Our appreciation for stop-motion and its fascinating creepiness only increased when we discovered the work of Jan Svankmejer. Here was an artist who took the inherent creepiness of stop-motion and ran with it. Tim Burton has also gone the creepy route with his additions to the genre.

Of course, just WHY stop-motion animation is so inherently creepy is something we haven't been able to fully understand. Part of it is the jerky motion of the characters, so different from their smoother drawn or computer animated counterparts. Another aspect is the utter surrealness of the (usually) still backgrounds. But regardless of it all, the thing we love the most about stop-motion is this: The characters and the sets all...exist. They aren't code in a computer, and they aren't drawings on an animation cel. They are actual, three dimensional just like our toys at home. And when those tiny animated characters and sets are tiny pieces of art unto themselves, so much the better. Christiane Cegavske's Blood Tea and Red String, which had its world premiere at the Castro as part of Indiefest Thursday night, is a stunning example of animated art.

Image from Christiane Cegavske's site.

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