Pictures At An Exhibition

Co-creative direction, high-resolution artwork photography, and animation.

Concept & Execution

Pictures at an Exhibition was an experimental collaboration with visual artist Paula Arciniega, created for the premiere of her fifteen-painting cycle inspired by Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.

Paula’s paintings were created as a visual response to the music, reflecting the score back into image. Our role was to take that idea one step further by bringing selected paintings into motion.

Lily Todorov and I photographed all fifteen paintings using a Fujifilm GFX II, producing ultra-high-resolution source images. From there, Lily painstakingly separated the artwork into as many as 200 individual pieces digitally while filling in missing details, creating the layered files needed for animation.

We originally planned a lighter treatment, animating all 15 paintings, but after showing Paula what was possible, she encouraged us to go deeper. We spent months developing two animated pieces, using detailed hand animation in After Effects.

Our animation opened the evening, playing on projection as the hall filled before the performance and again during the reception. The final work became part of a larger immersive presentation that combined Paula’s paintings, live brass performance, projection, and audience experience.

Project Promotion

I also edited a short promotional piece showing how Paula’s paintings and animated works could be brought into future performances, exhibitions, and live presentations.

Credits

Creative Direction: Lily Todorov & Marcel Canzona
Animation: Marcel Canzona
Design: Lily Todorov
Artwork: Paula Arciniega
Producer: Matthew Brooks
Music: Modest Mussorgsky, performed and recorded by Canadian National Brass Project
Premiere Performance: Hannaford Street Silver Band