JOHN CANEMAKER
Welcome to my web page, and thank you for taking an interest in my work.
Throughout my career, I have always worn several hats, so you may be interested in my work as a filmmaker, writer, animation historian, teacher or artist.
Scroll down this page to see what I am doing currently, or click one of the buttons at left to learn more about me and my work. 
I have recently added a new section featuring a gallery of my watercolor paintings. The ARTWORKS button at the left of the page will take you there.

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NEWS & EVENTS:


McCay, Gertie and Canemaker Wow Annecy 2008

Gertie the Dinosaur, who made her screen debut in 1914, won the hearts of a new generation at the 2008 Annecy Animation Festival
in France, during John Canemaker's presentation on the life and work of animation pioneer Winsor McCay. Hailed as
one of the festival's most memorable events, the talk featured numerous examples of McCay's graphic art and four of his animated films.



The highlight was a recreation of McCay's 1914 vaudeville act, in which he introduced his "trained dinosaur," Gertie.
Canemaker, standing in for McCay, interacted with the animated character on screen and brought the audience into the act as well,
having them call out commands for Gertie to perform.


Festival director Serge Bromberg provided live piano accompaniment for the films, which also included Little Nemo (1911),
How a Mosquito Operates (1912) and The Sinking of the Lusitania (1918). An enthusiastic audience, nearly 1000 strong, brought
Canemaker out for an unprecedented curtain call at the end of his presentation.

Canemaker also did a Creative Focus workshop, in which he explained how he handles difficult emotional themes in animation,
and served on the festival's short film jury with fellow animators Dick Williams, Zbigniew Rybczinski, and Stefan Flint-Muller,
as well as Helene Tanguay of the National Film Board of Canada.
(Photos courtesy of Federico Fiecconi)


MoMA Jazz Score Opening Night


John Canemaker at the opening reception of the Jazz Score exhibition, The Museum of Modern Art, Tuesday, April 22, 2008.
Original animation drawings from his film Bridgehampton are on display at left, and the film is screened in the background.
For a review of the exhibition, see Michael Sporn's blog, splog.


MoMA Showcases Canemaker Film and Original Animation Art


John Canemaker’s 1998 film Bridgehampton is featured in Jazz Score, a five-month long film retrospective, gallery exhibition
and concert series at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.  Jazz Score explores the creative and collaborative relationship between
postwar filmmakers and jazz composer.

The gallery exhibition, in the Roy and Niuta Titus 1 & 2 lobbies, includes a large-scale installation of original animation art from
Bridgehampton (above) and John and Faith Hubley’s Adventure of an * (1957). Both of these films are screened continuously
in the gallery, in addition to being shown as part of the film retrospective.

Bridgehampton features an original jazz piano score by composer Fred Hersch, who also performs the work on the soundtrack. The John Canemaker
Collection at the Museum of Modern Art includes many original artworks from his films.

Jazz Score runs through September 15, 2008. For more information, visit JAZZ SCORE.


Remembering Ollie Johnston, 1912-2008


Frank Thomas, John Canemaker and Ollie Johnston at the Walt Disney Studio, June 1979.

The Wall Street Journal asked me to write a tribute to Ollie Johnston, who was my friend and mentor for more than 30 years.
LINK HERE for the article.


ASIFA-Hollywood Cites Canemaker, Keane and Kricfalusi for Lifetime Achievement


ASIFA-Hollywood Board Member Frank Gladstone, second from right, congratulates Winsor McCay Award winners John Canemaker, John Kricfalusi and Glen Keane at the 35th Annie Awards ceremony in Los Angles on February 8, 2008. To view their bios and clip reels, go to
http://www.animationarchive.org/2008/02/annies-2007-winsor-mccay-award-winners.html


Canemaker Directs WonderPets! Episode "Save the Pangaroo"


"Save the Pangaroo," an episode of the pre-school children's series WonderPets!, premiered on Nick, Jr. on Friday, February 29, 2008. John Canemaker directed the episode and designed the characters of Pangaroo and Butterdeer for production company Little Airplane. WonderPets! follows the adventures of three animated classroom pets who travel around the world as a team to rescue animals. In this case, the animal in need is a child's discarded drawing, part parrot and part kangaroo. The WonderPets find a home for the Pangaroo by drawing a new landscape that he can live in. They also combine two children's drawings to create a friend for him, the Butterdeer, who is part butterfly and part deer .


Pordenone Silent Film Festival Honors John Canemaker


John Canemaker gave the keynote address at the 2007 Giornate del Cinema Muto, in Pordenone, Italy, on October 11. His presentation on the life and art of Winsor McCay, including full-screen enlargements of McCay's remarkable comic strips and editorial illustrations, as well as rare family photos, personal documents, and four of McCay's surviving animated films (accompanied by pianist Stephen Horne), was cited by many attendees as a festival highlight.

For his contributions to early animation history, particularly his books, films and research on pioneers McCay and Felix the Cat creator Otto Messmer, the festival awarded Canemaker the prestigious Jean Mitry Award, below, with festival official, author and historian Russell Merritt standing at right


The Pordenone Festival is the leading international festival dedicated to silent film, and widely attended by archivists, academics, curators, filmmakers and fans from around the world. Below left, Walter Veltrone, mayor of Rome and a prominent figure in Italian politics, paid a visit to the festival and met with Canemaker and animator Richard Williams .





"The Moon and the Son" on iTunes

THE MOON AND THE SON is now available for download at Apple’s iTunes Store.  Just enter “THE MOON AND THE SON” in the search box at the upper right corner of the iTunes Store home page to preview the film.  THE MOON AND THE SON is one of more than 100 award-winning short films offered exclusively on iTunes by Shorts International.


Canemaker Animation Featured on MoMA Kid's Website Destination Modern Art

The Museum of Modern Art has selected John Canemaker's 1998 animated short, Bridgehampton, as the centerpiece of a learning module about filmmaking at its new interactive learning site for children, Destination Modern Art.

Destination Modern Art is a virtual museum that allows children to explore various works from MoMA's renowned collections of painting, sculpture, design and film. Users can "enter" the works of artists such as Picasso, Van Gogh, Frida Kahlo, Romare Bearden, sculptor Umberto Boccioni and architect Marcel Breuer, as well as access a variety of related learning activities and projects.

At the site's Movie Theater, one can watch the full six-minute film Bridgehampton, as well as select individual scenes and see original storyboard sketches from Canemaker's painterly study of the seasons on eastern Long Island.

Learning activities include a step-by-step example of how animation is done and a downloadable flip book, both of which were designed and animated by Canemaker specifically for the site.

For more information: http://www.moma.org/destination/

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