The HILBERT MUSEUM of CALIFORNIA ART at Chapman University is currently trending among California art aficionados for it’s regular evening exhibitions which blend music, visual arts, and popular guest speakers. It also isn’t any secret that Mark and Janet Hilbert collect a good amount of Disney-related artwork. On SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8th, 2018, Chapman University students and a handful of VIP guests were treated to a very special discourse delivered by (animator, writer, comic book artist, and Disney Legend) Floyd Norman!
“BACKGROUND ART & THE ARTIST’S BACKGROUND”
The surrounding WESTWAYS California scenic paintings became the perfect backdrop for Floyd Norman’s “animated” life story this evening. Nestled amidst the works of some former Walt Disney Studios colleagues (like Lee Blair, Dorothy Sklar, and Ralph Hulett), Floyd quickly immersed the audience into his experience coming into Walt Disney Studio’s animation department, during the late 1950s. For an introduction, Floyd aptly chose to begin with a tribute to the 1959 release - Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty. He then highlighted a some of the valuable contributors toward the film - spotlighting the hundreds of backgrounds produced by Eyvind Earle’s background unit. (Feel free to watch the full introduction below.)
Floyd was always interested in visual storytelling, even before ending up at Walt Disney Studios. “When I went to Santa Barbara High School, I did something radical. I somehow convinced my teachers to let me do comic books instead of term papers. I felt like I better expressed myself using the medium of the comic book, rather than sitting down and typing. The Vice Principal O.K.’ed it, so I was able to create my term papers as comic books.” More than a decade later, Floyd had the opportunity to expand his knowledge and learn many valuable things about visual storytelling from masters like Milt Kahl, Vance Gerry, and even Walt Disney.
“WORKING WITH A ‘STORY MASTER’”
Most artists who went to work for Walt Disney Studios had a life-changing experience when Walt evaluated their strengths and placed them in a position that suited them. On this, Floyd relates :
“I came to the Walt Disney Studios many years ago, to join the animation department (because my dream was to become a Disney animator. I started in 1956, and had been with the studio for practically a decade before Walt Disney decided that I was not an animator. I was a story artist.
I didn’t know I was a story artist, but in 1956, I found myself upstairs in 2C (on the second floor of the Animation Building) on a Monday morning, starting a rewrite of The Jungle Book back in 1956 - something that I never thought would happen. All I wanted when I was a young kid was a job at the Walt Disney Studio. I never ever thought that I would work with Walt Disney himself, but there I was in 1956, in the story room with Walt Disney. An incredible time…for a young kid like myself!”
Floyd presented a photograph of Director Eric Larson and Walt Disney, standing in a hall of the old Animation Building. “Now keep in mind that what we do - our processes are driven. Everything we do when we tell a story, the art always starts first. This is a very significant photograph of Director Eric Larson and Walt Disney, standing in the hallway of 2B (the wing where Eyvind Earle had his background unit on Sleeping Beauty). You’ll see in this photograph, that the walls are lined with Eyvind’s paintings from the feature film Sleeping Beauty.”
Floyd shared the following words of wisdom for storytellers : “One of the things that Walt Disney taught us was to be very conscious of the characters in your film. The audience has to connect with the character. The audience has to love the characters. If the audience doesn’t care about the characters, it doesn’t matter what happens to them. They just won’t connect.”
“WORKPLACE EQUALITY AT WALT DISNEY STUDIOS”
All good lectures end with Q & A discussions, and Floyd’s presentation was no exception to the rule. Floyd briefly answered some common inquiries, like what it was like for a minority at Walt Disney Studios during the 1960s. I just love hearing Floyd adamantly speak on the subject of Walt Disney Studio’s workplace equality.
THE FACES OF A “PROGRESSIVE” STUDIO - Here is just a sampling of Walt Disney Studio’s diversity during the 1950’S and 1960’s - (left to right) FLOYD NORMAN, RICK GONZALES, EVA SCHNEIDER, and WILLIE ITO.
Floyd was hired by and worked with Walt. So, it isn’t a wonder when Floyd so quickly comes to Walt’s defense, putting any spurious or dubious rumors of a racist Walt Disney to bed. Some may feel that Floyd’s presence at Walt Disney Studios during the 1960s broke down barriers. In response to those thoughts, the humble animator shared the following words of truth :
“I was just Floyd Norman - just another artist, just like everybody else. So, I feel I’m often given too much credit for ‘breaking down barriers’. There wasn’t any barrier. Walt Disney didn’t have a barrier that said ‘You couldn’t work here because you’re a woman, or because you're a minority. You can’t work here because you’re from someplace else.’ Walt Disney was only interested in talent. WHO you were, or WHAT you were didn’t matter. Walt was interested in what you could do. He was interested in your ability and your talent, and that didn’t matter who you were or what you were.”
THE “MEN OF THE HOUR” - California scenic collector Mark Hilbert and Storyman Floyd Norman with one of eight Eyvind Earle paintings gifted The Hilbert, by The Eyvind Earle Trust.
I simply couldn’t resist a photograph with one of my favorite Walt Disney Studios gag artists!
For more of Floyd Norman’s accounts and experiences, you can check out MR. FUN’S JOURNAL @ floydnormancom.squarespace.com/mrfun.
For information about future Disney-related speakers, or general information about THE HILBERT MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA ART’s Walt Disney Productions’ artist collection, please visit :
http://www.hilbertmuseum.com/