Glass Gardens

Glass Gardens is an allegory of the role creativity plays in the survival of the human spirit. It portrays a life of possibilities and rejuvenation against a backdrop of desolation and ruin. The protagonist is a woman who wanders a deserted urban landscape, gathering relics, and creating new works.

The film is a black and white cutout animation, rendered in graphite on paper, and completed in 1982. It utilizes a variety of animation techniques: cutout sequential drawings, jointed characters, drawing and erasing under the camera, replacement animation, and in-camera special effects. I wrote, drew and filmed Glass Gardens, and also built the animation stand that it was shot on. The music was composed by Laraaji, who was the sole musician featured on Brian Eno’s third ambient music album.