James Robbins "Bob" Gardiner (March 19, 1951 – April 21, 2005) was a multi-talented artist, painter, cartoonist, animator,
holographer, musician, storyteller, and comedy writer. He invented the stop-motion 3-D clay animation technique which his collaborator
Will Vinton
William Gale Vinton (November 17, 1947 – October 4, 2018) was an American animator and filmmaker. Vinton was best known for his Claymation work, alongside creating iconic characters such as The California Raisins. He won an Oscar for his work a ...
would later market as
Claymation
Clay animation or claymation, sometimes plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay.
Tra ...
, although Bob preferred the term ''Sculptimation'' for his frame-by-frame method of sculpting
plasticine
Plasticine is a putty-like modelling material made from calcium salts, petroleum jelly and aliphatic acids. Though originally a brand name for the British version of the product, it is now applied generically in English as a product categor ...
clay characters and sets.
He and Vinton shared the 1974
Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film
The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year ...
for ''Closed Mondays''. The film was preserved by the
Academy Film Archive
The Academy Film Archive is part of the Academy Foundation, established in 1944 with the purpose of organizing and overseeing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ educational and cultural activities, including the preservation of m ...
in 2012.
Gardiner took his own life on April 21, 2005, while living at the Everhart Hotel in downtown Grass Valley.
Filmography
* ''Closed Mondays'' (1974), writer, art direction, and sculptimation
* ''Mountain Music'' (1975), art direction and sculptimation (uncredited)
Graphic art
Accolades
Gardiner and Vinton won the
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology), ...
for Best Animated Short in
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
for ''
Closed Mondays
''Closed Mondays'' is an eight-minute clay animation film, created by Bob Gardiner and filmed by Will Vinton in 1974. It was produced by Lighthouse Productions, released by Pyramid Films in the United States, and won the Academy Award for Best ...
'' (1974).
Short Film Winners: 1975 Oscars
/ref>
See also
*''Closed Mondays
''Closed Mondays'' is an eight-minute clay animation film, created by Bob Gardiner and filmed by Will Vinton in 1974. It was produced by Lighthouse Productions, released by Pyramid Films in the United States, and won the Academy Award for Best ...
'' (2012)
References
External links
Bob Gardiner
at Internet Movie Database
*
Rolling Stone Magazine: The 10th Anniversary
' (1977), Main Title Animation of The Rubinoos
The Rubinoos are an American power pop band that formed in 1970 in Berkeley, California. They are perhaps best known for their singles "I Think We're Alone Now" (1977, a cover of the hit by Tommy James & the Shondells), "I Wanna Be Your Boyfrien ...
, at Internet Movie Database
*
Rolling Stone Magazine: The 10th Anniversary
' (1977) on YouTube
*
Mountain Music
' (1975) on YouTube
*
Mountain Music
' (1975) on IMDB
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardiner, Bob
1951 births
2005 deaths
People from Torrance, California
American animators
Clay animators
Producers who won the Best Animated Short Academy Award
Directors of Best Animated Short Academy Award winners