CLOSED MONDAYS (1974)

CLOSED MONDAYS
Directed by Bob Gardiner and Will Vinton

What makes something art? What makes art good art? Does art imitate life? Does life imitate art? These are questions that won't be answered soon. “Closed Mondays” is a claymation short that attempts to weigh in. It's about a drunk man who breaks into an art museum on Monday, the day that it is closed. He stumbles around and looks at all of the exhibits, appraising them with the wit and spirit that lives at the bottom of a bottle. Most of the modern art he doesn't understand, and therefore hates. One sculpture he describes as a “crazy computer”. But then there is one painting that touches his soul.

We all have our favorite things in the art world. Sometimes other people's favorites may be garbage to us. The value of art is in constant flux. It is totally dependent on the person viewing it at any given second.

Having said that, I'll say now that I didn't really like “Closed Mondays”. The animation was sloppy and the characters a bit grotesque. The main character of the drunk man was unsympathetic. There was one touching moment, but overall the film left me feeling flat.

Despite my dislike, “Closed Mondays” won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short and is considered by many to be a masterpiece of animation. Will Vinton would go on to more commercial projects, including creating the California Raisins. Bob Gardiner continued in relative obscurity. This was the only film he ever directed. Other nominees for the award were “The Family That Dwelt Apart”, “Hunger”, “Voyage to Next”, and “Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too!”.

This review was written on June 11, 2008