Art Directors Guild
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The Art Directors Guild (ADG; IATSE Local 800) is a
labor union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
and local of the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE) representing 3,278 motion picture and television professionals in the United States and Canada. The ADG's sponsored activities include the annual ADG Excellence in Production Design Awards, the professional quarterly news magazine
Perspective
'' an art gallery called Gallery 800, technology training programs, and a film society''.''


Membership

Local 800 has four main craft classifications: #
Art Director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...
s (including Production Designers) # Scenic, Title and Graphic Artists #
Illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...
s and Matte Artists # Set Designers and
Model Makers A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided int ...
In addition, the ADG has recently included previs artists into their membership. Individual crafts represented by the ADG: * Production designers * Art directors * Assistant art directors * Set designers * Graphic artists * Illustrators * Matte artists * Model makers * Scenic artists * Previs artists


Origins


Art Directors Guild

The Art Directors Guild was originally named the Society of Motion Picture Art Directors (SMPAD), which was founded by 59 Art Directors on May 6, 1937, at a meeting at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. After
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, many " below the line" industry labor organizations, including SMPAD, signed on with the IATSE for overall union representation. SMPAD became more active, grew in membership, and expanded opportunities as television developed. In 1967 the Society included "television" to their name before settling on its current moniker, the "Art Directors Guild" in 1998. The Art Directors Guild included only men until 1971. Production designer
Polly Platt Mary Marr "Polly" Platt (January 29, 1939 – July 27, 2011) was an American film producer, production designer and screenwriter. She was the first woman accepted into the Art Directors Guild, in 1971. In addition to her credited work, she w ...
was the first woman inducted into the Guild, in 1971. Toby Carr Rafelson was the second woman inducted.


Scenic, Title and Graphic Artists

The creation of its own local (formerly known as Local 816) in March 1949 marked the first time the Hollywood Scenic Artists and Title Artists had its own local representing its unique needs. Previously, the members were part of Local 644 of the Conference of Studio Unions (CSU) working in film and theater. The overwhelming majority of Local 644's membership, however, had been made up of set painters and paperhangers and included set designers as well. It was not until the dissolution of the CSU after a long series of bitterly contested strikes that the scenic artists were able to organize exclusively. Those artists had been pioneers in their field, responsible for devising and developing the methods used to create representational scenery unsurpassed anywhere in the world. The size and strength of the local grew with the inclusion of television contracts in the early 1950s. Television, at that time, was in effect an extension of live theater and required a lot of painted two-dimensional scenery instead of the three-dimensional sets used in film. As the nature of television scenery changed, the responsibilities of the television scenic artist broadened to include those of the set painter. Local 816 was the only local in the entertainment industry that worked in all three major areas of the business: film, television and theater. In January 2003, the 850 members of ADG merged with the 650 member Scenic, Title and Graphic Artists to form the Art Directors Guild & Scenic, Title and Graphic Artists.


Illustrators, Storyboard Artists and Matte Artists

In the 1930s, the Illustrators and Matte Artists were part of the Federation of Motion Picture Crafts. By 1941 they became a part of the Conference of Studio Unions. In 1945, they received their own chartered local, Local 790 in IATSE, which by the 1950s became the dominant labor organization representing the motion picture and television job categories working behind the camera. On July 1, 2008, under the orders of IATSE International President Thomas C. Short, Local 790 Illustrators & Matte Artists and Local 847 Set Designers and Model Makers were merged into Local 800.


Awards

* The ADG Excellence in Production Design Awards are presented annually by the Art Directors Guild to "recognize excellence in production design and art direction in the film and television industries". * The ADG Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to individuals who have been outstanding in the four crafts of the Art Directors Guild. * The William Cameron Menzies Award recognizes individuals who have contributed extraordinary achievements in production design or visual storytelling that reflect Menzies' innovative legacy.


Hall of fame

The Art Directors Guild established its
Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
in 2005 to honour the contributions of significant past production designers and art directors. The Hall of Fame inducts new members annually, with the first group formally inducted at the 9th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards ceremony on February 12, 2005.


Archive

The Academy Film Archive houses the Art Directors Guild Collection, which consists of recordings from events and fifteen interviews conducted in 2012 and 2014 with scenic artists in which they discuss their profession and projects.


References


External links


''Art Directors Guild''
official site
''Art Directors Guild''
page on IMDb
IATSE
official website
Art Directors Guild collection
Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences {{ADG Awards Chron International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Film organizations in the United States Trade unions in the United States Entertainment industry unions Theatrical organizations in the United States Trade unions established in 1937 1937 establishments in the United States Entertainment industry societies