Artwork by Emerging Artist John Summerson
February 15–March 21 in the Sheetz Gallery of the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts.
Artist Bio
Summerson is an animation artist and educator. Originally from Washington state, he received his B.F.A. in animated arts from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon, in 2016 and his M.A. in documentary animation from the Royal College of Art in London in 2020.
Summerson’s work has been exhibited at international film festivals, including in Budapest, Madrid, Berlin, London, and New York. His accolades include the Grand Prize at the LG Art of the Pixel competition, the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Educator’s Forum Scholarship, and the Princess Grace Undergraduate Film Scholarship. In his commercial practice as an animation artist and director, he has worked with clients that include Cartoon Network, the Oregon Symphony, LEGO, ViiV, and Aesop Rock.
Summerson has taught animation at the undergraduate and master levels, with the Portland Museum of Art, and for a youth detention facility.
He lives in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, where he continues his role as the director of animation for the upcoming animated documentary film Pour the Water as I Leave.
Artist Statement
Using animation, Summerson unsettles the notion of “telling true stories” by making visible the blurriness and friction between invented images and facts. Combining stop motion, digital, and hand-drawn animation with video and experimental reportage practices, his multi-media practice is a site for processing significant personal experiences, such as grief, impermanence, and familial relationships. Summerson is currently building a body of research for a new film investigating disability, precarity, and the U.S. healthcare system.
Checklist
- Trimmed and Decorated Februario Tree, 2024
Tree, biscuits, beer
26” x 26” x 18” - Frames and reference from Road Trip, 2013
Pen, paper
8.5” x 11” - Frames and reference from Deers, 2015
Pen, paper
8.5” x 11” - Frames from three films: Road Trip (2013), Composing (2014), Deers (2015)
Pen, pencil, paper
8.5” x 11” - Films screening (in order):
- Deers, 2015
- Speculative Spokane Valley, 2018
- Some of the Bad Men in My Family, 2019
- Fifteen-Two, 2019
- Suburban Girl, 2022
- Road Trip, 2013
- Feburarium!!, 2020
- Painting from Life, 2014