Frédéric Back (April 8, 1924 – December 24, 2013) was a Canadian

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

and

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

of short animated films.John L. Kennedy and Eugene Walz
"Frédéric Back"
. ''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

'', November 4, 2007. During a long career with

Radio-Canada Radio-Canada may refer to: * CBC/Radio-Canada, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation *Ici Radio-Canada Télé, the CBC's main French-language television network *Ici Radio-Canada Première Ici Radio-Canada Première (formerly Première Chaîne) i ...

, the French-language service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, he was nominated for four

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

, winning two, for his 1981 film '' Crac'' and the 1987 film ''

The Man Who Planted Trees ''The Man Who Planted Trees'' (French title: ''L'homme qui plantait des arbres''), also known as The Story of Elzéard Bouffier, is an Allegory, allegorical tale by French author Jean Giono, published in 1953. It tells the story of one shepherd' ...

''.

Biography

Born in

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commerci ...

, The Territory of the Saar Basin, and raised in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

, Back's family moved to Paris at the start of the Second World War. Back studied art, first at the École Estienne and then at École régionale des beaux-arts de Rennes. Back's first exhibition took place at the Salon de la Marine in 1946. Back emigrated to Canada in 1948, at the invitation of a pen pal, Ghylaine Paquin, who would become Back's wife the following year. Prior to joining the CBC, he taught at the

École des beaux-arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

. In 1952, Back was hired by Radio-Canada to create titles for its television programs, and remained there the rest of his career. Back also provided artwork for

Denys Arcand Georges-Henri Denys Arcand (; born June 25, 1941) is a Canadian filmmaker. During his four decades career, he became one of the most internationally-recognized director from Quebec, earning widespread acclaim and numerous accolades for his "inten ...

's 1964

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

short documentary ''Samuel de Champlain (Québec 1603)''. Back created a massive stained glass mural entitled ' ("history of music in Montreal") at the Place-des-Arts

Metro station A metro station or subway station is a train station for a rapid transit system, which as a whole is usually called a "metro" or "subway". A station provides a means for passengers to purchase tickets, board trains, and evacuate the syste ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. Unveiled on December 20, 1967, this stained glass was the first work of art to be commissioned for the Montreal metro system. Back was nominated for a 1989 Governor General's Award in the Children's Literature – Illustration category for ''L'Homme qui plantait des arbres''. In 1989, he was made a Knight of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec ( French: ), also known as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governor Jean-Pierre Côté granted royal assent to the (Natio ...

. In 1990, he was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. Back was awarded a

Governor General's Performing Arts Award The Governor General's Performing Arts Awards are an annual Canadian award, presented to honour distinguished achievements in Canadian performing arts and culture. Administered by the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Foundation in associ ...

for Lifetime Artistic Achievement, Canada's foremost distinction in the performing arts, in 1994. In 2004, he was awarded the Eco-Hero Media Award from the Planet in Focus film festival. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Festival of Animated Film -

Animafest Zagreb World Festival of Animated Film Zagreb (), best known as Animafest Zagreb, is a film festival entirely dedicated to Animation, animated film held annually in Zagreb, Croatia. Initiated by the International Animated Film Association (ASIFA), the e ...

in 2010. Back died of cancer in Montreal on December 24, 2013.

Animal rights

Back was a vegetarian and animal rights activist. He often said: "Animals are my friends and I do not eat my friends". He gave conferences on the subject and participated in demonstrations to support animal rights. Back founded "Société Québécoise pour la Défense des Animaux", a society to protect animals.

Film work

In 1980, Back was nominated for an

Academy Award for 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 1 ...

for his film '' All Nothing (Tout rien)''. He later won two Academy Awards for Animated Short Film, for his film '' Crac!'' in 1982 and ''

(L'homme qui plantait des arbres)'' in 1987. In 1994, he was nominated again for an Academy Award for Animated Short Film, for his film '' The Mighty River (Le fleuve aux grandes eaux)''. The moving image collection of Frédéric Back is held at the Academy Film Archive.

Legacy

In 2017, Montreal inaugurated the large metropolitan Frédéric-Back Park, named after the artist.

References

Sources

* Olivier Cotte (2007). ''Secrets of Oscar-winning animation: Behind the scenes of 13 classic short animations''. Focal Press.

External links

Frédéric Back, agir ensemble , caring together
(official site) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Back, Frederic 1924 births 2013 deaths Directors of Best Animated Short Academy Award winners Canadian animated film directors German emigrants to Canada Knights of the National Order of Quebec People from Saarbrücken Officers of the Order of Canada Film directors from Montreal Deaths from cancer in Quebec Canadian Broadcasting Corporation people Academic staff of the École des beaux-arts de Montréal Prix Albert-Tessier winners Producers who won the Best Animated Short Academy Award German expatriates in France Governor General's Award winners