Starting tomorrow the Vancouver Art Gallery will be hosting an exhibit featuring the work of Leonardo Da Vinci. Quoting the website:

Shown for the first time as a complete group in this exhibition, Manuscript A encompasses thirty-four of Leonardo’s pen and ink anatomical drawings on eighteen sheets of paper, rendered during the winter of 1510-1511. Included are the first known accurate depictions of the spinal column and two magisterial sheets depicting the musculature of the lower legs and feet. The works are graciously loaned by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II from The Royal Collection, Windsor.

While this is all very exciting, the VAG has a history of disappointing me. The last exhibit claimed to have Vermeer and Rembrandt featured. It was only after I paid my $50 that I discovered that out of the hundreds of works of art there were 3 Rembrands, and 1 Vermeer about 8×8 inches. I will be very cautious before I attend another event at the VAG, and I’ll be waiting for testimonials before I go to this one. Please leave a comment if you go.

Last night I went downtown to the Art Gallery to see the new exhibit, “KRAZY! The Delirious World of Anime, Comics, Video Games, and Art.”

I’m not into Anime, or most comics. And frankly I think playing video games is just a big waste of time. I went because they had one room for, “Animated Cartoons.” I’d heard they have original animation drawings from Dumbo. That alone was worth the price of admission. As I expected, I was only interested in the one room. I quickly walked through the entire exhibit, but came right back to the animation room. Some of the graphic novel stuff was pretty cool though.

What can I say? If you live in the Vancouver area, and are into animation, don’t miss this opportunity. I won’t ruin it for you, but here’s some of what you’ll see if you go.

• Original animation drawings from Gertie the Dinosaur
• Original puppets from Lotte Reiniger’s, “The Adventures of Prince Achmed”
• Original storyboard drawings, concept paintings, and animation drawings from Dumbo
• Original conceptual work and character studies from Toy Story
• Nick Park’s story sheets and gag idea sheets from The Wrong Trousers
• Original artwork and cells from UPA’s Gerald McBoing Boing

A lot of the Dumbo stuff was listed as “unattributed” but I swear it looked like the hand of Bill Peet. I was a little unsure if Peet was involved in Dumbo, but this Michael Sporn post confirmed it. Anyway, I didn’t bring my camera along to take pictures as I thought it wouldn’t be aloud in the Gallery. Sure enough there were tourists there snapping away. If I find the time, I’ll go back and get pictures and post them up for all to see.