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Animation Magic Alive and Thriving in Lee
If you’re a kid or kid at heart who is fascinated by animation, special effects and the artistic style they encompass, check out Animagic, a museum in Lee, Mass., dedicated to these subjects. The museum was opened in 2002 by Academy Award® winning special effects creator Eugene Mamut and his wife, artist Irina Borisova. The couple are both from the Ukraine but married after meeting again in the United States.
Borisova worked for many years as an art director - first at a Kharkov (Ukraine) movie studio and later at the Kharkov State Puppet Theatre. She established herself in various genres of art - ceramics, puppets, book illustration, theatre stage set and costume design, theatre posters, and more - and her work is permanently on display at the museum in Lee.
Mamut began making movies and special effects at a Kharkov movie studio. He created one of the first computer-animated shorts. Ten years later, he came to New York City and was hired by EFX Unlimited. As optical cameraman he participated in creating visual effects for The Blue Lagoon and Xanadu. In 1980, he joined R/Greenberg Associates, where he developed special effects for movies such as Ladyhawke, Zelig, Dirty Dancing, Ghost Dad, Predator, and Predator 2.
Animagic has changing exhibits as well as permanent ones (current exhibit by is by artist Armen Sarvazyan, pictured). The museum also offers a free, 20-minute tour where you can see models from famous movies. Two-hour workshops are available for a fee. In the workshops you create a model, make an animation movie, record the movie on the computer, add sound, music, and title and have the movie uploaded to YouTube.
Animagic
Lee, MA
Open 7 days a week, by appointment 413.841.6679
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Posted by Taitia Shelow on 08/09/10 at 09:09 PM • Permalink
