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From Felix the Cat to MTV: MoMA explores a century of animation
MoMA’s new exhibition, It’s Alive!, traces the development of animation over the century before digital technology transformed the medium. It argues that animation moved beyond familiar cartoon characters towards more experimental, socially engaged and artistically ambitious work, particularly after director John Hubley’s 1946 call for a “new language”.
The show begins with early figures including Gertie the Dinosaur, Felix the Cat and Raggedy Ann & Andy, before focusing on postwar colour animation. Featured works include Jerome Hill’s dreamlike stop-motion film The Sand Castle and animations by Sesame Street artist Jane Aaron, whose work reimagined letters, artists and famous paintings. Curator Ron Magliozzi says much of the exhibition will be unfamiliar to visitors, but hopes its range demonstrates animation’s creative breadth.
In short
- MoMA charts animation’s evolution beyond classic cartoon characters.
- Postwar experimental animation is the exhibition’s main focus.
- The show includes Jerome Hill and Sesame Street’s Jane Aaron.
Explained simply
Animation is a filmmaking technique that creates the illusion of movement through a sequence of individual images. For much of the twentieth century, the medium was popularly associated with cartoon characters designed primarily to entertain children.
MoMA's new exhibition traces how animation developed over the hundred years before computer technology transformed the field. Starting with early twentieth century characters like Felix the Cat and progressing through postwar colour films, it shows how animators increasingly moved beyond commercial cartoons towards more experimental and artistically ambitious work.
The exhibition encompasses both mainstream commercial animation and more experimental work, including abstract stop-motion films and pieces that drew inspiration from fine art and literature. The works span from the early twentieth century through to the postwar period, when animation became an increasingly serious artistic pursuit.