Mormon Artists Group

Mormon Artists Group announces the publication of

The Book of Visions
by Annie Poon

Very rarely one comes across an artist whose originality demands complete attention and whose work engages the head, heart and funny bone in equal measure. Such sophisticated tomfoolery is the domain of Alexander Calder’s Circus, Picasso’s sculptures using old toys,William Wegman’s videos and photographs of his Weimaraners, among a few other treasures. Adults revel in them as guilty pleasures initially, but when they stop to realize just how radical and ingenious these works really are, the works become fully loved.

Three years ago, I happened to see a film by a young artist named Annie Poon. The film was animated, in black and white and was no more than two minutes in length. But here was extraordinary art!

Each frame appeared to be hand-drawn and brimming with humor and joy, and above all, brilliant invention. The effect of it was of a child’s flipbook come alive.

As quickly as the film ended, I viewed it again. And then again, and again. At that point, I turned my head to watch the others in the room. I have never seen such mesmerization, but how did she accomplish it?

By 2003, when I contacted Annie Poon about creating an original film for Mormon Artists Group Press, her artwork had evolved in extraordinary ways. The films were growing longer, more psychologically complex and even more fanciful. In one film entitled Subway Story, a commuter train arrives in a jungle and takes a group of animals on a trip around the world to a modern ark; in another, two young girls in a bathtub are transported by their imaginations across an ocean of adventure (Runaway Bathtub).

The new films continued to project a sense of wonder, but the artist was not afraid to make audiences squirm. In Roly Poly Pudding, a mischievous kitten becomes the prisoner (and later, almost the meal) of the family of rats living in the walls and under the floors of the house. Poon’s version of a music video, ‘Tis the Night of Halloween portrays a group of revelers who happen to be witches, skeletons and goblins.

In a film made as a Christmas card that she sent to family and friends, Poon simply trims a tree, but any retelling of her stories fails to adequately describe the atmosphere of joy in the finished works.

The level of Poon’s invention and control can be almost shocking. I have never been in attendance at one of her films without overhearing someone say, “I can’t believe this!” Audiences would be even more astounded if they knew that Poon does everything herself: the research and scriptwriting, voiceovers, the drawing and painting (both on paper and computer), the photography, the composition of the musical soundtrack, and often, its performance as well.

It is a unified artistic vision that is the opposite of most filmmaking today. I think that people respond so powerfully to Poon’s films because they sense in them something pure, original, and wholly without aesthetic compromise.

When The Book of Visions was begun, Poon’s films (all of which were in black and white) were beginning to be exhibited frequently in American and International film festivals including the following: Brooklyn Academy of Music Next Wave Festival, Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, International Festival of Cinema and Technology, San Diego International Children’s Film Festival, Garden State Film Festival, LDS Film Festival, and Nicktoons:The Nexttoons on Air Film Festival. (Nicolodeon acquired broadcast rights to Runaway Bathtub in 2005.)

Poon’s work has also been exhibited in galleries and museums including The Brooklyn Museum, The Bronx Council for the Arts, SVA Westside Gallery and SVA Eastside Gallery.

The Book of Visions

Even with background on the artist and her films, it is difficult to comprehend the audacious scope of Annie Poon’s newest work, The Book of Visions. It is nearly twelve minutes long (think how many frames that represents!) and, amazingly, in color. The film contains an equally ambitious narrative of three historical leaders who experienced grand, supernatural visions: Joan of Arc, Sioux chief Black Elk, and American prophet Joseph Smith, Jr.

As I learned about their lives, I was struck by the overlapping features of their histories. All received their first heavenly communications at young ages at the hands of messengers.They were told that they would lead their people someday, but that the time was not yet; there was a period of personal preparation. Later, they were told, “It is time,” and their quests began. Specifically reviewing the tales, the story of Joan of Arc is full of heartbreaking events of a country girl who becomes a leader of her people, only to be betrayed and put to death. Black Elk’s journey is a tale of restoring balance to an environment ravaged by outsiders. Joseph Smith, Jr.’s vision tells of an angel’s proclamation about a hidden ancient record speaking from the dust. In all of the stories, the youths witness beautiful and marvelous things that bring both joy and pain.

In The Book of Visions, Poon intertwines the three stories with a framing device that is both simple and elegant: an elderly professor who is troubled searches for something of unspeakable importance. He receives a book whose characters spring to life when the cover is opened.

Poon has created a distinct visual style for each of the stories. Joan looks like a figure from a stained glass window or a medieval manuscript, full of saturated, rich color. Black Elk is spare, clean. His visual vocabulary is like the rough-hewn textures of woodblock prints and engravings. Joseph clearly springs from the legacy of early Americana and its cross-stitch samplers and folk art paintings.

The film’s musical score is likewise specific to the feel of each character’s historical setting. Joan marches to the lively beat of a fugue worthy of Bach; Black Elk’s journey is accompanied by drums and the plaintive cry of flutes; and in Joseph’s music, one hears the early-American plainness of hymns and parlor instruments.

The Book of Visions abounds with beauty, action, and mystery. The film cries out to be seen. I commend it to you.

Glen Nelson,
Director, Mormon Artists Group
New York City,Autumn 2005
mgknelson@aol.com

The Deluxe Edition

Befitting this unique creation, the deluxe edition of The Book of Visions is a truly exceptional and luxurious object. Its contents–all of which were created by the artist–are a collection of objects inspired by the characters in the film:

Flipbook – A scene of Joseph Smith, Jr. from the film, 80 pages, handbound with a light brown cover of Ingres Fabriano paper mouldmade in Italy, japanese binding with linen thread, 4.5” x 2.5” x .5″;

Rubber stamp – An image from the film, 2.25” x 1.75” x 2.25”, wooden base and handle.

Soft figure – Handsewn cloth figure of Black Elk embroidered and painted, with clay hunting bow, 3” x 2” x .5”;

Game board and pieces – Game inspired by a medieval French boardgame reconceived with characters from the film, printed and mounted inside the box’s lid, and fourteen wooden game disks including one handpainted red in a handmade, suede pouch with rawhide string closure;

DVD – Running time: eleven minutes, forty seconds; color.The disc is overprinted with an original artwork.

Box – The clamshell container itself is richly detailed: each object is given its own comparment in the box, all surfaces covered in crimson Asahi silk.

On the lid of the box is a printed image of Joan, Black Elk and Joseph laid down into a recessed windowpane inset. The boxes are constructed in wood and board by Talas, New York, New York. All are signed and numbered by the artist, in an edition of ten (plus two artist’s proofs and one publisher’s proof).

Ordering

The Book of Visions is available in two forms–as a commercial-edition DVD, and as a deluxe edition multiple, $400.00.

The commercial DVD with its plastic case is published in an open edition, $14.95.

The deluxe edition is limited to ten copies for sale, plus two proofs for the artist and one proof for the publisher, signed and numbered by the artist.