Gerrit van Dijk (5 December 1938 – 4 December 2012) was a Dutch animator, film maker, actor and painter.

Biography

Gerrit van Dijk was born in a Catholic family in the village of Volkel, in the municipality of Uden. He studied as a fifteen-year-old boy at the academy in Tilburg. He was not very satisfied about the school. "You only learn technique. The creativity you learn is no creativity at all. You know exactly what colour socks you should wear and what your hair should look like, but not how to put something on paper." After finishing his study, he initially became a teacher, then became a painter who frequently collaborated with other artists from other disciplines. His painting career ended abruptly when he saw Norman McLaren's films and bought a double-eight camera. He made his first film ''It's Good in Heaven'', seeing his shift to film as a logical continuation of his work as a painter, and considered his films moving paintings. In 1963 van Dijk married Cilia van Lieshout, a film producer who won an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

for Best Animated Short Film. Over time, Dijk moved away from classic filmmaking, instead creating collages combining photographs and image-by-image technique. He also experimented with various techniques, including cels, cut-outs, rotoscopy, pixilation, and live action combined with animation. He also joined a theatre group called Orkater that was set in

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

, Netherlands. Dijk's films ''Pas a Deux'' and ''I move, so I am'' earned him

Golden Bear The Golden Bear () is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival and is, along with the Palme d'Or and the Golden Lion, the most important international film festival award. The bear is the heraldic an ...

s at the Film Festspiele, Berlin in 1989 and 1998, respectively. He also received the Order of the Dutch Lion from Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands in 1998. On 4 December 2012, van Dijk died from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

Filmography

References

Sources

* Gloudemans, Ton (1990) Gerrit van Dijk: De kunst van de beweging, Haarlem: Stichting Animated People. 9789094014650 * Heesen, Hans & Veerkamp, Lex (2013) Ik ben blij dat ik er geweest ben. Gerrit van Dijk Uden 5.12.1938-Haarlem 4.12.2012, Utrecht: Stichting Holland Animation Film Festival. * Peters, Mette (2019) “Verf en kleurpotlood. Animatiefilmer Gerrit van Dijk (1938-2012)”, in: Haarlem Filmstad. Harry Hosman (sam.), Eindhoven: Lecturis. * Overtoom, Jacques & Koster, Gonda (eds.) (2020) Gerrit van Dijk, hommage aan een inspirerende dwarsligger. Haarlem: Jacques Overtoom / Gonda Koster (eigen beheer).

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dijk, Gerrit Van 1938 births 2012 deaths Dutch film directors Golden Calf winners Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion People from Uden