Eric Dyer

Eric Dyer (University of Maryland, Baltimore County) is internationally recognised as a world leader in the field of animation art. He was a Leverhulme Visiting Professor at the Arts University Bournemouth from February to June 2022, running two workshops examining sculptural and performative approaches to the zoetrope, or ‘wheel of life’.

The programme of activities in Dyer’s 4-month visit drew upon the interdisciplinary and multi-faceted nature of animation, making explicit connections to live performance, illustration, graphics, modelmaking, sculpture, painting and other Fine Art practice. Dyer’s practice is all about forms of participation, with the ‘audience’ often being encouraged to touch, spin, rotate or in some other way move or dynamically engage with the artworks. The Visiting Professorship made an indelible mark in the minds of the people who participated in his workshops.

In addition to the workshops, Dyer gave Leverhulme Lectures at AUB, the Royal College of Art (London), Manchester School of Art (Manchester Metropolitan University) and Edinburgh College of Art. There were two events in June related to Dyer’s visit: a symposium on 7th June, Eric Dyer: Experiential Storytelling, Immersive Animated Sculpture, Live Performance, and a launch event for the Palgrave Animation book series on 8th June (Dyer features in one of the books already published in the series, and there are plans for a further book examining ‘expanded’ animation artists like Dyer).