Jan. 19-April 29, 2018 at the Grohmann Museum

J.J. Sedelmaier is responsible for producing some of the most groundbreaking animation in broadcast history including Saturday Night Live’s “TV Funhouse” and “The Colbert Report.”

From its very beginning, the art and craft of film animation has been as much a part of movie history as motion picture film itself. The motion picture industry had its beginning in the 1880s, but animation production actually pre-dates this launch by a half century with devices such as the Phenakistiscope (1833) and the Zoetrope (1834). These simple mechanical wonders allowed the viewer to experience moving images through the use of sequential exposure of a short series of registered drawings or even photographs.

The Grohmann Museum is privileged to offer The Art and Mechanics of Animation, from the collection of J.J. Sedelmaier Productions Inc., an animation and design studio located in White Plains, New York started by J.J. and Patrice Sedelmaier in 1990.

As the motion picture film industry advanced, so did the invention and development of animation equipment. The Art and Mechanics of Animation chronicles more than a century of the development and use of various devices and equipment key to the production of animated films from their beginning up to the 1990s. Fortunately, studios like New York’s Terrytoons and Fleischer Studios and, of course, The Walt Disney Studios, documented much of the behind the scenes activity in newsreels and promotional films. Some of these are included in this exhibition.

Join Sedelmaier at the Grohmann Museum for Gallery Night on Friday, Jan. 19 from 5 to 9 p.m.The museum will be offering free admission, and guests will enjoy a program with Sedelmaier, “Talking Animation,” at 7 p.m. The museum also will be offering free admission on Saturday, Jan. 20 from Noon to 6 p.m. during Gallery Day.

The Grohmann Museum, 1000 N. Broadway, is open to the public Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 6 p.m.; and Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults; $3 for students and seniors; free for children under 12. MSOE students (with ID), alumni, faculty and staff are admitted free.

The Grohmann Museum is home to the Man at Work collection, which comprises more than 1,300 paintings and sculptures dating from 1580 to the present. They reflect a variety of artistic styles and subjects that document the evolution of organized work: from farming and mining to trades such as glassblowing and seaweed gathering. The Grohmann Museum welcomes visitors to three floors of galleries where a core collection is displayed as well as themed exhibitions. The museum is owned by MSOE, an independent university with about 2,800 students. MSOE offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the engineering, business, mathematics and nursing fields.