Emma Yogan
Staff Writer
The American Museum of Ceramic Art in Pomona has a current exhibit of numerous artists’ stop-motion clay short films.
Among the artists featured are Barnaby Barford with the piece called “Damaged Goods” and Megumi Naitoh with the piece “Yellow Clay.”
Creating stop-motion films can take months and sometimes years, however the film might only last a few minutes. The artists featured at the “Clay in Motion” art exhibit had to meticulously move clay frame by frame to create a stop-motion short film.
The exhibit is set in the Igal and Diane Silber Vault Gallery inside the AMOCA building, making the exhibit feel personable, intimate and secluded from the rest of the exhibits in the building. Inside was a display of work being shown and a small television showcasing all of the short films.
The films ran consecutively for about an hour, while people came and went. Two frequent visitors of AMOCA shared their experience of the exhibit. Lauren Tju said that she comes to the museum very often, and the thing that caught her eye the most was the film because she loves stop-motion.
“I love how meticulous, slow and thoughtful everything has to be,” Tju said.
She explained how culturally important these films are to people, and just how much she appreciates the dedication.
Tju attended with her friend Austin Malone, who said that his favorite exhibit in the entire museum was not actually “Clay in Motion,” but the American history exhibit which as Malone said, portrayed very intense emotions. He also shared that it’s hard to learn about American history because a lot of it is obscured.
Many of the short films only lasted a couple of minutes at most. Each movement that was displayed on the screen was a piece of clay being molded and manipulated between many frames, resulting in what looks like movement.
One of the short films that was being shown was “Magical Cat.” Created by Scott DaRos and his wife Alexis Deprey. The film follows a purple cat who acts relatable and silly, in the hopes to make people laugh.
DaRos said that he and his wife came up with the idea of the “Magical Cat” in 2020 when everything was shut down due to COVID-19.
“We just like to make people laugh and add some lighthearted kind of off beat humor to someone’s day,” DaRos said.
When DaRos and Deprey first started, it would take them roughly a month to finish just one short film, but now that they have all of the materials made, they could most likely get one done in about two weeks if focused.
Although the “Magical Cat” has not had a new appearance in about a year, DaRos shares that he is gearing up to make another short film now featuring the “Magical Cat.”
The exhibit runs through Dec. 20.
For more information, visit amoca.org/in-the-vault/clay-in-motion.
Emma Yogan can be reached at emma.yogan@laverne.edu.
Emma Yogan is a senior communications major with a concentration in public relations. She is a member of the University of La Verne’s women’s volleyball team and a staff writer for the Campus Times.
Joseph Nocero is a senior photography major at the University of La Verne and a staff photographer for the Campus Times and photography editor for La Verne Magazine. His work can also be found at Joseph Nocero Photography.
