Becoming Judas is a motion graphic/animation that illustrates four poems from the book by the same name. Poet Nicelle Davis has reinterpreted the Bible, interweaving her life and establishing rock icons as biblical entities. The illustrations by Cheryl Gross add clarity to Nicelle’s poetry, allowing the audience to comprehend and recognize the significance of the work. This, along with the music of Karl Preusser, adds perfection to the collaboration. Individually the illustrations, music, and poetry all stand on their own. However, the combination has surpassed their traditional categories, and transcended into New Media.
The poems are as follows:
1970
December 1980
The Tree Judas chose
Unlikely Origins and the Book Of Mormon
Originally from Utah, Nicelle Davis now resides in Quartz Hill, California, with her son J.J. She teaches at Antelope Valley College. She is managing editor of Colibri Press. Becoming Judas is forthcoming from Red Hen Press in the fall of 2013 and In the Circus Of You (a collaboration with Cheryl Gross) is forthcoming from Rose Metal Press.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Cheryl Gross is an illustrator, writer, motion graphic artist, living and working in the New York area. She is a professor at Pratt Institute and Bloomfield College where she teaches her vocation.
Cheryl received her MFA from Pratt Institute. Her work has appeared in numerous films, TV shows, publications, and graces the walls of many corporate and museum collections including: The Body Electric, Fort Collins, Colorado, Filmpoem, Scotland, 2012, International Short Film Festival, Berlin, 2012, The Zebra International Poetry Film Festival, Berlin, 2012, 35th International San Francisco LGBT Film Festival, 100 New York Painters, Schiffler Publishing, Riverside Museum, Riverside, Ca., USA, The Museum of The City of New York, Mississippi Museum of Art, The New York Times, Comedynet.com, Associatedcontent.com, Current TV, Laforet Harajuku Museum, Tokyo, Japan, and Artist-In-Residency, Kunstlerhaus, Saarbruken, Germany.
Her illustration credits include; Jimmy Stewart and His Poems, Crown Publishing, Circe, Lowbrow Press, Becoming Judas, Red Hen Press, In The Circus Of You, Rose Metal Press, and The Z Factor, which she has written and illustrated.
When asked about her work:
“I equate my work with creating and building an environment, transforming my inner thoughts into reality. Beginning with the physical process, I work in layers. I am involved in solving visual and verbal complexities such as design and narrative. My urban influence has indeed added an ‘edge’ to my work, and has allowed me to embrace the darkness of truth to our existence.”
Thank You Atticus!!!