7/19/2006 11:35:00 AM Fans, family dig for Gumby memories
Art Clokey’s grandson Sage Clokey, 3, tips his hat at the Gumby exhibit at the Art Mine. More than 300 people turned out for the event. – Photo by Kelly Joines
By Kelly Joines
Leader Staff Writer
People young and old filled the Art Mine in Port Hadlock on July 15 to celebrate memories of their favorite childhood hero – Gumby – during the grand opening of the art exhibit honoring Art Clokey’s creation.
“The concept for the show was to celebrate Art Clokey as a leader in art and celebrate him as a leader in animation,” said Eric Swangstu, Art Mine director and creator. “Literally it is carving and molding by hand that just happens to be captured on film. It’s a three-dimensional display showing that art is fun; the camera is the vehicle to communicate that.”
The Art Mine’s exhibit on Gumby is more comprehensive than the exhibit hosted by the Museum of the Moving Image in New York. The East Coast exhibit had only one-third of the Gumby-related articles displayed here, said Swangstu.
More than 300 people attended the opening of the exhibit accompanied by live music, wine and beer tasting. The exhibit featured the evolution of Gumby through a selection of props, clay models, toys, photographs, scripts and storyboards. But one of the biggest hits was a real walking-talking Gumby.
Eyes bright and smiles wide, children were excited to see the life-size Gumby, so much so they chased him around the first floor of the Art Mine and when he escaped their view, parents were dragged to help find him.
Exhibit shapes reunion
Not only did the event reunite adults with their childhood memories of the clay cast, Gumby at the Art Mine also reunited the Gumby family, from creator Art Clokey and his family to Bill Webb, Art’s best friend in life, and animator Al Eggleston.
Webb originally persuaded Art to go into movie work when he was teaching Latin to a girls’ school in Santa Barbara, Calif.
“I said to him, ‘It’s a waste of your art to be teaching Latin,’” Webb said.
And it was on to the production of Gumby from there. Gumby, now 50 years old, first appeared in the “Howdy Doody Show” in 1956; one year later he was given his own series. Over a 35-year period, the series produced 223 episodes.
Those attending the opening of the exhibit – which remains open and free to the public at the Art Mine through Aug. 26 – learned something new about the good ol’ green guy.
The bump on the side of Gumby’s head, for instance, was contrived right out of history, from Art’s biological father Charles Farrington’s hairstyle that had a combed-up front.
Karen Choyce, who came from Seattle to see the exhibit, modeled her own Gumby out of clay to show to the Clokey family.
“Isn’t it just like Port Townsend to do something this witty and creative?” she said about having Gumby displayed at the Art Mine in Port Hadlock.
Choyce admitted to buying her own 3-foot-tall neon Gumby from an auction only a few years back, and laughed when she remembered her childhood desire for a horse like Pokey.
“I was just envious of Gumby because he had a horse that talked,” she said.
Choyce said that looking back on the content and quality of Gumby animation, she is impressed with the overall goodness and thought portrayed in the art.
“I am only 45 years old, but everything has got so stimulating and over-blown; Gumby was just so simple and good.”
Joe Clokey, son of Art Clokey, said his father designed the clay characters after aspects of his own personality: Gumby to represent the hero quality he wished he had more of; Pokey the sidekick, more like Art’s everyday character; and the Blockheads, who represented his mischievous side, “always wanting to blow things up,” he laughed.
Growing up with Gumby
As the son of the Gumby creator, Joe Clokey has his own memories and stories of growing up with clay stop-animation.
“My memories of being a child in the ’60s is the smell of clay and film,” Joe said.
He remembers his dad brought in Gumby films for his kindergarten classmates to watch.
“I was so embarrassed; kids used to call me Gumby on the school yard,” Joe said. “Now that I’m older I’m proud of my parents and all that they did.”
Now Joe is in charge of the Gumby dynasty and said he is working on “keeping the legacy.” Seeing children’s faces light up at the smallest mention of the character is motivation to bring it back to television, he said.
Seven years ago, Art gave Joe the mission of bringing Gumby back to the scene, and Joe said they are almost there. Recently they signed a deal with an undisclosed company and are currently working on a new feature-length film.
Joe’s advice to other artists and animators is to have passion.
“Believe in what you’re doing; love what you’re doing,” Joe said. “It’s taken 15 years to come back, to rebirth Gumby. It takes hard work; it takes persistence and passion.”
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