The Art Academy (2012)
Our feature-length documentary The Art Academy delves into the history of Memphis College of Art, highlighting its legendary faculty, iconic architecture, and long-lasting influence on generations of artists and the art world at large. Sign up for premium level membership and you’ll receive a private link to watch the director’s cut, or buy the DVD.
This special edition 2-disc DVD package includes the director’s cut plus an extended cut of the feature-length film, a behind-the-scenes profile of the animations and artwork in the film, additional archive footage from 1950s-70s, extended interviews, deleted scenes, a short festival film called “Nude Photos!” and a free digital download of the 84-minute film score composed by Paul Taylor and Steve Selvidge.
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The festival short “Nude Photos!” was created based on an excerpt from the film - the infamous kidnapping scene. Watch it here:
The Art Academy follows the improbable story of a tiny school that flourished and adapted over seven decades to become what it is today - the Memphis College of Art.
Think of it as the little art school that could. In its original incarnation, the Memphis Academy of Arts was born out of a great schism between the old Victorian style of art education and the new Modernism of the 1930s. “It was a revolution,” as former student Carroll Cloar put it.
From Mildred Hudson’s leadership during the war, to Ted Rust’s golden age, to Jeff Nesin’s expansion, the school has reinvented itself over and over again. The thread that connects the past to the present is a familial culture that embraces “the odd people out” and values a nurturing relationship between teacher and student.
Probably best known for its legendary faculty and iconic architecture, MCA has some surprises up its historical sleeve – masquerade balls, celebrity visits, indoor waterfalls, even a kidnapping. The Art Academy teases these stories out for audiences using archival footage, old and new interviews, narrative animations, and an original soundtrack by Steve Selvidge and Paul Taylor.
As appropriate for a film about an art school, the documentary features fabulous art direction by alumnus Ryan McGahan. Producer/director Joann Self Selvidge insisted on hiring MCA alumni and students to support McGahan, and the team included Matt Pierson (illustration), Kong Wee Pang (illustration), Michael Shaw (storyboards and animation), Ashley Holmes (animation), Lauren Rae Holtermann (illustration), and Dominique Pere (illustration). Thanks to sponsor archer>malmo, a large portion of the animation was developed pro bono.
Read more about The Art Academy in Memphis Magazine. Listen to interviews about the film with director Joann Self Selvidge on WKNO's Checking on the Arts in April 2012 (about the film and premiere) and September 2011 (about the Process & Preview exhibit).
THANKS to all of the donors who supported our "Step Behind the Scenes" Indiegogo campaign to produce The Art Academy DVDs. We exceeded our fundraising goal, with $3,660 in donations! DVDs were released at the MCA Holiday Bazaar on November 19, 2012.
Another fundraiser for the project was our Process & Preview Exhibit at Marshall Arts in October 2012. This exhibit featured five 20-foot projections of animations from the DVD, plus an exhibit of sketches, prints, and original illustrations that revealed how the art direction was developed for the film. Special thanks to film score composer Paul Taylor for playing live at the event, and to sponsors Another Roadside Attraction, Pinkney & Janice Herbert, and Memphis College of Art for making this event possible.
The film's premiere screening at Studio on the Square on May 2, 2012 was a success. The first show was sold out, and the audience stayed afterwards for a great Q & A session with producer/director Joann Self Selvidge and a dozen members of the post-production crew. The second show was also packed, and there was a second Q & A that lasted past midnight!
Special thanks to all who attended the premiere and exhibition of illustrations by Matt Pierson that were created for the film. Congratulations to the bidders who won these fabulous works of art!
