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Ed Emshwiller
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Edmund Alexander Emshwiller ("Emsh") (February 16, 1925-July 27, 1990) was a visual artist notable for illustrations of many science fiction magazine covers and for his pioneering computer-generated movies.
Born in Lansing, Michigan, he graduated from the University of Michigan in 1947, then studied at École des Beaux Arts (1949-1950) in Paris with his wife, the award-winning writer Carol Emshwiller (née Fries), whom he married on August 30, 1949, and finally at the Art Students' League in New York City (1950-1951).
As "Emsh", "Ed Emsh" and sometimes "Emsler", between 1951 and 1979 Emshwiller created covers and interior illustrations for dozens of science fiction paperbacks and magazines, notably for Galaxy and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. During this time he won 5 Hugo Awards for Best Artist: 1953 (tied with Hannes Bok) , 1960, 1961, 1962, and 1964. There seems to have been no "typical" Emsh cover. His painterly treatment for the August 1951 Galaxy recalls later work by Leo and Diane Dillon.
In 1964 a Ford Foundation grant allowed Emshwiller to pursue his interest in film. Active in the New American Cinema movement of the 1960s and early 1970s, he created multimedia performance pieces, cine-dance and experimental films, while also filming low-budget features and documentaries. In 1979 he produced Sunstone, a ground-breaking three-minute 3-D computer-generated movie made at the New York Institute of Technology with Alvy Ray Smith.
After a period as artist-in-residence at the Television Laboratory WNET/13 (New York), he moved to California in 1984, serving as dean of the School of Film/Video at the California Institute of Arts from 1979 to 1990. He also served as provost from 1981 through 1986. In 1987 he created Hungers for the 1987 Los Angeles Arts Festival, in partnership with composer Morton Subotnick.
Emshwiller died of cancer on July 27, 1990, in Valencia, California, where he was cremated. His papers are archived at the California Institute of Arts.