One of the most intriguing animators working in the industry is Joanna Quinn, who continues to break barriers all across the board. Affairs of the Art is no exception. The film is a character case study of Beryl, who is exploring her childhood, artistic career, and motherhood.
The stunning 2D hand-drawn artwork in this animated short perfectly conveys Beryl’s personality and attitude with each stroke of the artist’s brush. The aesthetic is evident through the use of intricate animation, which is accentuated by oversized character designs and dynamic performance.
I am a firm believer that Performance is everything and this is prevalent in this film as we get the full Beryl performance from childhood to adulthood and motherhood. Through her drawings, Quinn manages to convey obsessions and compulsive behaviour: “Like Beryl, Quinn calls herself “just a little obsessed” when it comes to extracting the best performance possible from a line of dialogue. She stated, “I act it out in front of a mirror.”
It’s within this quote that I find my reason to reference her in my work. The performance is everything, letting oneself go and fully committing as Joanna Quinn obviously has done here as seen in this NFB interview from 11th Jan 2022:
I believe and follow this phrase religiously when I approach a scene. This applied to both the environment and the actor, because if the audience can’t empathize with the characters then the illusion will fall through. As with every interview Quinn, has really inspired me to do better. To continue my obsession with drawing and animation.
2D traditional animation is as relevant and influential today as it’s ever been. This has been shown by Quinn being nominated for an Oscar for her work, further pushing traditional animation into the public consciousness as a medium worth preserving. Without this medium we would never have been given Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse or even the likes of Puss in Boots. Even when we have scenes like this: “The part where Miles Morales, realizes what it means to be Spider-Man and the sacrifice he must give and that it the moment he truly embraces his destiny.” Just wonderful.
Quinn continues to question conventional conventions through the story of female empowerment through the nastiest methods and a real feeling of femininity, once more taken to its extremes, and she demonstrates both for us in the change of Bev when she finishes her cosmetic surgery trip.
References
Wolfe, J., 2022. How Oscar-Contending Animated Short ‘Affairs of the Art’ Continues Harnessing Family Obsessions. [online] IndieWire. Available at: <https://www.indiewire.com/2022/01/affairs-of-the-art-animated-short-joanna-quinn-1234692612/> [Accessed 7 October 2022].
2022. [online] Available at: <https://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/2022/03/women-in-british-animation-joanna-quinn/> [Accessed 7 May 2022].
Arsalan Awais 