That’s Not all Folks
The “Chuck Jones: Season of Creativity Exhibit” at the Great Park Gallery teaches old school animation to a new generation. The image above is an original layout drawing by Chuck Jones for his 1961 short cartoon, "Beep Prepared," graphite on 12 field animation paper. Images and photographs courtesy the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity. Looney Tunes and all related characters and elements © & tm WBEI (s21)
The city of Irvine is partnering with the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity to share Jones’s iconic animation through a summer-long art exhibition and interactive program. The community is also invited to participate in ongoing art and creativity programs featuring Jones’ world-famous cartoon characters, educational lectures, and a film series inspired by the artist’s work and legacy.
“The hope is that people get the understanding about the process of how Chuck made his cartoons,” says Craig Kausen, an Irvinite, the Chairman of the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity, and Chuck Jones’s grandson. “Visitors will be able to see very early models of how characters were developed, and see how a storyboard artist would communicate the story before any dialogue was even created. And then they can see that through the process of original layout drawings some of the greatest cartoons ever were made.”
“Chuck Jones: Season of Creativity Exhibition” is designed to explore the process of animation from script to screen through original art, writing, and other ephemera created by Jones. From now until September 12, the Great Park Gallery will host this collection featuring Jones’s iconic cartoon artistry. Guests will have the opportunity to learn how Jones helped bring some of the most famous Warner Bros. characters to life, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Marvin the Martian, Wile E. Coyote, and Road Runner.
“The whole theme of the exhibition is how to make a cartoon and step-by-step animation process,” says Robert Patrick, Director of Marketing for the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity and a close friend of the Jones family. “It's exciting to see the thought process in the artwork, and it should be to everyone that goes there. You don't get to see the working of animation very often: the guts, the blood, sweat, tears that went into producing a cartoon.”
For Jones, creating these cartoon characters was deeply personal.
“He dug deep down inside himself to find parts of himself to personify inside of each of these characters,” explains Kausen. “And I think that each of us has a bit of each of these characters in us. We dream of being as confident and successful as Bugs Bunny. We're usually not as successful as we want to be like Wile E. Coyote. I think everybody has a little avarice, like Daffy Duck. Through this exhibit, you get to know the man behind the story.”
Visit “Chuck Jones: Season of Creativity Exhibition” at the Great Park: 8000 Great Park Boulevard in Irvine.
Want to become an animator? Meet up at the Great Park Artist Studios for a morning of cartoons and drawing! Participants will learn how to draw some of Jones' world-famous cartoon characters with the guidance of teaching artists from the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity. Event includes coloring sheets and other creative opportunities. No registration is needed for this drop-in activity; available while supplies last.Bugs Bunny & Daffy Duck: Saturday, July 17, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Marvin Martian & K9: Saturday, August 21, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Wile E. Coyote & Road Runner: Saturday, September 11, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Gallery hours and a complete list of activities are available at online.