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About Deviant Artist Member DaVinci41Male/United States Recent Activity
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RAY HARRYHAUSEN: A SALUTE TO THE MAN WHO FATHERED A MILLION FUTURES

What can one say about the man who conjured forth a million indelible memories in the delicious cool of a million darkened movie theatres? About the man whose dreams birthed a million futures, his creations launched a thousand careers? For a man whose visions represent the power of American individualism at its finest? What words can set the record straight in a final tally and reckoning; to tie up the loose ends of things left unsaid that were too important for words?

Heady wine, that. I should know: I drank from the same cup that millions of other kids did. As Ray Harryhausen's beasts snapped and cavorted across the screen they set alight the revolutionary fire of a trillion synapses. And those fires spread beautifully: exponentially consuming vast tracts of mental acreage, clearing out the detritus of conformity and calcified thinking, until we all were set aglow with a passion for life and its kaleidoscope of possibilities.

The young and upcoming artists and makers of culture, those whose minds were delightfully warped by Ray Harryhausen's magic, affectionately dubbed him "Uncle Ray". And in a sense he was a doting uncle to the child within us all who refused to grow up and shed a vital piece of themselves amongst the graveyard of things forsaken on the road to adulthood. Like his great friend Ray Bradbury, Ray Harryhausen was a champion, a paladin, for the cause of what was best in the human race. He was an avuncular knight-errant for the cause of nurturing imagination and the courage to realize its potential.

That, I believe, is the ultimate legacy of any man: to know that his creative DNA is alive and flourishing in a million minds. We are the bastard children of Uncle Ray, every one of us. For my part, I am proud of our lineage, drawing its roots back to those flickering images of Willis O'Brien's Kong and beyond . . . . soaring past the gothic engravings of Gustave Doré on an express lane direct to the caves of Lascaux. There, the protean images flickered too, only this time by firelight in a limestone proscenium. Who would have guessed that the children of our ancient forebears would one day make their art dance with the magic of life?

Men like Ray Harryhausen did and will continue to do so. Ray is alive and well and living in all of us. Let's give Ray our thanks by never allowing the clipped, pinched minds of the naysayers to deny our celebration of creativity, imagination and courage wherever we find it. We owe Ray that debt of gratitude. He showed us the way. Now we must beat the trail. As for me, I carry my own part of that burden into the future with curiosity in my heart and an eye fixed on that far horizon.


Copyright 2013 © Curt C. Chiarelli

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~DaVinci41
Curt C. Chiarelli
Artist
United States
Curt Chiarelli has been providing design, sculpture and illustration services for the motion picture/television, toy/collectible, video game, museum exhibit and publishing industries for 25 years. A native born and bred Chicagoan, Curt began his career early at the age of 20 when he was contracted to create storyboards for the McDonald’s Corporation.

At the age of 23 and barely after receiving his B.A. in Communication Arts from Columbia College, he became this country's youngest production designer when he was hired by HBO to art direct a comedy feature," Men Will Be Boys".

From that point forward he began to receive a steady stream of commissions until his first major career breakthrough occurred in 1991 when he created the stop-motion animation model of the character, Goro for the Williams Electronics international blockbuster hit video arcade game, "Mortal Kombat".

In 1994 he left his staff position in the Exhibit Design Department at the John G. Shedd Aquarium to accept an invitation from Skellington Productions to join their team in the creation of the stop-motion animation models and effects for the feature length motion picture, "James and the Giant Peach". Noticing that his employment prospects were much enhanced and the weather far more accommodating, he decided to remain in the balmy climes of California for the next 13 years.

Since then, he has worked on such high-profile commissions as the creation of the "Halo" action figure line, collaborated with famed fantasy illustrator, Boris Vallejo on his "Mistresses of Fantasy" collectible sculpture line, the advertising campaign poster for "The Age of Empires III: The War Chiefs", theatrical masks for a collaborative effort between Cirque du Soleil Productions and illusionist, Criss Angel titled, "Believe" and seen his work featured multiple times in the yearly anthology, "Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art".

His client list includes Microsoft Corporation/Bungie Studios, Miller Brewing Company, Capital One, Gemmy Corporation, Walt Disney Productions, Universal Studios, Steve Johnson's Edge FX, Michael Curry Design, Chiodo Bros. Productions, Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment, Cartoon Network, MTV, HBO, IMAX, Lucasfilm Licensing, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros. Toys, RC 2 Corporation/JoyRide Studios, Hasbro Toys, Mattel Toys, Kenner Toys, Moore Action Collectibles, McFarlane Toys, Playing Mantis Toys, Fisher-Price Toys, Dark Horse Comics, Diamond Comics Distribution, Conte Collectibles, Franklin Mint, Noble Collection, Ashton-Drake Galleries, Illusive Concepts, 3DO/Cyclone Studios, Electronic Arts, Accolade, the John G. Shedd Aquarium, the Field Museum of Natural History and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, amongst many others.

Curt's scope of activity has recently expanded to include writing. He has written two books within the past three years: a short story collection of Lovecraftian satire ("Shoggoths & Shibboleths and Other Eldritch Tomfooleries") and a memoir of his life in the commercial art business ("Fiddling Whilst Rome Burns"). A third volume of critical essays ("On the Tumbril") and an art instructional book are currently being compiled and edited.

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:icondavinci41:
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:iconsoulbrotha:
*Soulbrotha Mar 13, 2013  Hobbyist Digital Artist
Wow, your sculptures are absolutely amazing.
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:icondavinci41:
Thank you very much! Take care.
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:iconyellowbronco:
=yellowbronco Apr 16, 2012  Student Traditional Artist
great stuff, i love it
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:icondavinci41:
Many thanks!
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:iconowlity:
Awesome works!
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