A History of Disney

®  Disney started in 1923 as the Disney Brother's Cartoon Studio, headed by Walt and Roy Disney. 

      Today it's the second biggest mass media conglomerate in the world, second only to Comcast.

®  In 1928, Walt created his most important character, Mickey Mouse, which was an instant hit and launched Disney's career.

®  Mickey Mouse starred in Steamboat Willie that same year, the first animated film with sound. Disney made a dozen short films a year, introducing new characters. These cartoons would appear in theatres before feature presentations. Disney also began printing comics.

®  Mickey was also popular with politicians, especially during WWII. Mickey Mouse was the code word for the allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day. Nazi Germany hated Mickey, which only boosted his popularity more.

®  In 1978 Mickey became the first cartoon character to get a star on Hollywood Boulevard. According to Time Magazine (2008), "Mickey had a 98% awareness rate among children between ages 3-11 worldwide."

®  In 1937, Disney produced the first feature-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It was soon followed by such classics as Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, Bambi, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and countless others.

®  Walt Disney has the distinction of winning the most Academy Awards (22) and nominations (59) in history. He died in 1966 of lung cancer, age 65.

®  Walt Disney was always trying to find some new form of entertainment. As his business grew, he expanded into many new areas. In 1950 Disney produced its first live-action film, Treasure Island.

®  In 1955 Disney opened its first theme park, Disneyland, in California. There are now 14 Disney theme parks around the world. That same year it began televising its Mickey Mouse Club.

®  Disney also bought the rights to as many story lines as possible, a trend it continues today. Disney now owns Winnie-the-Pooh, Pokemon, Pixar, The Muppets, Marvel Comics, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Lucas Films, including Star Wars and Indiana Jones.

®  In '81, Disney began its Disney's World on Ice skating tours.

®  In '83 the Disney Channel began on basic cable.

®  In '84 Disney began Touchstone Pictures, a new film studio to produce films to more mature audiences. It created Hollywood Pictures in 1990 for the same reason. These studios have produced: Down & Out in Beverly Hills, Pretty Woman, The Dead Poets' Society, The Rock, Con Air, Sister Act, and The Sixth Sense.

®  In '85 Disney began producing television cartoons: The Gummi Bears, Ducktales, and Winnie-the-Pooh.

®  In '86 Disney began a partnership with Ghibli Studios in Japan to show their films in the US.

®  In '87 Disney opened its first retail store.

®  In '88 Disney began making its first videogames. In 2002 it began its most famous game Kingdom Hearts.

®  In '94 Disney began the show Beauty & the Beast on Broadway.

®  In '96 it bought ABC, the American Broadcasting Company. Disney also owns and operates ESPN, and A+E. Disney also owns Hyperion Press.

®  In '98 Disney started its first line of cruise ships.

Disney Controversies:

In Films:

1. Racial Stereotypes

Many of Disney's classic films portray stereotypical views of non-white characters. In one cartoon, Mickey Mouse dressed in blackface. The Indians in Peter Pan, the Siamese cats in Lady & The Tramp, and the entire film Song of the South all perpetuate racism. At least one of his Jewish artists claimed Disney said anti-semitic things, but also said he owed everything to Disney.

2. Subliminal Messages

Several of Disney's films have hidden, sexual content including nudity, sometimes put in secretly by animators, and sometimes misinterpreted when it's hard to hear what a character is saying. In Aladdin, the main character says, "Come on... good kitty, take off and go...."  But, the tiger growls at the same time, confusing some audiences into hearing, "Good teenagers, take off your clothes." In another example, the box art to A Little Mermaid had a phallic symbol painted on a building. In each and every controversy, Disney has reanimated the film or changed the art so that there's no sexual content.

Besides this, Disney films sometimes insert hidden images of Mickey Mouse. They've made it a game for people to find as many "hidden Mickeys" as possible.

3. Bullying Pixar

Before buying Pixar, Disney worked as an equal partner in Toy Story and other films. But the partnership wasn't truly equal, because Disney owned the stories and sequel rights to all of Pixar's films, even though Pixar was the one who created and developed all their original stories. All Disney provided was marketing, and then they charged Pixar a distribution fee. Pixar tried to negotiate a fair deal in 2004, led by Steve Jobs, but it fell through, and instead Disney bought it.

4. Handling of Foreign Films

For a while, Disney owned Miramax studios, which became infamous for its treatment of Asian films. Miramax would buy films and never show them. Or, they would re-edit them, cutting out scenes, and changing the subtitles to remove political content, etc. They would completely change the films. Examples include Iron Monkey, Shaolin Soccer, Farewell My Concubine, Fist of Legend, and Hero, which had been lost for years before being found and released thanks to Quentin Tarantino.

At it's parks:

5. Worker & Animal Rights

Working conditions are poor and pay is low for employees in the factories that make Disney merchandise, as well as for the workers who wear Disney costumes at their theme parks. Some are even paid so little, they're homeless. Animal rights groups worry about treatment at Disney's Animal Kingdom parks.

6. LGTB Rights:

Disney has been a strong supporter of LGTB rights, to the consternation of America's religious right. Disney has unofficial gay and lesbian days at their resorts. They supported Ellen Degeneres on her ABC show, and have offered benefits to gay employees with domestic partnerships. While initially controversial, this has gradually become more accepted in the US.

DISNEY'S FILMOGRAPHY

1950 Cinderella

1951 Alice in Wonderland

1952 Uncle Scrooge Comics

1953 Peter Pan

1955 Lady & The Tramp

1957 Old Yeller

1959 Sleeping Beauty

1960 Swiss Family Robinson

1961 One Hundred & One Dalmations, Parent Trap

1963 Sword in the Stone

1964 Mary Poppins

1967 Disney World begins construction, The Jungle Book

1971 Disney World opens

1973 Robin Hood

1976 Freaky Friday

1982 Tron

1984 1st film is Splash

1985 The Black Cauldron,

1986 Down & Out in Beverly Hills, 1st R rated film

1987 Ernest Goes to Camp, Good Morning Vietnam, 3 Men & Baby, Duck Tales

1988 Who Framed Roger Rabbit,

1989 MGM Studios opens at Disney World, The Little Mermaid, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Dead Poet's Society

1990 Pretty woman, Arachnophobia, Dick Tracy

1991 Beauty & the Beast, Rocketeer, Darkwing Duck TV show

1992 Aladdin, Sister Act, Mighty Ducks, Euro Disney opens

1993 Disney buys Miramax, Nightmare before Christmas

1994 The Lion King

1995 Pocahantas, Toy Story,

1996 The Rock

1997 Con Air, Disney buys baseball team, Anaheim Angels

1998 Mulan, Armageddon, A Bug's Life

1999 Tarzan, 6th Sense, Dogma

2001 Monsters Inc, Pearl Harbor

2002 Miramax buys rights to Pokemon, Lilo & Stitch

2003 Finding Nemo, Pirates of the Caribbean, Brother Bear, Power Rangers TV and Digimon TV shows

2004 The Incredibles, National Treasure, Hidalgo

2006 Disney buys Pixar, formerly they just worked together, Cars, High School Musical, Hannah Montana

2007 Buena Vista name dropped, Ratatouille

2008 Wall-E

2009 Up

2010 Disney sells Miramax, Power Rangers, Digimon, and ends Hannah Montana

2011 Disney buys rights to Avatar

2012 Disney buys Lucasfilm and rights to Star Wars & Indiana Jones, The Avengers, Brave, Lincoln

2013 Frozen - highest grossing animated film ever, Iron Man 3, Thor, Monsters University

2014, Captain America, Maleficent, Guardians of the Galaxy, Big Hero 6

2015 Disney buys Marvel Comics, Inside Out, Ant-Man, Avengers Ultron, Star Wars

Harley J. Earl - A Biography

Harley J. Earl (1893-1969)

Ž   Harley Earl was the first artistic director of a large car company, working for General Motors (GM) from 1927-1959. This was due to the popularity of his first big design, the 1928 La Salle Phaeton.

Ž   Before Earl, car companies designed their cars with engineers, based on function and cost, and didn’t care much for styling. If a car company wanted to sell a luxury car, they would build a chassis, and send it to a custom body shop to make the coach on top.

Ž   Harley Earl’s father, J.W., owned such a custom shop, making unique, designer cars for movie stars in Hollywood. He taught his son, Harley, everything he knew. His job was basically, “to turn turkeys into eagles.”

Ž   Harley brought several innovations to car design:

1.     As the first head of the Art & Color Section, he designed all the coaches, so they could be completed in the factory, without sending chassis to custom shops.

2.     He opened an all-woman design team to create controversial new models and designs. When he retired, a lot of women designers lost their influence, and jobs.

3.     He used clay to build models for his designs.

4.     He designed the very first prototype car, the Buick Y-Job, for the sole purpose of watching and learning from viewers’ reactions.

Harley Earl driving the 1939 Buick Y Job

He would drive his prototypes to see how people reacted. “If you go by a school and the kids don't whistle… back to the drawing board.”

5.     He also developed the idea of dynamic obsolescence in car manufacture, by changing the style of a car model every year or two. This was the first time you could see if a car was new or old, and how old, just by the styling. The idea was, fashionable people would treat their cars like clothes, always wanting to show off the latest trend. It’s an idea that’s standard today.

6.     He also designed the first hardtop roof, wrap-around windshields, tail fins, and two-tone paint jobs.

7.     He also designed the first Chevy Corvette and the GM Firebird.

1953 Chevrolet Corvette

1953 GM Firebird 1

1959 GM Firebird 3

8.     Earl’s designs won popularity contests at every Detroit Auto Show for his entire career.

9.     When Earl left GM, it was the largest and most successful car maker in the world, earning 50% of the market, mostly due to his designs.

10.  Earl once said, "My primary purpose for twenty-eight years has been to lengthen and lower the American automobile, at times in reality and always at least in appearance."

11.  Earl died from a stroke at his home in Palm Beach Florida, age 75.

12.  In 1986, he was added into the Automotive Hall of Fame.

13.  His designs are still popular today. Many of his cars from the 1950’s sell for millions of dollars today at auction.

4.  Every year, NASCAR gives the Harley J. Earl Trophy to the winner of the season-opening Daytona 500 race. The trophy has his design for the first Firebird on top.

5.  According to the Detroit Free Press, he’s the third greatest artist who worked in Michigan, behind Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder.

Suprematism - Russia's Artistic Revolution

What was it about? What were the goals?

Not to be confused with Supremacism (meaning racism, basically), this was an art movement founded by Kasimir Malevich in 1913, focusing on simple geometric shapes, arranged in compositions of varying complexity and limited colours, emphasizing dynamic placement of shapes. The goal was to ignore the real world and everything in it, and break everything we see and know into simple, pure abstract shapes, and see what kind of feelings and qualities they emote. Malevich wrote,

“Under Suprematism I understand the primacy of pure feeling in creative art. To the Suprematist, the visual phenomena of the objective world are, in themselves, meaningless; the significant thing is feeling, as such, quite apart from the environment in which it is called forth.”

It was a kind of experimentation, and Malevich even went so far as to say there was a spiritual aspect to his work.

A bit of historical context:

Malevich began painting around 1900, experimenting in a number of different art styles: Symbolism, Post-Impressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, and then Futurism. In 1913, he began to form his new style while designing the sets and costumes for Kruchenykh’s Futurist opera, Victory Over the Sun. This led him to a series of works he displayed in 1915 at the Last Futurist Exhibition of Paintings ,10 in Petrograd. With a slightly distorted black square hanging in the corner of the room, like a Russian icon, he launched the movement.

The Sick Man, by Vasili Maximov, 1882 (not a Suprematist)

         This artwork shows a typical Russian iconic corner. People would pray to these for help.

Last Futurist Exhibition of Paintings ,10 in Petrograd, 1915.

Malevich wrote a great deal to explain his ideas. When he first exhibited his 1915 show, he wrote “From Cubism and Futurism to Suprematism.” It was a big success, and Malevich formed a group of like-minded artists. They started a journal, and Malevich then got a job teaching art in Moscow.

In 1928, Stalin decided he didn’t like abstract art. He confiscated Malevich’s paintings, and forbade him to continue his Suprematism. Part of this had to do with Malevich’s anti-political views, writing:

“Art no longer cares to serve the state and religion, it no longer wishes to illustrate the history of manners, it wants to have nothing further to do with the object, as such, and believes that it can exist, in and for itself, without ‘things’. . . ”

Malevich kept painting, trying to reinvent representational art in his portraits of everyday peasants and workers. However, he still wrote in protest, The Non-Objective World: The Manifesto of Suprematism, so that his works would be understood. In 1930 he visited Poland and Germany, where the Soviet Union suspected he was spreading his artistic ideas, so they put him in prison for two months.

Malevich continued to paint realistically for five more years until he died of cancer (he signed all his works with a small black square). At his funeral in 1935, his casket, tombstone, and the car that drove him there were all decorated with a black square.

How was it represented in the other arts – music, architecture, and literature?

Although less famous, Malevich began to draw 3D views of his compositions, taking them in a more architectural direction, and then began building plaster models of his works. Although they weren’t buildings, per se, they were suggestive of buildings, and were a huge inspiration for Zaha Hadid, who was one of the leading, international architects of our time.

Architecton, 1923-8, Malevich

Besides this, Lazar Khidekel managed to become a successful Suprematist architect in Russia, surviving Stalin, and building the Club for Red Sport Int. Stadium and a cafe for the Paris World Fair of 1937.

Was it great?

No. Not in comparison to the greatest artists of other movements. But, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t successful, attractive, or inspiring. It was all these things, at least to some extent. Suprematism is basically the culmination of one artist trying his hand at many different styles of art, and in the end deciding to start over from scratch – to reinvent art, one shape at a time. It’s easy to look at his simplest works, and think, “This emperor has no clothes.” But, you shouldn’t look at these as individual artworks. Back in 1915, they were all hung together in such a strange, haphazard way that they formed one large art installation. Think of them as a sequence, like an animation.

Ok, so maybe it’s still not that impressive, but the big simple squares shouldn’t be thought of as artworks so much as building blocks, almost like one-celled organisms, from which Malevich’s other artworks evolved. And in these works, he showed a good sense for design as he created compositions that were asymmetrical yet balanced, playful, and dynamic. Some are better than others – that’s how experiments work.

You might be surprised to learn that many artists do this same thing as an exercise to improve their compositions. Here’s an example of illustrator William O’Connor drawing thumbnail sketches in the style of Franz Kline (not a Suprematist), to find the best composition for his work:

Echoes, by William O'Connor

Were Malevich’s works really spiritual? Evocative? Are the feelings you get from his work any more “pure” than when you see a Rembrandt, Klimt, or Michelangelo? I would say no, that was just his arrogance getting the best of him. But, I still see value in his art. Malevich was on to something, and it’s a tragedy that Stalin prevented him from continuing his work, right when it was developing into something close to great. In the end, Malevich’s black square became impressive, not as art, but as a sign of protest against Stalin’s tyranny.

Wait a minute. Didn’t Kandinsky do all this before Malevich?

Nope. It’s true that Kandinsky was older, and went into pure abstraction around 1911, and both he and Malevich were showing abstract art in the Der Blaue Reiter group. But Kandinsky’s improvisations were more globular, brightly coloured, Fauvist, and messy. He didn’t mimic Malevich’s geometric work till the 1920’s. Both artists used abstraction to explore ideas of spirituality and inner feelings, so they had a lot in common, but both were distinct.

Wait another minute, did Malevich just do this because he couldn’t draw or paint realistically?

No, he was a decent painter both before and after Suprematism – not the best, but decent, for the times:

Self-Portrait, 1908-9

Self-Portrait, 1933

Some leading figures:

Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944)

Kasimir Malevich (1879-1935)

Aleksandra Ekster (1882-1949)

Lyubov Popova (1889-1924)

El Lissitzky (1890-1941)

Sergei Senkin (1894–1963)

Ilya Chashnik (1902-1929)

Lazar Khidekel (1904-1986)

A look at how Malevich's ideas evolved:

Black Square

Black Circle

Four Squares

Painterly Realism - Boy with a Knapsack

Black Rectangle, Blue Triangle

Rectangle and Circle

Eight Red Rectangles

Airplane Flying

Suprematist Composition

Supremus No. 50

Suprematist Composition

Suprematist Composition

Suprematist Composition

Supremus No. 58

Symbolism - Art's 2nd Romantic Movement

“. . . you want me to look for truth and lies at the end of a stick with weasel hair tied to it? … I have knives, big knives… I’ll give you a fifty-yard head start... and take my glasses off. Good luck...”

- Ilaekae, from conceptart.org

What was it about? What were the goals?

Symbolism is basically a confusing name for what should be called Late/Gothic Romantic art, made in the second half of the 19^th century (of course, calling it Gothic is confusing, because that usually refers to art made before the Renaissance from 1200-1400 AD). This was a small, short-lived movement having more to do with poetry than painting, and centering in France. And, since Symbolism had more to do with theory and less to do with style it’s hard to tell just by looking whether an artwork is Symbolist or not.

Symbolism was a rebellion against Realism. Whereas Realists only painted what they saw, portraying reality, however brutal or banal, Symbolists focused on spirituality and chose to portray the supernatural, exploring dreams, ideals, and their own imaginations. They wanted their work to express pure emotions as does music and poetry. Like Realists, Symbolists also claimed to paint what’s “true”, whatever that means, but stressed the importance of metaphor and, well symbolism. They felt the greatest truths couldn’t be painted directly or objectively, but subjectively––that any attempt by an artist to look at the world objectively was a form of denial and therefore dishonest. As the artist Cazalis wrote, he wanted, “to depict not the thing but the effect it produces.” You may wonder how this is possible without painting both, and how this differs from any previous artists and their work. So do I.

Even weirder, try this quote by the poet Gustave Khan, “The essential aim of our art is to objectify the subjective (the externalization of the Idea) instead of subjectifying the objective (nature seen through the eyes of a temperament).” Good luck trying to figure that out…

A bit of historical context:

Symbolism was one of the first art movements to have a manifesto, written in 1886 by Jean Moréas. It describes Symbolism primarily as a new literary movement, and makes the same arguments outlined above. Symbolism was promoted by the art critic (and occultist), Joséphin Péladan, who hosted several exhibitions in the 1890’s. While short-lived, Symbolist art is seen as a major influence in modern art, especially Expressionism and Surrealism.

The underlying philosophy of the period:

Symbolist writers were influenced by Arthur Schopenhauer, known as the philosopher of pessimism. He argued that art was, “a refuge from the world of strife of the will.” Schopenhauer argued that a person’s basic state is one of suffering, based on insatiable cravings and urges, primarily of “the will”––our urge to procreate and continue our existence, a base and meaningless urge simply to live. And, even when we get what we want, and our desire is satisfied, we immediately replace it with another, so that we can never be happy. Art helps us ignore these urges and problems for a time, while at the same time teaching us about the world in a way that science and logic can’t.

If that makes sense, this next bit won’t. Schopenhauer went further to say that a great artist must be such a genius that, while working, he completely forgets who he is, what his desires are, and thereby frees himself from the will. My first reaction to this: doesn’t the artist desire to complete a good painting? How is this different from any other desired project or undertaking? And after he or she finishes it, doesn’t he want to start another? Anyway, from this argument we get the stereotype of the Schopenhauerian artist – a misunderstood genius who neglects “the business of life” being obsessed with his art.

How was it represented in the other arts – music, architecture, and literature?

Symbolism was primarily a movement in French poetry, with the leaders being Baudelaire, Stéphane Mallarmé, and Paul Verlaine. The most famous novelist was Paul Adam. Playwrights included Maeterlinck and Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam. Symbolism played a big role in music too, as Schopenhauer considered it the highest art form. Symbolist writers loved the music of Wagner. In turn, these writers were a great influence for Claude Debussy, who used many of Verlaine’s and Maeterlinck’s writings in his works. They also influenced Scriabin and Schoenberg.

Was it great?

While there’s a lot of variety in style and quality, it’s fair to say some Symbolist art is really great. The greatest star is far-and-away Gustav Klimt. However complicated and confusing the philosophy may have been, it worked for Klimt. His artworks rank among some of the best of all time.

Some leading figures:

Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) poet

Théodore de Banville (1823-1891) poet

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (1824-1898)

Gustave Moreau (1826-1898)

Arnold Böcklin (1827-1901)

Félicien Rops (1833-1898)

Odilon Redon (1840-1916)

Stéphane Mallarmé (1842-1898) poet

Paul Verlaine (1844-1896) poet

Jacek Malczewski (1854-1929)

Jean Moréas (1856-1910) poet

Jan Toorop (1858-1928)

Gustave Khan (1859-1936) poet

Gustav Klimt (1862-1918)

Gaston Bussière (1862-1929)

Edvard Munch (1863-1944)

Carlos Schwabe (1866-1926)

Alfred Jarry (1873-1907)

Some of the most famous artworks of the time:

'Jason and Medea', by Gustave Moreau, 1865

'Self-Portrait with Fiddling Death', by Arnold Böcklin, 1872

'Isle of the Dead', by Arnold Böcklin, 1880

'The Theatre of Shakespeare', by Gustave Klimt, 1886

'I Lock My Door Upon Myself', Fernand Khnopff, 1891

This painting’s title quotes a poem by Christina Rossetti (sister of the Pre-Raphaelite painter, Dante Rossetti), and her poem quotes a Bible passage (Romans 7:24) dealing with inner-conflict. This causes us to wonder what the painting has to do with internal conflict – is it in the woman’s calm expression? The wilting flowers in the foreground? The geometric shapes of the background? Is Khnopff suggesting that looking yourself in is a good thing? It’s hard to say. Much of this painting is deliberately mysterious. Is that a spear beside the woman? Who is she anyway? Where is she? Why is there a bust of the Greek god Hypnos? We don’t know, and yet, something about the mood of this painting is clear. The puzzle it presents mirrors the existential struggles we face daily – to find meaning in life and our actions.

'The Scream', by Edvard Munch, 1893

'The Vampire', by Edvard Munch, 1895

'Death and the Grave Digger', by Carlos Schwabe, 1895

'Schubert at the Piano', by Gustav Klimt, 1899

'Adele Bloch-Bauer I', by Gustav Klimt, 1907

'The Kiss', by Gustav Klimt, 1907-8

'Death and Life', by Gustav Klimt, 1915