We recently teamed up with Pixar and Disney Fine Art to bring you the Pixar Art Collection at Gallery Nucleus, featuring spectacular art from amazing Pixar artists. We attended the opening night reception, which included a first look at the art, live Pixar music, and a meet and greet with two Pixar artists who were on hand to autograph and draw for fans. We were lucky enough to be able to sit down with these two artists, Steve Pilcher and Dominique R. Louis, and talk all things Pixar. First, let’s meet the artists and their art:
Dominique R. Louis is originally from Burgundy, France and was the development art director on Ratatouille, the art director on Monsters, Inc., and did visual development work on Finding Nemo and UP. Fun fact, he’s also the voice of Bomb Voyage in The Incredibles! Here is his piece at Gallery Nucleus, which is titled “Remy and Emile, Paris Morning” and is inspired by Ratatouille:
Here’s a closer look:
Steve Pilcher, who is originally from Canada, worked briefly on WALL•E before moving full time to work on Brave. He also worked on Finding Dory. His art is titled “Ice Cave” and is inspired by Brave:
And a closer look:
Here are a few things we learned from Louis and Pilcher, about their amazing art and the films of Pixar:
1. Yes, working at Pixar is amazing.
When Louis landed the art director job on Ratatouille, he moved to work on the Pixar campus and said “it was like a dream.” We can only imagine how amazing that moment would be!
2. Field trips are important.
When working on Ratatouille, Louis and his team went to Paris for a week to research and he told us that “you get the vibes of the place and you bring that back … you feel it and you connect with it … [it’s] very, very important.” Of course, Louis grew up around Paris, so he knew the area well and said,”It was great to share my country with everybody on the show and it was an interesting thing to project the culture of my country, something that is very dear, into a … fantasy take on that culture. I think the film is really something pretty authentic but mixed with something very sweet.” He also said: “I absolutely love Paris, I lived there for 6 years. I miss it. I wish I would have a Monsters, Inc. door where I can go travel to Paris whenever I like.” We love that! We wish we could have a Monsters, Inc. door to Paris too!
Similarly, Pilcher took a trip with his team to Scotland for ten days during the making of Brave and said, “It was beautiful. When you go to these places … those emotional connections that you feel when you’re there, you bring back, and you infuse the work.”
We can absolutely see the emotional connections each of these artists made in both films, and in their art!
3. Emotions are everything.
Speaking of emotions, they are important (as Inside Out also proves.) Pilcher said, “You have to be emotionally engaged, because that’s what really comes through in the work.” When asked about his portrait of Merida that is on display in the Pixar Art Collection, Pilcher described the emotion behind it as follows: “It’s a portrait of Merida in a cave … but it’s more of a portrait of the personality—so she’s very brave in a sense. She’s going into this cave and you feel that there’s something ominous in that cave ’cause she has her sword at ready, yet she’s dressed in a dress and a cloak and she doesn’t look like she’s going to be pushed over too easily … and then of course it’s winter so it’s a very cold picture and it’s somewhat impressionistic in the background, so it’s a little more fun and inspirational.”
We see Pilcher’s portrait of Merida, and feel so many emotions that we want to go on an adventure just like her, ASAP.
4. Unbelievable amounts of art go into the making of a Pixar film.
From concept to final frame, Louis says, “It’s incredible the amount of work and art that is done in those productions.” He adds, “At the very beginning of the film … you’re exploring images that provoke character and perhaps inspire the story crew to do things with the character that they may not have normally done.”
Pilcher added that, “The art that you see at the Pixar Art Collection is just a small tip of the iceberg. You’re seeing the kind of pieces that were done as inspiration or as a guide for lighting … This artwork is a little more conceptual, a little more inspirational.” Pilcher worked for 7 years on Brave and 4 years on Finding Dory.
Both Pilcher and Louis remarked on the incredible amount of time it takes to make these gorgeous films, and Louis added that “it’s very satisfying to create those designs and see them come alive on the screen.” Similarly, Pilcher said that it’s “quite a revelation when you see it.”
5. There’s magic in the process.
When asked about the creation process, Louis described it as “an illusion, it’s magic.” Pilcher added that the Pixar teams strive to “take something unbelievable and make it believable—and make it feel like it’s alive, like it exists.” And as audience members we can attest to the fact that every time we see a Pixar film, it feels very much alive, and brings us so many emotions. We felt the same when we viewed the Pixar art on display at Gallery Nucleus. As Pilcher so wonderfully stated, “Art informs story, as well as story informing art.”
You can see more of the Pixar Art Collection in our exclusive look and you can get more information about the event, which ends on January 8, 2017, by visiting Gallery Nucleus’ website.
What do you think of the Pixar Art Collection? Tell us in the comments!
