LCV Winter 2012 - (Page 21)

reading. it tells the story of a book lover who cares for a living library, then writes a book that recounts “his joys and sorrows, of all that he knew and everything that he hoped,” according to the moonbot studios web site. as the lush visual images roll by, the soundtrack plays “Pop Goes the weasel,” sometimes joyously, sometimes mournfully. Morris Lessmore reflects Joyce’s response to seeing how stories gave solace to children displaced by hurricane Katrina, an experience that reinforced his belief in the power of books to heal troubled souls. although the children were crowded in shelters, their imagination took them to a better place. the magic of Morris Lessmore, and of william Joyce’s works in general, lies not only in the stories themselves, but in the visual narratives as well. studying great illustrators such as maxfield Parrish, Beatrix Potter and n.C. wyeth, Joyce developed a sophisticated technique that uses a variety of media including watercolor, oil, acrylic, pen and ink, colored pencils and computer graphics. the result is hauntingly beautiful illustrations that surprise and delight. the more one looks at them, the more one sees: faces and hats and animals appear in what initially may look to be only a cloud. while his illustrations are highly collectable, they are not for sale these days. although he sold some early in his career, today Joyce keeps the originals, many of which hang on the walls of moonbot studios. william Joyce’s honors have been almost as numerous as the books, films, and apps. as the new century began, Newsweek named him one of the top 100 people to watch in the new millennium. then came the three Emmys for the Rolie Polie Olie series that aired on the disney Channel, and in 2008 Joyce received the Louisiana writer of the Year award for his contribution to the “literary intellectual heritage of Louisiana.” But it is not the awards that keep william Joyce writing and drawing. instead, he seems driven by his own imagination to create books, films, television and art that speak to the imagination of others. in many ways he is like Katherine in E. Aster Bunnymund: “she would sometimes write stories that were different from what had happened but were about how she felt or what she wished had been ... she needed to do it.” william Joyce needs to do it as well. _________________________________________________________________ Ann B. Dobie, Ph.D., is professor emerita of English at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where she directed the graduate program in rhetoric and the university’s writing across the curriculum program. Her books include Fifty-Eight Days in the Cajundome Shelter, a fourth edition of Theory into Practice: An Introduction to Literary Criticism, and Civil Changes: Civil Service in Louisiana. She currently serves as state coordinator for the Louisiana Writing Project and as a consultant for the National Writing Project. Neil Johnson is an independent photographer who works from his studio in Shreveport: www.njphoto.com. He was honored with the Michael P. Smith Documentary Photographer Award by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities in 2011. Winter 2012-13 • Louisiana CuLturaL Vistas 21 PHOTO BY NEIL JOHNSON Originally designed by Joyce to represent Rolie Polie Olie in Shreveport’s Mardi Gras parades, this float has evolved into a Moonbot showpiece. The large green circle was modified from Olie’s bright yellow face into the Moonbot logo. A parade was held on March 5, 2012, in downtown Shreveport – replete with a spray of colored paper from confetti cannons – to fete Joyce and Oldenburg following their Academy Award win.  http://www.njphoto.com

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LCV Winter 2012

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