Annie Poon is an American

animator An animator is an artist who creates images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video games. Animat ...

based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Her short "Runaway Bathtub" is in the permanent collection of the New York

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

. Poon's works have appeared in other various venues, including the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

, the

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...

, the

New Museum The New Museum of Contemporary Art is a museum at 235 Bowery, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1977 by Marcia Tucker. History The museum originally opened in a space in the Graduate Center of the then-nam ...

, and the

Museum of Arts and Design The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), based in Manhattan, New York City, collects, displays, and interprets objects that document contemporary and historic innovation in craft, art, and design. In its exhibitions and educational programs, the ...

. The Chicago International Children's Festival, Nickelodeon, and PBS have shown her cartoons. She has taught animation and comics workshops and given motivational lectures to artists.

Early life and education

Poon grew up with eight other siblings, including her twin sister in

New Canaan, Connecticut New Canaan () is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,622 according to the 2020 census. The town is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region. About an hour from New York City by train, the town ...

and studied painting at the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by Silas ...

. At age five, after a lesson on professions, Poon decided that she wanted to be an artist. Once, her mother excused her from school to visit the Metropolitan Museum for a day, which deeply impressed young Poon. Her mother would give her a nickel for each painter she could identify. Poon loved

Shrinky Dinks Shrink art, Shrinky Dinks, or Shrinkles is a toy and activity kit consisting of sheets of polystyrene which can be cut with standard household scissors. When heated, the cut shapes become about nine times thicker while their horizontal and verti ...

Colorforms Colorforms is a creative toy named for the simple shapes and forms cut from colored vinyl sheeting that cling to a smooth backing surface without adhesives. These pieces are used to create picture graphics and designs, which can then be changed c ...

, stickers and paper and scissors. Poon cites the drawings of

Shel Silverstein Sheldon Allan Silverstein (; September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American writer, cartoonist, songwriter, and musician. Born and raised in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, Silverstein briefly attended university before being drafted into ...

Quentin Blake Sir Quentin Saxby Blake (born 16 December 1932) is an English cartoonist, caricaturist, illustrator and children's writer. He has illustrated over 300 books, including 18 written by Roald Dahl, which are among his most popular works. For his l ...

, and

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

as her main influences.

Animations

Like other traditional animation, Poon's stop-motion animations are very labor-intensive; five seconds of animation require about a day of work. Poon's works draws on the playful happiness of childhood daydreams. Inspired by games she played with her sister in the bath as a child, Poon created her short "Runaway Bathtub." It is in the permanent collection of the New York Museum of Modern Art. Poon belongs to

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS church) and her works often draw on her religion. "The Book of Visions," created over the course of a year, depicts angels appearing visions to Joan of Arc, Black Elk, and Joseph Smith. Teenage Poon felt that these accounts showed that God valued teenagers' ideas and feelings. At the end of the film, the man "reading" the accounts flies out of the window, which according to Poon, represents how anyone can travel to another spiritual state. "Die Wicked Die" is a series of animations portraying "action packed" scriptural violence influenced by "Itchy and Scratchy." "The Shiny Bicycle" was commissioned by the LDS church and depicts a boy who fails to paint his bicycle, but with hard work is able to make it look shiny again. "The Split House" depicts Poon's own struggle with mental illness, specifically, with

schizoaffective disorder Schizoaffective disorder is a mental disorder characterized by symptoms of both schizophrenia (psychosis) and a mood disorder, either bipolar disorder or depression. The main diagnostic criterion is the presence of psychotic symptoms for at leas ...

. Poon worked on the animation over the course of more than ten years. The animation shows the subconscious thoughts of a young woman who transforms into an owl.

Oh Puppy!

Poon calls her naïve and passionate "Puppy" character her alter ego. Puppy's strips were first published on Fredflare.com. The strips have been collected in a book titled ''Oh Puppy!'', and Puppy has appeared in three animations: "Oh Puppy" the rap video, "Puppy's Super Delicious Valentine's Biscuits," and "Daisy Daddy."

Awards

Poon's works have won a number of awards.

Personal life

Poon is married to her husband, Kah Leong Poon, whom she met while studying at the

in New York City. She served a

mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

for

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

References

External links

Gallery from Poon's exhibition at Writ and Vision

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poon, Annie Living people American Latter Day Saints Animators from Connecticut Artists from New Canaan, Connecticut American women animators People with schizoaffective disorder Year of birth missing (living people)