…coming from computers on the server where I work. Yeah, it’s a little disconcerting.
The second half of 2012 was really busy. Aside from the two animated shorts I had previously posted, I began working towards my Masters in Communication Design this past fall. The twice weekly trips to San Marcos have been tough, but when I’m in class I know that this is the place I need to be for the next stage.
I’m not going to post pics of my homework. However, one of the most surprising and gratifying parts of my classes this fall has been the amount of drawing I’ve been doing. Not observational drawing, which I’ve always been pretty good at, but drawing from imagination for thumbnails and roughs. I never felt better about getting an idea out with images that I have through these classes, even when I was taking those semesters of drawing and painting in college. These are just some thumbnails and roughs that went towards the final product and, since I always find sketchbooks more interesting than finished paintings, I posted a bunch.
One of my classes was very process-oriented. Our final project was to do an overview of the whole semester, so I turned to my new interest in video.
Because I was fully engaged in school, I had to turn down a lot of other opportunities, both social and professional. One that I couldn’t help but take was Public Art San Antonio’s X Marks the Art. I used cut vinyl to produce this piece about the history of San Antonio. It took a lot of research to tease out some interesting facts and quotes that I thought would look good and be interesting to the tourist as well as the local San Antonian.
Work at the museum continues, with back-to-back-to-back shows. Here’s some pics for a couple of them.
I finally made Art News. But as a graphic artist for this ad, which I thought was a good symbol for my new professional direction from fine to graphic. Most of these art magazine ads have their own syntax. Very restrained and not at all like ads in other magazines.
It was the new year and wanted to do a 2013 movie. Just 30 seconds, I’m hoping it’s one of many.
The end of the year saw the completion of our first year of marriage. It’s been great and I look forward to many more years of love, friendship and laughs with my wife. It was great to take some time off and enjoy each other after both of us being so busy. And the tangerines from the tree in the backyard were plentiful and sweet.
For a film remake contest I probably would not have entered looking back on it, but at least I got to bring back Sarah Fisch as Yolanda.
This has been the summer of meaningful distractions. I don’t think there was a project that I didn’t at least consider applying for. I know that I won’t get this time when graduate school begins this fall, so I’ve done my best to try new things and challenge myself with things that I probably won’t get the time for in the fall. It’s felt like one chapter closing with another one soon to begin.
Two weekends ago I participated in South Texas Underground Film‘s 72 film project. A short film based on a random drawing of a genre and a loteria card. So I made a coming-of-age movie based on #22 La Bota. I was very proud of the result. I’ll probably collect these shorts I’ve been making and shop them around at some point.
I work on a short film remake project. The deadline was pushed a couple of weeks, so I’ll be refining in a little more. It is a new take on one of my favorite comedies of all time. It will probably be in the next post. Here’s one of the backgrounds I’ve been processing in Photoshop:
I participated in the SA Film Festival, where I screened Ernie Takes the Long Way Through the South Side and I <3 SA through a special presentation of all the finalists of the Texas Monthly Where I’m From contest from last year. A nice mention of the screening in the San Antonio Current.
My sister and her family left to live in California a week after we returned from Mexico, leaving us fairly heartbroken. We miss her so much and hopes that she returns soon.
Later in July, my wife and I spent a week in Mexico. Amazing, awesome, perspective-changing, as always.
Last Mexico trip, I wrote blogs. This trip I made a magazine.
And a short movie.
In July I participated in artslamsa‘s Bring On the Bad Guys event. It was live painting. I’ve never done anything like it before. The crowd was nerdy, young and very helpful. Nothing like the cynical, suspicious folks of my generation. Still not sure if their good-natured optimism will start the revolution, but that’s just my generation’s cynical, suspicious nature coming out. The theme was bad guys, so I painted a Dr. Doom, Boris and Natasha, Cheetah from Superfriends and three roaches from the old Raid commercials. I had to stop when the sun went down. I thought there would be enough light, but there wasn’t. Luckily I work quickly and even at 80% completion, they looked pretty good. (Though, not in this early photo.)
Thanks to Mary Cantu, I was asked to produce material last June for the Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee. It was a cause near to my heart, they were great to work with, I was please with the material and I hope to work with them again soon.
During the Spurs playoff run Popovich was coming up with catchphrases every game. I made T-shirts out of one. There would have been more if we just made it to the Finals…
It looks like the tangerines will be plentiful when they ripen. Last year they began ripening around the time of my wedding, so I think that tangerine jams, cocktails and maybe some way-out glazes or sauces might be the theme of the anniversary/Christmas party in a few month.
Busy busy.
On April 21st I was awarded top honors for the Video Jam. (The first of the CAM events that got rescheduled because of rain.)
I was invited to participate in a show in Dallas called Active-8 that featured artists all over Texas. I went up to Dallas on April 28th with my wife. It was great to meet other artists that were thinking along the same lines across the state that would normally never meet each other. I showed some found photos and an iteration of my evolving art video.
Here is the group of artists in the show. All worth Google-ing.
Luminaria finally happened on May 5th. I was situated next to the Magic Theater, where I projected a video in ten parts. I scaled these quick, fun animations for the attention span of the viewers and it was great to see people stick around for the entire cycle. I would be very pleased when a group would pass by and a word or image would capture the attention of one of them and they’d get hooked and make the others stop and they’d get hooked, too. What went over best, though, was the animation based on the illustrations of my personal hero Jose Guadalupe Posada set to the music of Mexican favorite Jose Alfredo Jimenez, specifically El Rey, which is the My Way of Mexico. People were dancing, yelling, making videos of the video.
Some dancing going on here:
I had given a presentation at the first PechaKucha and was glad to design the graphics for this upcoming PechaKucha on the 24th. I put together a few Japanese robot models from kits, so the instruction that I got from those became my inspiration.
I was invited to be a part of show that happened last Saturday, DuChampions of the ReadyMade at LoneStar Studios. Found art? Yes indeedy. I selected a collection of clowns that I had found at a thriftstore about 15 years ago. They were made by middle schoolers, I’d guess in the 70s. Each compelling in their own way.
Also an assortment of small sculptures that were a meditation on a couple of the seven deadly sins channelled through a Pop Surrealism.
And I found out last Friday that I’ve been accepted to grad school at Texas State University. My formal training in my chosen field (really what I feel is my calling) has been limited to just a handful of classes at San Antonio College, so I’m thrilled to being learning more my craft and being around other designers.
Coming up: NOTHING. I’ve been going full blast for the past two years. I’m going to take a break, recharge and enjoy some time with my awesome wife. And watch Spurs games with some other basketball experts. GO SPURS GO.
Robert B. Gonzales doesn’t think of himself as a filmmaker.
As a self-taught graphic designer living on the South Side, he’s used to creating inventive logos and marketing materials for organizations such as the Museo Alameda and the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Currently, he is a graphic designer at the Witte Museum.
“I’m just a print guy, not a motion guy,” Gonzales said. “But I always have five or six ideas in my back pocket.”
One of those ideas was to take his skills as a graphic designer and create an animated short film for submission into the San Antonio Neighborhood Film Project 3.0 sponsored by the Office of Cultural Affairs and the San Antonio Film Commission.
Gonzales’ film, “Ernie Takes the Long Way Through the South Side,” was recently awarded first place in the Southside category.
The animated short follows Ernie, his wife Patsy, and their twin granddaughters as they drive to Ernie’s cranky mother’s house in their Astro van. They pass the time by embracing the rich history of the Mission San José, King William District and Blue Star Art Gallery.
Other finalists in the Southside category were Frank Bernal (“Heart of Southtown”), Richard Jemal (“Espiritus de San Antonio”), Sam Lerma (“Flutter”), and Will Shipley (“Mentiroso”).
Gonzales graduated from Alamo Height High School in 1990 and earned two bachelor’s degrees (in philosophy and art history) from the University of Texas-Austin.
He said making his first animated film has taught him how animation can be used.
“I took this project on like a graphic designer and from there I was able to pull out all the ideas, jokes, and characters,” Gonzales says.
Gonzales said a competition like the Neighborhood Film Project is a great way to let everyone know how much pride citizens have in San Antonio.
“If you love your neighborhood, go out and show people,” Gonzales said.
Kiko Martinez is a San Antonio-based freelance writer.
