Gallery: Vince Collins’ Psychedelic Animations

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Psychedelic maestro Vince Collins is responsible for some of the most striking and phantasmagorical films of the ’70s. With the kaleidoscopic reverberations of the previous decade swirling around his palette, his style is unmistakably indebted to the ’60s, and partly inspired by indie animators like Larry Jordan and Jeff Hale.

Although he’s since graduated to a different style that favors computers over experimental, cel-style animations hand-rendered with inks and paints, his early works are like a “trip through a trunk full of memories,” as the artist muses. Malice in Wonderland — which Collins actually considers to be pornographic, even if it doesn’t comply with today’s glossy, glamorized erotic aesthetic — marked the end of an era for the pioneer, who contends that the indie film scene had all but vanished in the late ’70s. While the sexy, hallucinatory version of Lewis Carroll’s iconic story is one of Collins’ most memorable, several of his other other stunning works also merit mention. Brace your eyeballs for impact, take a trip down memory lane, and get acquainted with Collins’ recent work.

Malice in Wonderland

“Sex has some really good shapes and actions for animation. Most of my stuff is a non-stop flow of images, start to finish – non-stop climaxes, involving the entire screen without a background/foreground concept. The Alice in Wonderland story has some great opportunities for this type of animation.” — Vince Collins

Euphoria

“Consistent stylistic-thematic structures link and merge throughout the bewildering event chain. The distinction between organic forms and human artifacts is blurred by the visual style which is enigmatic without being ambiguous.” — Anthony Reveaux, Art Week, 1974

200

“US International Communication Agency (formerly know as the Information Agency) grant project — an attempt to liven up the otherwise banal and uneventful “Bicentennial” celebration.” — Vince Collins

Fantasy

“A star-driven spiraling machine of hallucinatory wonder.” — Vince Collins

Life is Flashing Before Your Eyes

“Cheery pop images and mellow lyrics.” — Timothy Leary, Entertainment Weekly, May 1, 1992

An early Sesame Street animation.

The Suicidal Cameraman

“Witness the last 20 seconds of the cameraman’s life. He saw too much.” — Vince Collins

Back in the Daze

“Hey! Hot Rod T-bone is back, tripping through a trunk full of memories … ” — Vince Collins

Canned Heat

“In 1920, in order to eliminate the evils of alcohol and to achieve a perfect society, the United States banned the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages … ” — Vince Collins

Unofficial Reality

“A frank and unflinching look at the debauched and depraved aspects of modern life.” — Vince Collins