Bruce BickfordUntitled ( Bundt Cakes & Mercenaries ), c. 2015

Graphite, colored pencil on paper

18 x 24 in

About the artist

Born 1947, Seattle, WA Died 2019, Seattle, WA Bruce Bickford was an American artist, animator and filmmaker who produced a prodigious amount of visionary work over nearly half a century. A self-taught artist, Bickford is widely considered a pioneer and master of clay animation, having created uniquely bizarre narratives in perpetually morphing plasticine. Although primarily known for his clay and line animation, the reclusive artist spent much of his later life creating intricate paintings, drawings, graphic novels, and sculptural objects. The artist gained a fervent cult following in the 1970s for his animations for the films of Frank Zappa. His work was featured extensively in many Zappa projects, including Baby Snakes (1979), The Dub Room Special (1982), and The Amazing Mr. Bickford (1987). Subsequently, he produced his most highly regarded piece, the award-winning 1988 feature Prometheus' Garden , as well as his final film, CAS’L’ (2015). He was also the subject of an award-winning feature length documentary by Brett Ingram, Monster Road (2004). More recently, some of Bickford’s last works, as well as a sequence of never before seen animation from the 70s, appeared in Alex Winter’s documentary feature Zappa (2020).

About the artist

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