Walt Disney (1901-1966) is certainly one of the most original creators of the 20th century. Although he was not the inventor of animated film, he was the first to bring it to a universal audience. The outstanding success of his films ranks them among the models of American mass culture, to the extent that audiences forget their extraordinary beginnings.
Popular culture and highbrow culture typically ignore one another and the links between them have seldom been explored. Walt Disney's feature-length animated films, from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937, until The Jungle Book in 1967, are striking examples of reciprocal influence of these two cultures. Taking this approach, the exhibition brings together original drawings from the Disney studios and the works and creations of Western art which inspired them.
The origins of Disney's masterpieces and the works the studio in turn inspired are the subject of this lavishly illustrated book.
While the works of Walt Disney rank among the icons of American mass culture, it is easy to forget that Disney's characters and stories were inspired by original works of art. Now the sources that motivated Disney's imagination--and the artists that his studio in turn influenced--are brought to light. From the launching of the Walt Disney Company until the founder's death in 1967, this book includes more than 300 original works selected from the Disney archives and from private collections, together with paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs, and film stills.
Here Disney fans will discover the fairy tales behind Sleeping Beauty and Snow White; they'll learn that Pinocchio's village was modeled on the mediaeval city of Rothenburg in Bavaria; that Bambi's forest took its inspiration from fifteenth-century Chinese painting; that Dumbo's bird's-eye views drew on the work of Grant Wood and Thomas Hart Benton. One chapter is devoted to the mutually admiring relationship between Salvador Dali and Disney. Finally, the book looks at the myriad ways in which Disney's products became source materials for modern and contemporary artists, including Prokofiev and Leopold Stokowski as well as Christian Boltanski, Bertrand Lavier, Peter Saul, and Gary Baseman. A wonderful sourcebook for Disney enthusiasts, this colorful volume offers a unique perspective on the often-overlooked links between highbrow and popular culture.
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