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.