Ryan Larkin

Ryan Larkin (July 31, 1943 – February 14, 2007) was a Canadian animator, artist, and sculptor who rose to fame with the psychedelic Oscar-nominated short ''Walking'' (1968) and the acclaimed '' Street Musique'' (1972). He was the subject of the Oscar-winning film ''Ryan''.

Early life

Larkin had idolized his older brother, Ronald, whom he described as "the epitome of cool". In 1958, at the age of fifteen, Larkin witnessed his brother die in a boating accident and, because he had never learned to swim, was unable to save him. Larkin stated that his brother's death deeply scarred him.

Larkin attended the Art School of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts where he studied under Arthur Lismer (a member of the Group of Seven) before starting to work at the National Film Board of Canada in 1962.

Larkin was bisexual, having had sexual and romantic relationships with both women and men during his lifetime.

NFB years

At the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), Larkin learned animation techniques from the ground-breaking and award-winning animator Norman McLaren. He made two acclaimed short animated films, ''Syrinx'' (1965) and ''Cityscape'' (1966), before going on to create ''Walking'' (1969). ''Walking'' was nominated for an Academy Award in 1970 in the category ''Best Short Subject, Cartoon'', but lost to ''It's Tough to Be a Bird'' by director Ward Kimball. ''Syrinx'' won many international awards. He went on to direct the award-winning short ''Street Musique'', which premiered in 1972 and would be the last of his works, finished during his lifetime.

He also contributed art work and animation effects to NFB films including the 1974 feature ''Running Time'', directed by Mort Ransen, in which Larkin also played three bit parts.

In 1975, the NFB commissioned Larkin to create a mural for the entrance foyer at its Montreal headquarters. He delivered a piece featuring an adolescent boy with an erection, which the NFB removed from viewing.

Larkin left the NFB in 1978.

''Ryan'', the film

In later years, Larkin was plagued by a downward spiral of drug abuse, alcoholism and homelessness. By this time, estranged from his parents, he had developed a routine of spending his nights at the Old Brewery Mission, and his days panhandling at Schwartz's, eating at Mondo Frites, drinking beer at the Copacabana bar, or reading a book in the lounge at Welch's used book store. Towards the end of his life, he found himself back in the limelight when a 14-minute computer-animated documentary on his life, ''Ryan'', by Canadian animator Chris Landreth, won the Academy Award for Animated Short Film and screened to acclaim at film festivals throughout the world. ''Alter Egos'' (2004), directed by Laurence Green, is a documentary about the making of ''Ryan'' that includes interviews with both Larkin and Chris Landreth as well as with various people who knew Larkin at the peak of his own success.

Later work

As of 2002, Larkin had been working with composer Laurie Gordon of the band Chiwawa on a new animated film entitled ''Spare Change'', his first auteur film since working at the NFB. Together, they founded ''Spare Change Productions'' and sought funding for the film through Gordon's production company MusiVision. They received grants from Bravo!FACT, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and SODEC but were still short of financing. MusiVision and the National Film Board of Canada went into co-production only after Larkin's death. ''Spare Change'' premiered at the Festival du Nouveau Cinema on October 9, 2008. ''Spare Change'' features three CHIWAWA tunes for which Larkin created storyboards and animation, including ''Do It For Me'' from the 2005 release ''Bright''. A new CHIWAWA album ''Bus Stop Chinese Buffet'' will include tracks from ''Spare Change'' including ''Overcast Skies'' whose lyrics were penned by Larkin, and part of a group of Larkin poems - ''Beat Poems For Grandkids''.

MusiVision also produced the documentary film ''Ryan's Renaissance'' for CTV Television about Ryan's final years, his return to creating art, and ''Spare Change''. It was produced by Gordon and Nicola Zavaglia. Larkin, who had panhandled outside Montreal Schwartz's deli, appeared briefly in a documentary on the famous restaurant, ''Chez Schwartz'', directed by Garry Beitel.

In December 2006, Larkin created three five-second bumpers for MTV in Canada, a preview to ''Spare Change''. Each frame was hand-drawn. It was the first professional work he had executed in over 20 years. Larkin said that he had given up some bad habits, including drinking, in order to better focus on his animating career.

Death

Larkin died in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec on February 14, 2007 from lung cancer, which had spread to his brain.

See also

*History of Canadian animation

References

External links

*
Ryan Larkin at the NFB
(watch ''Street Musique'' and ''Walking'' for free)

Animation World Magazine - Last Exit on St. Laurent Street

NFB Web page for the animated short ''Ryan''

NFB Web page for the documentary ''Alter Egos''

Film Reference Library biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Larkin, Ryan
1943 births
2007 deaths
Anglophone Quebec people
Artists from Montreal
Bisexual artists
Bisexual men
Canadian animators
Canadian cartoonists
Deaths from cancer in Quebec
Deaths from lung cancer
Directors of Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners for Best Animated Short
Film directors from Montreal
LGBT animators
LGBT artists from Canada
National Film Board of Canada people
People from Saint-Hyacinthe
20th-century LGBT people