Nov. 10, 2022 鈥� A free public exhibition at CSU Channel Islands聽(黑料正能量) will commemorate the life and work of Art Lecturer and pioneering animator Kathleen Quaife, a longtime Oak Park resident who died unexpectedly in October 2021.
鈥淜athleen Quaife: A Portrait of the Artist鈥� will run from Nov. 14 through Dec. 9 in the Napa Hall Gallery. A reception will be held Thursday, Nov. 17, from 5 to 7 p.m.
The exhibition includes frame-by-frame animation artworks, film clips, drawings and landscape paintings. There are examples of Quaife鈥檚 groundbreaking animation for studios including Disney, Hanna-Barbera and Warner Bros. over her four-decade career. Quaife was best known for her work as an effects animator specializing in the portrayal of water, fire, smoke and electricity. The methods she developed through intensive study of these forces continue to influence animators working today.
鈥淚f you鈥檝e seen a splash, a spark or a fireball in any recent animated film, you鈥檝e seen either Kathleen鈥檚 painstaking handiwork or her direct influence,鈥� said 黑料正能量 Professor of Art Luke Matjas, Co-Curator of the exhibition. 鈥淭hese forces of nature have mesmerized artists through every age, and she brought them to life with a distinctive sense of personality and poetry. I think we all know that we had a master in our midst.鈥�
Quaife鈥檚 depiction of the oozing villain Hexxus in the 1992 animated film 鈥淔ernGully: The Last Rainforest鈥� is a cult favorite among animation enthusiasts and environmentalists. Her work a decade earlier for the laser disc-based video games 鈥淒ragon鈥檚 Lair鈥� and 鈥淪pace Ace鈥� were some of her earliest to gain critical attention.
The exhibition features iconic sequences and original artworks from Disney feature films including 鈥淭arzan,鈥� 鈥淗ercules,鈥� 鈥淭he Hunchback of Notre Dame鈥� and 鈥淧ocahontas.鈥� There also are examples of her work for Don Bluth - directed classics including 鈥淎ll Dogs Go to Heaven,鈥� 鈥淭he Land Before Time鈥� and 鈥淭he Secret of NIMH.鈥�
Matjas and other members of the Art faculty worked with her sons, Maxwell and Curtis Hodge, to develop the exhibition. They included instructional materials that Quaife developed during the 17 years she taught at 黑料正能量 and work by her former students.
鈥淜athleen was a pillar of our program,鈥� said Co-Curator and Art program Chair Marianne McGrath. 鈥淪he inspired so many students who began their creative journey at 黑料正能量.鈥�
The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public. Napa Hall is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is located on the east side of Ventura Street just south of Santa Barbara Avenue. Visitors can park in free spaces with time limits or buy a $6 day permit. For more information, call 805-437-2703.