For a certain generation of people, the name Ray Harryhausen is synonymous with myths and legends with the mere mention of his name conjuring up images of wonderful and fantastical creatures. Harryhausen was a legend, a genius, an artist, a filmmaker, a magician, but- more than all of that- he was an inspiration. His work inspired many generations of filmmakers including such luminaries as James Cameron and Steven Spielberg. Harryhausen showed us that even as adults, we could play with monsters and get away with it through his use of 'Dynamation' (a process of stop motion using silicon figures, a process he helped create). It was this technique he used to create such matinee classics as 'Jason and the Argonauts,’ 'Clash of the Titans' and various Sinbad films.
I’d seen quite a bit of Harryhausen’s work at the Into The Unknown exhibition at the Barbican in 2017 where he had quite a large presence. A lot of his models were on show and, considering some are over 60 years old, were in remarkably good condition. The maquettes, original sketches and story boards provided a treasure trove of information and shone a light into his process, however the worry was that with no permanent exhibition space dedicated to his work the pieces would deteriorate or be sold off to individual collectors, lost forever into that often exclusive and secretive market.
So, it was with great surprise and joy that I saw that Harryhausen’s work was being exhibited at the National Galleries Scotland. Being unable to make my way to Scotland, I thought I’d support the gallery by purchasing a virtual exhibition ticket at £10. It wouldn’t be the same as being there in person of course but I thought it’d be better than not seeing the show at all. And so I dived in…
Well, the ticket buying process is easy as, once you order a ticket, you are sent an e-mail within the hour. The e-mail sends you a link to a page and, once you’ve typed in your e-mail and password, you’re in.
The virtual exhibition is broken down into 5 sections:
King Kong and the Early Years- This talks about the formative experiences of a young Harryhausen and his love of King Kong, which he watched 31 times in that year and noted in a shared diary page. The lobby cards and press release of the film are presented as collages of the actresses Fay Wray and Marie Wilson. The preparatory drawings and sketches, influenced by the artist Gustav Doré are shown and are stunningly dramatic and cinematic. A beautifully shot 7 minute short video talks about this period of his life. There is also a 6 minute montage of his early film-making experiments including Cave Bear, (1935) and Evolution of the World, (1938) which are excellent additions that must be seen by Harryhausen fans as it shows the evolution of this art form and artist.
Bringing Imagination to Life- This looks at the period where Harryhausen created a series of 5 fairy tales and experimented with his model-making process. There are 3 videos including a montage of these fairy tales and a clip from the 2011 documentary Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan. The fluidity of movement in these Mother Goose stories shows a true artist honing his craft. In this part of the exhibition, we also see the sketches, model and test footage for his unrealised project, an adaptation of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds.
Dynamation: Making Movie Miracles- The 1940s were a time of great change in Hollywood and as the industry changed the creature feature boom began. This played to Harryhausen’s strength as he let his imagination fly with these ‘Monster on the rampage’ movies. What we see in this part of the exhibition is the evolution of these Harryhausen films. The first of these was The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953), the success of which contributed to the wave of spectacle and destruction films, including It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955), Earth vs the Flying Saucers (1956), 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957), Mysterious Island (1961), First Men in the Moon (1964), One Million Years B.C. (1966) and The Valley of Gwangi (1969). This area of the exhibition presents his sketches, models, posters and trailers of these films as well as a short but informative explanation of the process of Dynamation.
Creatures of Legend- This looks at the later period of Harryhausen’s life where he focussed on mythological stories including the Sinbad trilogy; The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973) and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977). Also discussed and exhibited are artefacts from Jason and the Argonauts (1963) and Clash of the Titans (1981).
A Life in Objects- This is a wonderful bookend to this exhibition as it features his daughter talking about her father away from film. It explains that, being a child of the Depression era, Harryhausen was a hoarder but we are lucky as most of his life’s work has survived.
This is the first time I’d ever experienced an online exhibition and I have to say that I loved it. I enjoyed the way the exhibition was curated and the accompanying notes were thoughtful, discussing the films but also some of the more problematic elements such as orientalism, ‘brownface’ and the legacy of colonialism. The films were of their time and are still wonderful to watch but I appreciate how it does re-contextualise what was considered the ‘norm’ for the time.
As for the technology- it works! Of course, it doesn’t beat the in-person live experience but this is a great alternative to ‘see’ exhibitions which may not be readily accessible due to location or cost. I hope this leads the way across the world as there are many more exhibitions that I’d love to experience but won’t be able to but this would make it feasible.
LINK- Into The Unknown Exhibition Review
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LINK- The Future Starts Here: An Optimistic Guide to What Comes Next- Book Review