"Musique Non Stop" and "Toy Story"

The computer-generated piece "Musique Non Stop," by Rebecca Allen, shows the artist's head digitally recreated in a 1986 video.  The project made me think of the Pixar movie "Toy Story," which was released in 1995 and was the first computer-animated feature.

For those of you who have watched "Toy Story," you may have noticed that the human faces are shown very little, particularly the adults.  This is because the animators were not yet competent enough in creating human faces to feel comfortable showcasing them in a feature-length movie.  (This is also one of the reasons toys, rather than more life-like creatures, starred in this first film.)

Unlike Rebecca Allen, the animators did not use human models for the human characters.  Instead, according to Wikipedia, they used clay and computer models.  The result is a set of human characters who do not look as realistic as they could be (although not as geometric as Rebecca Allen's piece).  All the same, Pixar continually improved its technology and eventually felt confident enough to use plenty of humans in its movies, from "The Incredibles" to "Brave" to "Toy Story 3," which shows the adults much more often than what was done in the original "Toy Story."

Rebecca Allen's piece.  Not too realistic, but a fine accomplishment for 1986!

Andy's mom and Baby Molly in "Toy Story"

Molly, Andy, and Andy's mom in "Toy Story 3" (2010).  Much more lifelike!

Shanken, Edward.  Art and Electronic Media.  New York: Phaidon Press, 2014.  Print.