Hi, Peter.

I greatly admire not only Aeon Flux but all the time you've taken out of your obviously busy schedule to talk to us about the show. Recently, I was visiting a friend in LA and came across his collection of Little Nemo cartoon strips and post cards. The brilliant colors, the surreal landscapes and the non-linear story lines of the script reminded me of Aeon. By any chance, was Little Nemo (and maybe even the works of contemporaries L'Autrec, Beardsley and Matisse) a source for Aeon's genesis?

Thanks

-- Joey V. (popejoan_19@yahoo.com), June 14, 2000

Answers

I have an old Nintendo game called Little Nemo. Heh. Sorry, just thought I'd share that. Carry on.

-- eskimonkey (eskimonkey@hotmail.com), June 14, 2000.

Joey, Windsor McCay's classic Little Nemo strip has been a favorite for a long time. I think for most people involved in comics and animation, Windsor McCay has exerted a great deal of influence since he was a pioneer in both fields. He was one of the first artists to use animation to tell stories and create memorable characters. Aside from Little Nemo, his creations include Gertie the Dinosaur, Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend, and the animated "documentary" the Sinking of the Lusitania. I've always admired his ability to mix surreal elements with elegance, render them in exquisite technique, and deliver the result for wide public appeal. The manner in which he used architecture and setting as an integral part of his stories is something I've learned from. I was involved, very briefly, in the development of Little Nemo for T.V. back in 1989.

As an art student, I was very fond of Toulouse-Lautrec for his ability to render characters and his expressive drawing. I'd cite his work as a source of my approach to character design.

As for Beardsley and Matisse, I've never been that fond of their art, and I'm curious how you see any connection between their work and my own. For my tastes, Beardsley's work is too decorative and precious, while Matisse's is too blunt and minimal.

-- Peter Chung (pkchung@mediaone.net), June 15, 2000.

I find any information you're willing to share regarding who inspires you to be interesting, that bit about Lautrec is good because I never took much notice of his characters. There is a book called Green Mansions in which the female character is unique, a purist who would die for her beliefs. The writing style is exceptionally beautiful. Just expressing myself here, but I would love to see you animate that. I love your creation of the character Aeon, for my money she is pretty much a literary masterpiece.

-- Barb e. (Suesuesbeo@aol.com), June 15, 2000.

You know, I have to say this to clarify myself, I once referred to Eric Canete's work as reminding me of Beardsley's, but I was not exactly expressing what I was thinking. Really, I'm sure you can't see the relation, and to you, none, but he has a way of using black and white that made me think abstractly of Beardsley, who is pretty well known for that. BTW, I notice that the cover of the Herodotus file is supposed to have been done by you, and it is really one of the best of Aeon there is, there is a beauty about it. This may be shallow of me, but I actually have always 'trusted' an artist who can render beauty, I feel, they must have a reverence in their souls, and that may be false, but I haven't been able to disprove it.

-- Barb e. (Suesuesbeo@aol.com), June 18, 2000.

Hi Peter,

Thanks for answering my questions. Sorry I'm late in writing back to you, but I've been out of town at a theatre conference, and I haven't had much access to the internet until today.

I was interested to learn of L'Autrec's influence on your works. Now that you mention it, I do see a lot of the warmth and brutal attention to detail however unflattering that detail may be in the faces and bodies of your characters. I'm sure he would be proud to notice as well. As for my observations about Mattise and Beardsley, your responses were also interesting. Although I certainly do not think your work is "minimalist" or "precious" in any way, your use of bright striking color (especially in "Reraizure") remind me very much of the Fauves' work. Further, your character design also reminds me of Beardsley, but not in a negative way. While Beardsley often fell into the trap of ornamentation for it's own sake (along with most of the other Decadent artists of his time), I see in your work a streamlining and a reimagining of Beardsley's character design. Beardsley often showed all sides of human nature, from the frivolous (like his illustrations for LYSISTRATA) to the grotesque in the faces and postures of his people. In fact, some of his more surreal drawings (such as his work for Wilde's SALOME) remind me of the dream-like rapidly shifting realities of AEON FLUX (but I must say your treatment of sexuality in Aeon Flux is superior to Beardsley's rather excessive fantasies). Further, your treatment of character lines, their anatomy and facial expressions seem to me very Beardslyesque. Now that I think of it, Trevor resembles one of Beardsley's less caricatured self- portraits. They both have the same slender heads and gaunt features.

But of course this is just one woman's opinion...

Thanks

-- Joey V. (popejoan_19@yahoo.com), June 21, 2000.

Little nemo? is awesome i think the whole idea is geius i love the comic strips and the game also i have seen his other kinds of work with the movie and several others also i like his series of books theyre all fantastc some hoe i got involved with little nemo and i find this a nice thing to know that im not the only one that also like his work great!

-- Michael Dave Kromer (zx20nightvision@hotmail.com), January 01, 2003.