This evening at 6:00 p.m. the Museum of Modern Art will present a retrospective of the works of National Film Board of Canada animation pioneer Grant Munro, in honor of his eightieth birthday. And next month, on Jan. 29 at 6:30 p.m., the Cinémathèque Québécoise will also pay tribute to the animator. Munro will be present at both programs.
Tonight’s event, titled "Grant Munro: Rediscovered," is organized by Laurence Kardish, senior curator of MoMA’s Department of Film and Media, in collaboration of Dennis Doros of Milestone Film & Video, distributor of the new DVD Cut-Up: The Films of Grant Munro. The 90-minute program features two unreleased, recently re-edited films–On the Farm (1951/2003) and Six and Seven-Eighths (1959/2003)–as well as George Dunning’s Three Blind Mice (1945), Norman McLaren’s Neighbours (1952), Stanley Jackson’s The Ballott-o-Matic (1953), Munro and McLaren’s Canon (1964), Munro’s Toys (1966), Boo Hoo (1975), and McLaren on McLaren (1983). The Cinémathèque Québécoise’s follow-up program will feature screenings of all the films included on the DVD.
Working in the animation unit of the National Film Board of Canada from 1945 through the early 1980s, Munro directed, produced, shot, edited and acted in some of the most significant hand-drawn and pixilated animation made at the Film Board in those early years. A frequent collaborator with Norman McLaren, Munro brought a wicked wit and sublime grace to the art.
