Animation Theatre: The Brothers Quay

17th June 1947- Present

Fig. 1 The Brothers Quay

American born identical twins Stephen and Timothy Quay are highly influential stop-motion animators. They currently reside in England where they are also at work adding to their amalgamation of films. It is widely known that they have been influenced by many an artist and animator but a few that have been the strongest and have also had dedicated works to them are Jan vankmajer, Ladislaw Starewicz and Bruno Schulz. Originally the brothers were illustrators but a growing interest in film lead them to try out stopmotion animation which they have now bought their place in as some of the most recognised animators. Similarly to Starewiczs work, the Quay brothers use inanimate objects as the focus of their stop-motions. They do not skimp on the work process instead producing full sets for their characters to reside in. It is important to them that the environment and background has just as much attention paid to it as this will add to the film even more. What is so fascinating about their sets though is the miniaturisation of them, yet how on a screen we are oblivious to this instead viewing them as real normal sized worlds that we just so happen to have been ignorant of. They are masters of miniaturization and on their tiny sets have created an unforgettable world, suggestive of a landscape of long-repressed childhood dreams. (Zeitgeist: Unknown) The Quay brothers are known for their high attention to detail and these sets are just a small example of the amount of detail they do attend to. Perhaps this concentration to what seems like perfection is what makes their animations stand out and grab our attention.

Fig. 2 Miniature sets

Something else that engages the audience so well is the brothers love for the senses. They attempt to allow each of our senses interaction with their work which makes their films become rather more like experiences. Their camera work is somewhat responsible for this feeling of experience in that they take the static cam and make it their own taking it through the action and at points even making it evident of subjective camerawork. Their camera also picks up the tactile elements of the animations which the brothers make sure there are a lot of in order to let us belief we are actually in the worlds they have created. The cobwebs for example, are so detailed on screen you feel the want to swipe them away out of the experience you are in. Even the characters are evocative of deep texture with their cracks and the brothers unusual melding of objects such as bolts and screws to form them which start to explain why the Quays have optioned for an old, battered stylisation. James Fiumara has picked up on the Quays want to explore our senses. We dont just see the objects depicted on the screen, but can almost feel them, smell them, and taste them. The Quays aesthetics are one of synaesthesia- we see the music and felt textures, and we hear and feel the visuals. The appeal to all of our senses- sight, hearing, tough, taste, smellcreates an aesthetic experience designed to sensually envelope and overwhelm. (Fiumara: 2004)

Fig. 3 Texture for the senses

The brothers most famous animation Street of Crocodiles (1986) based on author and artist Bruno Schulzs story of the same name brings together all of their techniques to form a piece of art that has a major impact on audiences whether its good or bad. Street of Crocodiles is more poetic than filmic with this inanimate model awoken and who goes about exploring elements of his world that he is unfamiliar with. For that matter it is very similar to the effect the brothers want us to have via all of the work, the experience of the unknown and in some ways people embrace this and are happily intrigued by the possibility of these objects having life just like us. Others however, are alienated by the uncanny examples of human like dolls moving artificially and having glowing

empty sockets where their eyes should be. In this way the Quay brothers can obviously attempt many perceptions of their work and it just goes to show how innovative and important they are to the industry. The reaction to Quay films is often a sort of morbid fascination, a paranoia that the world of things has taken on a life of its own. Even the dust is alive. Quay films are full of ghosts, life in things that ought to be dead: this is both disquieting and, in a certain way, reassuring. (Gehman & Reinke: 2005)

Fig. 4 Streets of Crocodiles

Bibliography
Fiumara, James, (2004) The Thirteenth Freak Month http://www.kinoeye.org/04/05/fiumara05.php (Accessed 25/03/2012) Gehman, Chris & Reinke, Steve, (2005) The sharpest point: animation at the end of cinema. U.S.A. YYZ Books. (Accessed 25/03/2012) Zeitgeist Films, (Unknown) The Short Films of The Quay Brothers http://www.zeitgeistfilms.com/film.php?directoryname=quayretrospective&mode=filmmaker (Accessed 25/03/2012)

List of Illustrations
Fig. 1. The Brothers Quay. [Online image].On indiepixfilms.com http://www.indiepixfilms.com/image/947 (Accessed 25/03/2012) Fig. 2. Miniature Sets. [Online image].On flickr.com http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2580/3962802116_f965ec1782_z.jpg (Accessed 25/03/2012) Fig. 3. Texture for the senses. [Online image].On pixhost.me http://pixhost.me/pictures/1923307 (Accessed 25/03/2012) Fig. 4. Street of Crocodiles. [Online image].On wordpress.com http://cowsarejustfood.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/the-brothers-quay-2.jpg (Accessed 25/03/2012)