Hybridity Investigation

Hybridity is an artform in which two or more kinds of art (animation, painting, drawing, photography, etc.) are brought together in order to create a brand new type of work. An example of an artist who works with hybridity to form many contemporary pieces is Joan C. Gratz. Gratz's film titled Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase, created in 1992, features many different kinds of clay paintings being animated to mix into one another. The film won an Oscar in 1992 for its fascinating use of art-blending and, not to mention, its overall abstract ideology. Another work of clay painting animations Gratz worked on is titled Creation, based on a poem by James Weldon Johnson. This short film exhibits the story behind the creation of the world, highlighting what God wanted the earth to look like. While including a soothing voice to narrate the story of Gratz's paintings, the film also contains an overall 'blue' aesthetic which draws the audience into what is happening on screen. Both of these pieces broadcast a few elements that can be implemented into any hybrid work of art, as well as giving a name to those who work in the 'hybridity' form of film-making. 

examples from Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase

examples from Creation

What I've learned about hybridity is that it is a specific type of art form that blends two types of artwork together in order to create something new. Artists can use any type of art (for example: painting, animation, film, photography, sand drawings, etc.) to form a type of hybridity piece. I've also learned that many contemporary artists use the concept of hybridity to broadcast their creative talents and to develop a new mix of different artworks. Artists can do this action through many different mixes of media.

How I may use hybridity in my work is that I might want to combine abstract art with the process of film-making, thus creating a visionary piece of work that's deeper meaning could possibly be up to whatever the audience conveys it to be. What specifically interested me is how many combinations of artwork can be mixed to create a new work of hybridity. I think it's particularly fascinating when an artist intertwines two or more types of art that you'd never think would ever be mixed. Because of this process, an original and quite imaginative piece of work can be shown to an audience for either entertainment or for educational purposes.