Ian Emes (British, Born 1949) 'Speak To Me - I've Been Mad For Fucking Years', A Multi-Cel Set U...

Ian Emes (British, Born 1949)
'Speak To Me - I've Been Mad For Fucking Years', A Multi-Cel Set Up for 'The Dark Side Of The Moon', 1974
an original animation cel comprising two cel set-up, gouache on celluloid, depicting the album cover's iconic prism, against a black background in mount and framed, accompanied by a letter from the artist
32 x 25.5cm (12 1/2 x 10in)
Footnotes:
Provenance
Offered directly by the artist.
Inspired by and created for Pink Floyd's World Tour of their landmark album The Dark Side Of The Moon. Made for projection onto the famous circular screen, aka 'Mr Screen', for the track Speak To Me.

In July 1971 Ian Emes graduated with First Class Honours in Fine Art at Birmingham College of Art. While having no interest in animation, when he saw the Beatles' film Yellow Submarine and the Slit Scan sequence in Kubrick's 2001:A Space Odyssey, he was transformed and saw the unlimited scope that the medium offered. This coincided with another significant event in his life.

Attending a party, Emes was enveloped by the pall of drug-related smoke in the air. Pink Floyd's album Meddle was playing at full volume and the track One Of These Days in particular, sparked an intense vision of a film. He immediately drafted a storyboard of the dream-like images he had imagined in his hallucinatory state.

Over the next six months Emes set about creating an animated film called French Windows, without guidance and devising his own techniques. It was a technically ambitious project and he produced 5,640 drawings which were traced onto celluloid sheets and painted. He then spent a further two months filming frame by frame. Running the processed film on a 16mm picture synchroniser alongside a magnetic track of One Of These Days, he could hardly comprehend the film that he had produced - but the ground was laid for a lifelong career as an animator.

In 1973 Emes moved to work in London. Meanwhile French Windows began garnering awards. It was also shown on BBC TV's flagship rock programme The Old Grey Whistle Test, where it was seen by Pink Floyd's Rick Wright. The next day Emes was contacted by the band's manager, Steve O'Rauk, who said that they wanted to see the film. Emes initially thought he was in trouble for using their music without permission. He booked a preview theatre in London's Soho and waited for the band to arrive.

Writing in February 2023, Emes described the meeting: 'On time, one by one, the Pink Floyd members trooped into the theatre and sat beside me. A naive 24 year-old with no experience in the music industry, I was terrified. These musicians were my Gods. The lights dimmed and French Windows played in perfect sync to One of These Days . David Gilmour drummed his fingers on the armrest and three minutes into the film he paused and whispered, 'Did you cut out some of the music?' I had in fact edited 30 seconds out of a repeating riff thus reducing a five-minute track to 4 1/2 and saving an additional two months of drawing. The edit was undetectable to most but not Gilmour. Now I was certain that I was in trouble. The band thanked me politely and departed without saying another word. The next day I received a call from O'Rauk – Pink Floyd wanted me to animate their album, The Dark Side Of The Moon.'

Three of the band's members were former architecture students and Emes believes this is one of the reasons they responded to the flowing spatial structures of his animation. His work also provided a way to replace lighting effects with moving images that were synchronised to the music, thus making a statement, albeit enigmatic. It allowed for unlimited imagery and avoided a human element because it was the band's remit to remain enigmatic. Pink Floyd were reluctant celebrities and preferred anonymity.

Emes was given carte blanche with the project. His storyboards visualised the entire album, with sequences for all tracks. In a tiny studio and with three assistants, frame by frame he animated the clock sequences for Time, which were formatted for 'Mr. Screen', the now-iconic circular screen used by the band in their live shows.

The Time animation was first shown at the band's performance at the Empire Pool, Wembley in November 1974. Together with VIPs including Paul McCartney and Mike Oldfield, Emes watched the show, which dazzled the audience with its combination of incredible music and futuristic visuals. This was a first in the history of rock concerts and a precursor of today's immersive experiences.

While Pink Floyd were on tour, Emes expanded his team and worked around the clock on his animation. When the band returned he screened the completed animation and Roger Waters remarked: 'You have made your own film on our money.' Not exactly a stamp of approval but Roger then proffered some of his own ideas for sequences. He had realised the potential of animation, which would become the medium of choice for his spectacular solo concerts. Pink Floyd continued to use Emes' footage for the next fifty years and his animation has become intrinsic to the band's legacy.

Released in March 1973, the statistics for The Dark Side Of The Moon are impressive. These include: Third equal on the list of best-selling albums of all time; Billboard album chart for 736 consecutive weeks (March '73-July '88); in 2006, combined total of 1,716 weeks on Billboard 200 and Pop Catalog charts; in 1998 certified x15 platinum in the US; certified x14 platinum in the UK; in 2017, seventh best-selling album in the UK; best-selling album of the 1970s; total worldwide sales by 2013 estimated at 45 million; 55th on Rolling Stone magazine's 2020 list of 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time; in 2012 selected for preservation in the US National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress.
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