Art Exhibit Brings Dinosaurs Back to Life

The artwork of renowned paleoartists is on display at the College of

Veterinary Medicine through May.

The college, in cooperation with the Society of Vertebrate

Paleontology, is presenting the exhibit, entitled: “”Prehistoric Animals:

The Art and Science.”” This exhibit is the third to be showcased in the

college’s atrium.

The country’s top paleoartists have contributed to this exhibit,

including Larry Felder and Michael Carroll. All of the pieces reflect the

rich history of dinosaurs in art and portray prehistoric animals engaging

in life-like behavior. In addition to the paintings, steel sculptures by

Ontario artist Larry Williams and a saber tooth tiger skeleton will be

featured in the exhibit.

Dr. Jason Anderson, an assistant professor of anatomy at WesternU

and a vertebrate paleontologist specializing in ancient amphibian

evolution, curated the show based on his own interest in paleoart.

“”Dinosaurs are so fantastically different than animals today,”” Anderson

says. “”It just sparks the imagination.””

An open house scheduled for April 10 will feature David Krentz, an

animator who has been working as a designer in the field of film and

animation for 11 years. His credits include the Disney movies “”Fantasia

2000,”” “”Treasure Planet”” and “”Dinosaur.”” He also has been sculpting and

drawing dinosaurs as a side venture for many years, and has won much

acclaim for bringing the principals of animation to the sometimes static

world of paleoart. Mr. Krentz is scheduled to speak on the design of

digitally animated characters.

Dr. Elizabeth Rega, an associate professor of anatomy at WesternU

and a frequent consultant to film studios, and Dr. Stuart Sumida, a

professor biology at California State University, San Bernardino, who

also consults with the film industry, will speak to the science behind

the art in a lecture entitled, “”Teaching an old dog new tricks: Anatomy

in traditional and computer animation.””

The exhibit runs through May 14. The lectures on April 10 are

scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. and are open to the public.