Feb 22, 2021 1 min read

The Carnegie Museum of Art is presenting the animated video work “Reign of Winter” on its website through May 16.

The seven-minute silent video by Iranian artist Rokni Haerizadeh uses rotoscope animation to transform thousands of still images taken from the televised 2011 British royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton into a fantastical moving dreamscape.

Haerizadeh hand-painted footage of the nuptials frame-by-frame, altering one of the most highly televised events in recent history through surreal backdrops, textural detailing, and anthropomorphizing the wedding party into wild creatures.

Through rotoscope animation, Haerizadeh’s works create an entirely new medium, which he calls moving paintings. “Traditional paintings are often seen as static objects, separate from the process and time spent creating them,” Haerizadeh said. “To me, it is important to make the underlying element of time visible, almost as if the painting is unfolding before the viewer.”

“Reign of Winter” debuted in the United States at the 56th Carnegie International in 2013. Along with a collection of works on paper by the artist, Carnegie Museum of Art acquired “Reign of Winter” for its film and video collection following the conclusion of the International.

It can be seen online at cmoa.org.