Recognized Bass – An Interview With Armel Oenn

Website design By BotEap.com“Know your worth because schools don’t teach artists what they’re worth. Most clients will take advantage of younger artists because they don’t understand how they get paid. If you’re going to work for free, work for yourself: this is a most gratifying exhibition”. – Armel Oenn, November 10, 2017

Website design By BotEap.comMy memory is vague and it has taken some time to really collect all the details about how I first came across Armel’s work. I remember browsing through the art on Deviantart and discovering the full “Undertale Reset” comic (what was completed) while at work on a slow day. It was magnificent. The sepia tones, his understanding of lighting and the overall artistry of the figures was captivating. It was the colors that really inspired me. Even to the point of visually studying his work to try to understand what he was doing. Compiling my own understanding of other Adobe software in an attempt to replicate it. His illustrations immediately appealed to me, and my search for further understanding eventually led me to his official website. At that time there were school projects coming up and I had to find someone I liked, to pair with another illustrator for our assignment, so I thought “why not?”

Website design By BotEap.comPart of the many activities that I enjoy is research. I am driven by raw emotion when I encounter something new that I don’t understand or know enough about. I had a similar reaction when I started the Armel writing assignment. I searched every corner of the internet to find everything I could. In that search I came across a handful of works that I would like to discuss. Since I adore all of Armel’s art, my personal favorite would have to be “You’ll Be a Man.”

Website design By BotEap.com“You Will Be A Man” is a short film created by Armel Oenn, it is his French thesis project that was produced using the traditional animation studio production method. This video is his only animated project (animated storyboard) and was made in 2012. He had the help of Cécile MARIAN and Victor CHEA as voice actors and Mathieu DAHAN as main musical composer. His story is set in a world where society has been devastated by cloned machines that look like humanoids. These new humanoids are in quarantine from the rest of humanity and anyone who escapes is often dealt with one way or another.

Website design By BotEap.comThe focus of the story’s center is drawn to a gang of friends at this strange time fantasizing about the glories of war. Not being able to understand French, most of the details are vague, but despite this, Armel’s animations manage to convey the story even with the language barrier. The most sinister thing about these friends was their clear cruelty towards any of the machines that managed to escape from confinement. This story, as an honest statement, generated emotions of anxiety and guilt after viewing it. I remember boiling with rage when the injustices were committed. I remember the despair that sank in when there was no resolution after these events. That left powerful emotions inside me, and they reverberated for a handful of days when my mind would go back to those scenes. I didn’t know how to handle it. I am used to a society where there is often a happy ending and where justice tends to be done to those who deserve it. Seeing that girl die and knowing the guilt Jasper felt after the course of action he took to save his own life. I was depressed by the whole situation and reminded me of my own unresolved faults and injustices. The story spoke to humanity and truly revealed our imperfections. The machines in history were more human than humans themselves. Despite these raw emotions, I loved the storytelling. I loved that it brought out so much of me, it made me feel and it didn’t disappoint me like many of the stories today. My research on Armel did not stop there. Finding that story was just the beginning, and from that moment on I found myself inspired and captivated. Not only of his works, but with the artist himself.

Website design By BotEap.comArmel Oenn was born in 1987 in France, set in a family that only wanted the best for their daughter and her future. Seeing that at a very young age he had developed exceptional talent in the arts, they gave it to his grandfather in the hope that his talent would grow. For two years, her grandfather instructed and trained her in the basics of art. It was an experience of mixed feelings, as the artist reflects that her grandfather was not a skilled pedagogue, which eventually led to a hatred of colors and painting or anything of the sort and developed a fondness for pencil drawing and anatomy. One afternoon, after two years in her care, she informed him that she could teach him nothing more. She had progressed beyond her experience and, from that moment on, she had to continue on her own. She dropped a mound of books and studies, which had previously belonged to her, on the table, closing her teaching by handing him the first art book in the pile, a retrospective of the life of Leonardo Da Vinci. After that day, she devoted herself to vigorously studying this art library, to the point where the bindings on the books would come undone and the pages would come apart.

Website design By BotEap.comAt the age of 13, he fell in love with the idea of ​​creating stories. She generating more than 100 stories in a year. Sharing with close friends who supported her through various difficulties at school and pushed Armel to create as much as possible. As the years passed and her friendship grew, the moment of her reception became a storytelling moment, in which she would walk across the yard, telling her friends about the next episode they had had. created. One day, while she was describing the ending of her last story, she noticed a sniffing sound. She turned to find that her friends were moved and some were even crying. The story she had told them had drawn emotion from them, a feeling that filled her with joy. Armel knew from that moment that getting emotion out of the audience would be her goal. Seeing another person react to her work, to the story she created, was her wish in her life. She wanted to make people feel. This passion jumped into various mediums even though art was her most well-versed skill. She experimented with film, writing, comics, and just about any other method she could discover that would allow her to share her own story. She believed that the comics would not be enough to show everything that she wanted to give. It was a slow and rigorous process and she hoped that perhaps through the film she would be able to share her stories at a faster pace. She now comments that this is not the case and that it is just as slow, if not slower.

Website design By BotEap.comThrough several arguments with his family related to his change of media and fearing that he would stop making art, Armel tried to bend to their wishes in order to appease them. Eventually, through a chat with an instructor, he realized there was a solution to his problem: animation. With his family relieved and the oppression lifted, Armel found his passion once more. Delving into contest after contest to apply to schools in France, she was finally accepted into ENSAD (Paris National Superior School of Decorative Arts) and graduated with a Master of Fine Arts and Animation.

Website design By BotEap.comIt is considered one of the highest ranking schools in its district and out of 6000 contestants, only 80 students are accepted each year. However, it should be noted that ENSAD’s concept of art is very different from what we might expect from an art school. In the US, we emphasize technical skill and an understanding of the fundamentals. But in that school, his art was subjective and conceptual. One of Armel’s instructors pointed out that he may have graduated with them, but that he did not learn his skills from the university itself, but from outside influence. During her third year of college, she was awarded a scholarship to be sent abroad to New York. Her work was so praised and sought after that the head instructor in the animation department sent a referral for her to skip a year and study at SVA. Even introducing him to a Pixar man who, with great sadness, didn’t deliver due to technical difficulties. There were complications to her stay at SVA due to lack of funds and the school’s problem with her missing a year. The agreement to allow her to stay concluded with her studying during the summer and fall semester, and she graduating from New York, which she did, as well as being named to the Dean’s List for high academic achievement.

Website design By BotEap.comArmel went on to do much more, including working as an advertising illustrator and animator for Intel and Samsung, or assisting animator Bill Plympton on his latest feature film “Revengeance.” One of his greatest achievements was seeing his short film “4 O’clock” awarded the Best Animated Short Film Award at both the Toulouse “Imagine Now” Festival 2010 and The Barcelona Planet Film Festival 2017. Along with those awards, his short has screened several festivals over the past two years and was recently added to the HEWES Pictures agency library in New York for a 4-year nationwide distribution license.

Website design By BotEap.comHowever, in recent events, Armel has experienced some conflict during his last four years in the US It is a struggle to find money and a fight to survive in what we all know as the country of the American dream. Our home was a place where anyone could cross our borders and find the future they wanted. But this is a long journey of hardship and determination. The hopes and dreams of people who come to the United States, those who are sincere in their intentions, can find it difficult to maintain a solid foundation.

Website design By BotEap.comFor Armel it has been a constant battle. After being fired from her, following the merger of the agency that employed her, she continues to fight for her right to remain in the US, obtaining an exceptional ability visa, building her own studio to maintain the sleep. She fighting every obstacle that she stumbled upon. But she is hopeful that she will get through it all, no matter what comes her way.

Website design By BotEap.comArmel Oenn is in dire need of support. She is an admirable woman. For what she’s worth. I find her little recognized, people really need to know more about her. Her story, what she wants to share, and most importantly, her indomitable spirit and courage. She has been given the short end of the stick at all times, and despite these shortcomings, she Armel has not allowed herself to succumb entirely to the iron fist of social opinion, politics, and cruelty. She is an inspiration. My inspiration and I want to own that fire that she has because she is unstoppable.

Website design By BotEap.comHaving the strength to contact her in the first place was the most stressful experience of my life. I really felt honored not only by her exceptional abilities as an artist but as a person as a whole. However, the moment I began my interview with her opened up a whole new world of thought and conversation. It was no longer an interview at that point for me, it was a gift that kept on giving me. Her advice flowed freely, much like that of an American illustrator known as Al Parker. People described Al Parker’s generosity so lovingly and they both share that grace. I felt the pain of her during the conversations of her past and the emotions of joy when there was a success in her life. I sincerely wish to support and follow her at every step of her career. I know that I have repeated it more than once, but I do it because I want to emphasize it. I’m inspired.

Website design By BotEap.comI see an exceptional artist, and I know there are many of you who see the same thing. The best thing we can do for Armel right now is to support her and show others who don’t know her just how much she’s worth. I want to help her stay in the United States and I want her dreams to come true. Let’s rally for her and give her the support she needs from her.