Gabriel Aronson

Welcome to my blog!

2010-09-20T03:44:00.000-07:00

Hi, My name is Gabriel!

Visit my portfolio at gabrielaronson.com!

I am a freelance animator, motion designer and art director, currently based in New York. I have a BA in Scenic Design and Puppetry from Sarah Lawrence College in New York and a Graduate Diploma in Motion Graphics from Chelsea College of Art and Design. My background in theater influences my work in many different ways, particularly my enthusiasm for critical discourse and collaborative problem solving. I bring to the table a broad range of experience, and love working with creative thinkers on exciting and challenging projects.

If you would like to find out more or discuss an upcoming project, don't hesitate to contact me at

gabrielaronson@gmail.com

Here you will find a collection of my work in scenic design, motion graphics, photography, and other areas.
Click on the left-hand side to choose which category of work you'd like to view.

New Projects

2009-12-27T02:14:00.000-08:00

I'm currently working on some projects involving illustration and miniature sets.

Here's a preview:

Flashback!

2009-11-03T18:05:00.001-08:00

I was looking over my series of photos with Katie O'Sullivan, and decided to revisit some shots that didn't make it into the previous line-up.

History Channel Competition

2009-10-13T22:06:00.000-07:00

This past month I won a finalist spot in an animation competition sponsored by Aniboom and the History Channel! I was the community pick, voted to the number one spot out of about 250 entries!

My entry is below:

Watch more cool animation and creative cartoons at Aniboom

I am now working on my finalist submission for the grand prize! Below is a sneak peak at some of the scenes I'm working on.

In the Creator Spotlight!

2009-08-20T10:39:00.000-07:00

My piece Mrs. Bobbitt has been featured on Aniboom, as well as an interview with me!

Click here to read the interview and here to watch Mrs. Bobbitt on Aniboom's channel.

Theobaldgasse 7

2009-07-01T17:51:00.000-07:00

Photos from the building in Vienna where I grew up.

Storytime

2009-07-01T16:52:00.000-07:00

Plan•it

2009-07-01T15:08:00.000-07:00

This is a response to a brief that asked us to imagine a clock or ringtone for the iphone display.
My concept is an alarm clock with an interface inspired by an orrery, as well as an old alarm clock. There are virtual 'pegs' that you can move around orbits to set the time.
I liked the idea of time being represented on a continual scale, as opposed to a clock and a calendar seperately.

Pursuit

2009-07-01T15:03:00.000-07:00

A short animated piece created as a response to research I did into Fischli und Weiss.
My aim was to infuse geometric forms with personality. I suppose one might call it character animation in it's most basic form.
Visually, I was inspired by the credit sequences of Saul Bass and Maurice Binder.

My work featured in "Broadcast Now"

2009-06-28T05:18:00.000-07:00

A still and a brief description of my animation for Mitchell and Webb are featured in this article in Broadcast!

Imagine That!

2009-06-19T15:44:00.000-07:00

A piece broadcast on the Red Button at BBC 2 in conjunction with That Mitchell and Webb Look

Mrs. Bobbitt

2009-06-03T15:50:00.000-07:00

The story of Lorena and John Wayne Bobbitt in rhyme!

My Final Project for the Motion Graphics Graduate Diploma at Chelsea College of Art.
Toy Theater
Zoetrope
Thaumatrope
Jumping Jack
After Effects Animation

June 2009

The Demon Bridegroom

2009-04-22T18:47:00.001-07:00

Here are pictures of the set pieces I built last summer (2008) for Andrea Dezsö's stop-motion film The Demon Bridegroom.

We Got Time - directed by David Wilson

2009-04-17T18:24:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've updated with my own work, since most of my time is gobbled up by my course. I have, however, been involved with some very exciting projects.
Recently I helped out with a music video shoot for Moray McLaren's We Got Time directed by David Wilson of Blink Productions. This was an amazing experience, not only because it involved zoetropes, but also because I got to be in front of the camera! Granted, you only see my hands and chin, but it's an honor nonetheless.

View the quicktime and behind the scenes at David Wilson's Website.

It's Alaska!

2008-11-20T12:56:00.001-08:00

Created for my course at the Chelsea College of Art and Design

This is a response to a type in motion brief. My goal was to create a pastiche of civil defense films as they might look cobbled together and screened on a broken projector, a reflection of Sarah Palin's paranoid and confusing statements. The audio is from her interview with Katie Couric.

Logo Design - Private Ear Audio Theater

2008-11-20T12:53:00.000-08:00

Logo Design for the Private Ear Audio Theater.

People I Know

2008-10-21T17:24:00.000-07:00

Photographs of people I know, taken over the past year.

Ross Wade

Amanda Kruger

Justin Perkins

Katie O'Sullivan

Sarah Olmsted Thomas

Night and Day, You are the One

2008-10-08T16:52:00.000-07:00

Well

2008-09-27T06:40:00.000-07:00

Lighting design for the MFA concert Spring 2008

Well, choreographed by Jules Skloot.

Photographed by Paula Court

NYMF - Astrovision

2008-09-16T15:43:00.000-07:00

Commission for The New York Musical Theatre Festival, shown on Panasonic's Times Square Astrovision Screen:

The New York Musical Theatre Festival - Panasonic Astrovision from Gabriel Aronson on Vimeo.

Impressions of Bergamo

2008-09-16T13:55:00.000-07:00

Photos from the beautiful city of Bergamo, Italy

Impressions of Switzerland

2008-09-15T13:03:00.000-07:00

Some photographs taken in Zurich and Regensburg on my recent trip to Switzerland.

Crave

2008-09-08T15:28:00.000-07:00

Photos from my domestic horror puppet show "Crave"

"Crave" is the story of Antonia, a lonely woman who lives with her cat, and holds signs for a living. On her birthday, she finds a painting in a dumpster, which she hangs on her wall. Overnight, the leftovers in her fridge have disappeared. Perturbed, she goes to work. When she returns she finds a giant mess spilling from the fridge. She admonishes the cat, but soon notices that the figure in the painting has grown fatter. Not to mention the fact that she is holding a piece of cake in her lap. Terrified, she tries in vain to pry the painting off the wall, however it remains stuck.
Determined to protect her food, Antonia chains the fridge door closed, and falls asleep, hatchet in hand, as she watches her favorite television show "As Lovers, As Cousins".
A sudden feline squeal wakes her, and she discovers to her horror that her poor cat is trapped inside the painting! In a frantic effort to save the cat, she sinks the hatchet into the painting. The hatchet sinks into the canvas, gets stuck, quivers for a moment before being spit back out and hitting Antonia in the head. From the painting pours a stream of bile (we mixed beef ragout, and clam chowder for this... the audience got both a visual and olfactory experience!) slowly drowning Antonia in a sea of vomit.
Thus is the charming conclusion to "Crave".

Performed by myself, Emma McCumber, and Eric Ugland, with Katie O'Sullivan as the Spirit of the Painting.

Photos by Dan Bretl.

Tuesday morning

2008-09-06T15:58:00.000-07:00

A strange event on a small London street that is as mysterious as the title I chose to give this short piece.

Tuesday Morning from Gabriel Aronson on Vimeo.

Based on a tutorial by Andrew Kramer at videocopilot.net.

Galaxy Disco

2008-09-06T15:50:00.000-07:00

And experiment with 70s feel.

Voodoo Child

2008-09-06T08:50:00.000-07:00

Commission from Virgin Comics:

Voodoo Child from Gabriel Aronson on Vimeo.

Bergamopolis

2008-09-06T08:45:00.000-07:00

This is what I do with vacation pictures:

Photo taken in Bergamo, Italy

Wild About Harry

2008-08-31T14:45:00.001-07:00

Flyer design

FELL

2008-08-31T14:43:00.000-07:00

Graphic design for flyer

The New York Musical Theatre Festival Hoe-down!

2008-07-30T22:55:00.000-07:00

It is wonderful that having just graduated college, I am able to dive headfirst into commercial work! The following are ads for the New York Musical Theatre Festival, which appeared in AM New York newspaper.

Naughtius Maximus

2008-05-08T06:42:00.000-07:00

Naughtius Maximus from Gabriel Aronson on Vimeo.

Signature

2008-04-19T15:39:00.000-07:00

I recently acquired Adobe Production Premium, which has introduced me to Illustrator. This is the first image I created using Illustrator and Photoshop.

Sadie Lou Collaborative Reading

2008-04-19T15:20:00.000-07:00

Poster for a reading organized by Sarah Lawrence's student-run internet magazine, Sadie Lou.

Plant names

2008-04-19T15:15:00.000-07:00

Some exercises in photoshop and illustrator, as illustrations for various plants and their latin names.

Hausmusik

2008-01-12T02:31:00.000-08:00

Reckless

2008-01-12T02:17:00.000-08:00

Absinthe

2007-12-26T09:06:00.001-08:00

An experiment in Photoshop using a photo from "The What's Left Over After".

St. Dalimas

2007-12-26T09:01:00.000-08:00

My first foray into speedpainting:

The What's Left Over After

2007-12-03T18:19:00.001-08:00

Choreographed by Sarah Rosner.
Lighting Design and Installation by Gabriel Aronson

Anon(ymous)

2007-11-25T11:46:00.000-08:00

Anon(ymous)
by Naomi Iizuka
Directed by Dylan Levers
The Downstage Theatre Project
Sarah Lawrence College
November 2005

Lighting Design by Jennifer Smith
Costume Design by Tracy Klein

Animonet

2007-11-07T17:32:00.000-08:00

This is the result of my first experiment with Adobe After Effects. It is also my first foray into animation.

Created using Photoshop and After Effects

Valetta, Malta

2007-10-31T21:55:00.000-07:00

Valetta, Malta
Photos taken December 2006
Composited November 2007

Authentick Relation... Poster

2007-10-31T21:50:00.001-07:00

An Authentick Relation of the Hardships and Sufferings of a Dutch Sailor orThe Just Vengeance of Heaven Exemplify'd
Photoshop
November 2007

Dreadful Domesticity - A Serial Meditation on the Cerebral Devlopment of the Perfect Helpmate.

2007-10-27T19:43:00.000-07:00

I. Anticipation

II. Trepidation

III. Confusion

IV. Cauche-Mar

V. Temptation

VI. Indulgence

VII. Guilt

VIII. Serene Realization: The Floating Head.

Old Crone

2007-08-13T21:09:00.000-07:00

I created this puppet during the fall semester of 2006 as part of our "head and arm" project.

A walk through New York

2007-08-12T18:55:00.000-07:00

I've had a lot of free time lately, what with my internship being over. The other day I thought it a crime that I hadn't yet taken my camera for a walk a single time since moving to the city, so I decided to take a stroll through Central Park. I didn't get too many good shots before the battery ran dangerously low, but here is one that I particularly liked:

The Mall

Afterwards, I met up with a friend and we went to the Strand. It was my first visit and I was in absolute awe with the miles of books packed into the cluttered cellar. I couldn't resist taking a few shots.

The Strand

Arsenic and Old Lace Backdrops

2007-07-10T17:29:00.000-07:00

Photoshop Composite for 13' x 22' backdrop.
Arsenic and Old Lace
Alley Theatre
Houston, TX

Created during internship with Hugh Landwehr

Carnival

2007-06-02T11:55:00.000-07:00

The following pictures are from the second semester Puppet Central group project. The show itself was performed by three people, one for each hand, and one controlling the head and chest cavity works (that was me). The photographs below were posed with only two people. Customarily we would be wearing black.

Created with Nao Otaka and Natalie Park.

Wild

2007-05-14T23:51:00.000-07:00

Shot November 2007

Review for Brick by Brick

2007-05-01T09:17:00.000-07:00

Excerpts from the Sadie Lou Standard Volume 1, Issue XXIV - April 30, 2007

"With the beautiful set, lighting, costuming, and very catchy tunes, it is easy to be transported to Wade's wild world of Poe."

"The look of the musical was enhanced by lighting designer Lauren Parrish, and the set designer, Gabriel Aronson. There was a perfect synthesis between the [costumes, lights and set] helping to complement each other, but not overshadowing any of them. The set and lighting were a crucial part in creating the correct Tim Burton-esque world."

Brick by Brick

2007-04-25T22:43:00.000-07:00

BRICK BY BRICK
Book and Lyrics by Ross Wade
Music by Nehemiah Luckett

Based on Works by Edgar Allen Poe
Directed by Leyla Ebtehadj.

It is so hard to filter out the best from a pool of over 200 photos...

Berenice Dupin (Amanda Kruger) clues in the bumbling Corbeau police (Colin Sutherland, Nick Sansone, Tom Hathaway).

Leonard LePage (Winston Shaw) is not pleased with his drunkard agent, Otto Fortunato (Omen Sade). "Your Toast"

Rowena Tremaine (Erica Steiner) checks in with her husband at the Maison de Santé, whilst the doctors have a Mad Tea Party.

Nurses Salsafette (Elspeth Shell-Moyer) and Joyeuse (Maya Murphy) re-enact Lenore's tragic death.

Leonard LePage sings a duet with his dead wife, Lenore (Liana Stillman) "Skin to Skin"

Leonard's new agent Roderick Raven (Owen Scott) and Leonard, did not think much of Otto Fortunato.

...so they Brick him up inside a crypt. "Brick by Brick"

Raven tells Leonard to make an executive decision. "Two Heads Are Better Than Three"

Madame Maillard ("Maggie Robinson") looks on as her staff cart Dupin away on their ARPD (Amazing Rolling Platform of Death)

The cast tells the audience that "Everyman's A Madman" in the end.

Lighting Design by Lauren Parrish
Costume Design by Candice Knox

Brick by Brick - Poster

2007-04-15T23:58:00.000-07:00

Brick by Brick
Photoshop
April 2007

Construction for "Brick by Brick"

2007-04-10T21:46:00.000-07:00

Here are several photos of the "Brick by Brick" set in mid-construction. The portrait will be mounted on the staircase banister, and it opens up like a door. There will be a scrim suspended directly behind the angled bannister to create a false wall.

Portrait of Lenore

2007-04-09T21:27:00.000-07:00

The following is a photoshopped painting of the character Lenore for the musical "Brick by Brick." It will be printed and framed as part of the set for the show. The model is musician and actress Liana Stillman.

Portrait of Lenore
Photoshop
April, 2005

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead - Poster

2007-04-02T23:26:00.000-07:00

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
Photoshop
April 2007

The Grad Actor/Director One-Acts - Poster

2007-03-07T17:11:00.000-08:00

The Grad Actor/Director One-Acts
Photoshop
March 2007

Lady Roxanne

2007-03-07T16:51:00.000-08:00

Lady Roxanne
Charcoal and chalk drawing, 2005
Photoshop, 2007

This started as the black and white charcoal and chalk drawing. Then I decided to play around with it in photoshop.

Tales of Hoffmann - Colour Study

2007-02-27T20:37:00.000-08:00

Tales of Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach
Colour study for Olympia Act
February 2007

Tales of Hoffmann - White Model

2007-02-13T20:50:00.000-08:00

Tales of Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach
Conceptual White Model for Olympia Act
February, 2007

I have since changed my concept to make the layout more asymmetrical, as well as less busy, along the lines of what can be seen in the "Colour study" entry.

Lessen - Poster

2007-02-07T20:56:00.000-08:00

Lori Leigh's "Lessen"
Photoshop
February, 2007

***WARNING: Large image file***

Hoplite Diary - Poster

2007-02-06T23:30:00.000-08:00

Tom Lee's "Hoplite Diary"
Photoshop
November, 2006

***WARNING: LARGE IMAGE FILE***

Sarah Lawrence College Lampoon - Poster

2007-02-06T23:22:00.000-08:00

SLC Lampoon's "Choose Your Own Apocalypse"
Photoshop
December, 2006

***WARNING: LARGE IMAGE FILE***

The Last Temptation

2007-02-05T19:27:00.000-08:00

The Last Temptation
April 2005
Pastels
16" x 24"

A Woman's Place

2007-02-05T19:14:00.000-08:00

A Woman's Place
2005
Pastels
16" x 24"

Sindermain House

2007-01-27T21:29:00.000-08:00

Sindermain House
This is an illustration-in-progress for a children's book I am writing.
I am slowly learning my way around photoshop.
Below is a comparison between two stages.

Why is a Raven like a Writing Desk?

2007-01-27T21:20:00.000-08:00

Why is a Raven like a Writing Desk?
2004
Acrylic
70cm x 150cm

Rosamund

2007-01-27T21:15:00.000-08:00

Rosamund
2005
Pastels
16" x 24"

Lenore

2007-01-27T21:08:00.000-08:00

Lenore
2005
Acrylic
100cm x 100cm

Hoplite Diary Shadow-box

2007-01-27T20:38:00.000-08:00

Hoplite Diary
created by Tom Lee

When Tom Lee brought his puppet piece Hoplite Diary to Sarah Lawrence, he needed a particular set piece to be redesigned. This piece was used in a shadow-puppet segment, representing the city of Troy.

The Importance of Being Earnest

2006-04-01T18:52:00.000-08:00

The Importance of Being Earnest
by Oscar Wilde

Downstage Theatre at Sarah Lawrence College
April 2006

Act I - Algernon's townhouse

The red brocade curtains conceal the set for Act III, while the reverse sides of the panels act as the bay window in Act II.

Act II - The garden at the country house

The ferns were borrowed from the Sarah Lawrence Greenhouse. The landscaper was only too willing to let us borrow them, and helped in their selection. According to her, these types of "exotic" trees were very popular in English Gardens of the time. The panels that make up the bay window conceal the furniture for Act III.

Act III - John Worthing's country house

John Worthing is obviously less extravagant in his aesthetic taste than Algernon. I felt the brighter colors mirrored the location in the sunny countryside. The green curtains conceal the set of Act I. The symmetry of the panel placement is intended to complement the final tableau of all the lovers side by side, with Lady Bracknell at center stage.

Kosinki's Bag

2006-02-01T19:21:00.000-08:00

Kosinski's Bag
by Doug MacHugh

Frances Ann Cannon Workshop Theater
at Sarah Lawrence College

Co-designed with Nao Otaka

Doug MacHugh's play centered around his experiences in El Salvador during the turmoil of the 1970s. The projection surface was made to look like revolutionary slogans, painted over by the authorities.

After Hours Play Festival

2005-12-12T19:50:00.000-08:00

Downstage's After Hours
December 2005

A festival of student-written one act plays. The set was composed of moveable panels. The producer wanted to create a nightclub atmosphere so I went with a color scheme of red and black. The splattering of red hinted at the macabre themes that were present in all the plays.