Recently the Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation announce the 100 year celebration of Ray Harryhausen by having the largest display of his work ever in an exhibition. The showing is scheduled to open Saturday May 30th2020 and continue until Sunday October 4th2020 at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. This event is to be unprecedented in scale and scope spanning across all of Harryhausens years of work in stop motion animation and special effects. From his early days when he experimented with animating dinosaur puppets and befriended Willis O’Brien to his final projects.
Ray Harryhausen was not just a master in the arts of stop motion and special effects, but also an inventor of new techniques in cinema production. He developed what he coined as “dynamation” where puppets were animated on a stage in front of a rear projection screen. He also revolutionized the art of stop motion animation by mainly focusing on the special effects end of production. This was a major feat since most monster special effects were done with people in monster suits, live action puppets or animals with limbs attached to them to look more scary. Ray Harryhausen did what no one else did and his effects looked more real, more entertaining, and more expressive to the narrative than any other special effects artist in the business.
This retrospective is to be a major event that will celebrate the life and career of the most influential master of both special effects and animation in the world. The items on display will be pooled from a collection of 50,000 items cared for by the Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation. The foundation was set up by Harryhausen in 1986 to preserve the work and legacy of this unforgettable master of the arts. On display the viewers will find drawings, sculptures, puppets, and armatures all designed or made by Harryhausen. It will truly be a sight to see. You can find out more about the Ray Harryhausen / 100 Years event at the National Gallery Website or on the Ray & Diana Harryhausen Foundation Website.
Checkout the Medusa Battles Scene from Rays film Clash of the Titans below:
