Adult Lecture Series-Ray Harryhausen: Myth in Motion

Dan Curley will discuss special effects master Ray Harryhausen, renowned for Dynamation, his brand of stop-motion animation, which he used to bring fantastic creatures to life.
Curley will highlight Harryhausen’s two films set in ancient Greece: Jason and the Argonauts (1963) and Clash of the Titans (1981). How does Harryhausen’s whimsical approach lend itself to making modern myth? And how are his techniques still applied on 21st-century screens?
Curley is associate professor of classics at Skidmore College (Saratoga Springs, NY). His teaching and research involve Greek and Roman poetry and the classical world in screen media. He is also the vice president of Antiquity in Media Studies (AIMS), a not-for-profit educational society focused on modern receptions of the ancient world.