NEW YORK - Commercial film and design company Hornet Inc. signed well-known stop-motion animation artist Peter Sluszka for exclusive representation.
Sluszka recently collaborated with director Michel Gondry and Partizan on a music video for Kiwi rock/hip-hop amalgam Steriogram's single "Walkie Talkie Man" (from the band's debut Capitol Records album, "Schmack!"). The music video is nominated for "Best Short Form Music Video" of the year by the 47th Grammy Awards (taking place February 13, 2005).
Sluszka also collaborated with Gondry and co-director Laurie Faggioni on the music video "A Ribbon" - from surreal folk rocker Devendra Banhart's album Nino Rojo. The music video premiered the week of Jan. 17 at New York City's Museum of Modern Art as part of the museum's "Film and Media Exhibitions" program.
Sluszka is the recipient of many industry awards, including a 2003 nod for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation at the 30th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards for his animation achievements on the HBO Family stop-motion series I SPY from Scholastic.
For the Steriogram video, which is a mixture of live-action and stop-motion, Gondry (a Partizan director) devised an inventive treatment: placing the band in an imaginary woolen world and forcing them to face a terrifying monster made from knitting needles and wool. "Walkie Talkie Man" takes its inspiration from the single, a silver-tongued guitar rocker devoted to power-tripping security guards. The video features the band and a bouncer, the Walkie Talkie Man, who does not let the band into their own gig.
Peter recently created a group of original spots for Sesame Street, and finished work on a new music video for Regina Spektor.