning five years...
history teacher Chris Butler, and attended the University of Illinois, studying art for two years.
Nina's Adventures and other strips
In 1988, Paley moved to Santa Cruz, CaliforniaSanta Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
, and began to write and draw the strip Nina's Adventures. In 1991, she moved to San Francisco. In 1995, she began to draw the more mainstream Fluff, a comic strip about a cat, which enjoyed a modest success in syndication. In 1998, she also began to experiment with animation.
In 1999, she made the world's first cameraless IMAX
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
film, Pandorama, a short Modernist film which was shown widely at major film festivals in 35 mm form during 2000 and 2001. In 70 mm form, it also ran for about a year as a short feature at Berlin Cinestar and has been shown at IMAX theaters elsewhere.
In 2001, she produced Fetch!, a humorous short cartoon feature based on a variety of optical illusions, which has enjoyed popularity ever since.
She then embarked on a series based on a more controversial subject, population growth. The centerpiece of the series was The Stork, in which the natural environment is bombed to destruction by storks dropping bundled babies. The film is a compact expression of the conflict between increasing human population and the ecosystem in which it must live. While the 3½ minute film angered some viewers, it was a considerable success at festivals, and resulted in an invitation to Sundance
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
in 2003.
Early in 2010 Paley started drawing a new three-panel comic strip called "Mimi & Eunice." She is distributing it on the web using a copyleft license.
Between projects, Paley has worked as a freelance director at DUCK Studios
DUCK Studios
DUCK Studios is a production studio based in Los Angeles, California, USA. It focuses primarily on producing television advertisements, mainly animated ones. It also produces music videos, short films and web content...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Sita and recent work
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, where her husband had taken a job. While she was visiting New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on business concerning her third comic strip, The Hots, her husband terminated their marriage. Unable to return to either Trivandrum or San Francisco, she moved to Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Her personal crisis caused her to see more deeply into the Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
, the Indian epic, which she had encountered in India, and motivated her to produce a short animation which combines an episode from the Ramayana with a torch song
Torch song
A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affected the relationship...
recorded in 1929 by Annette Hanshaw
Annette Hanshaw
Catherine Annette Hanshaw was born at her parents' residence in New York City on October 18, 1901. [Ed. While Annette sometimes gave her birth date as 1910, nephew Frank W. Hanshaw III confirms 1901 as the date on Annette's birth certificate.]-Biography:...
, "Mean To Me".
Since then she has added episodes and other material to the work, which is now called Sita Sings the Blues
Sita Sings the Blues
Sita Sings the Blues is a 2008 animated feature film written, directed, produced and animated entirely by American artist Nina Paley , primarily using 2D computer graphics and Flash Animation.It intersperses events from the Ramayana, illustrated conversation between Indian shadow puppets,...
, thus expanding it into feature-length treatment of the Ramayana focused on Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
's wife, Sita
SITA
SITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...
, using a variety of animation styles and techniques. Many of the episodes have appeared in recent animation festivals. The finished work premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
on Feb. 11, 2008.
Due to the obstacles encountered when trying to clear the rights
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
to Hanshaw's recordings used in the film, Paley began to take part in the free culture movement
Free Culture movement
The free culture movement is a social movement that promotes the freedom to distribute and modify creative works in the form of free content by using the Internet and other forms of media....
. She made an illustrated guide to the idea of free content
Free content
Free content, or free information, is any kind of functional work, artwork, or other creative content that meets the definition of a free cultural work...
("Understanding Free Content"), wrote and performed the song "Copying Isn't Theft" meant to be freely remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
ed by other people and plans to publish much of her work, including "Nina’s Adventures", "Fluff", and all original work in Sita Sings The Blues, under a copyleft
Copyleft
Copyleft is a play on the word copyright to describe the practice of using copyright law to offer the right to distribute copies and modified versions of a work and requiring that the same rights be preserved in modified versions of the work...
licence.
The website for Sita Sings the Blues includes a wiki where its fans contributed translated subtitles for the DVD of the film.
She has taught in the Design and Technology section of Parsons
Parsons The New School for Design
Parsons The New School For Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is the art and design college of The New School university. It is located in New York City's Greenwich Village, and has produced artists and designers such as Marc Jacobs, Dean and Dan Caten, Norman Rockwell, Donna Karan, Jane...
, part of The New School
The New School
The New School is a university in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 by progressive New York academics, and for most of its history, the university was known as the New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University...
.
Comic strips
- Nina's Adventures
- Fluff
- the Hots
- Mimi & Eunice
Filmography
- Cancer (1998. Drawing directly on film. 2 minutes. Color. 35mm.)
- Luv Is... (1998. Clay animation. 3.5 minutes. Beta SP / Super-8. Color.)
- I (heart) My Cat (1998. Clay animation. 3 minutes. 16mm. Color.)
- Pandorama (2000. Drawing directly on film. 3 minutes. color. 15perf/70mm (also known as "IMAX"))
- Fetch! (2001. 2-D computer animation. 4.5 minutes. 35mm. Color.)
- The Stork (2002. 2-D computer animation (Flash/Photoshop/Final Cut Pro). 3 minutes. Video. Color.)
- Goddess of Fertility (2002. 2-D digital animation. 2 minutes. Clay animated on glass. Color. 35mm.)
- Fertco (2002. 2-D digital animation. 3 minutes. Color. Video.)
- The Wit and Wisdom of Cancer (2002. 2-D digital animation. 4.5 minutes. Color. Dialog. Video.)
- Sita Sings the BluesSita Sings the BluesSita Sings the Blues is a 2008 animated feature film written, directed, produced and animated entirely by American artist Nina Paley , primarily using 2D computer graphics and Flash Animation.It intersperses events from the Ramayana, illustrated conversation between Indian shadow puppets,...
(82 min, 2003–2008, 2-D digital animation. Color.)
External links
- Paley's official website
- Web site of Sita Sings The Blues
- Amateur Illustrator: Biography
- Two Eyes Magazine Interview
- Mimi & Eunice, Paley's new 3-panel comic strip
Archives