Tintin Forums

Tintinologist.org Forums / Tintin news and events /

The World of Tintin Conference 2004

Page  Page 1 of 2:  1  2  Next » 

edcharlesadams
Trivia Challenge Score Keeper
#1 · Posted: 4 May 2004 16:16
Apologies to those who have seen this elsewhere...
The "World of Tintin" conference will be held in London on May 15th.
The speakers include:
Michael Turner and Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper
Michael Farr
Paul Gravett (international comic curator)
Bernard Tordeur (Fondation Hergé representative)
A free visit to the exhibition is included in the day and also the first UK screening of 'Tintin et Moi'.
Tickets are available at http://www.rialtoticketing.com/app/rialto/ControlServlet/home/initiali se?sellingAgentId=50
Harrock n roll
Moderator
#2 · Posted: 7 May 2004 14:34
I've got mine! You can also ring the National Maritme Museum on 020 8312 8575 and book them direct (no booking fee).

I visited the exhibition last Tuesday - there's some great stuff I've never seen before and the book "The Adventures of Tintin at Sea" is an excellent read, a must for all fans!

Chris
tintinuk
Moderator Emeritus
#3 · Posted: 7 May 2004 20:19
I haven't yet been to the exhibition, but I really do agree that The Adventures of Tintin At Sea is a great book; I especially liked the Navigation section.

- OLIVER -
pauldurdin
Moderator Emeritus
#4 · Posted: 8 May 2004 04:04
I received an email today with the program of the Conference...obviously they thought I might be interested in going, which I would be if I lived in London. :p


Here's the program, anyway:

10.30 Introduction: Robert Blyth, Chair, National Maritime Museum

10.40 The Adventures of Tintin at Sea-- Michael Farr, 'Tintinologist' and author of Tintin: The Complete Companion

11.30 Herge and the Clear Line - Paul Gravett, freelance writer, lecturer and broadcaster on International comic art

12.15 - 14.00 Exhibition visit. Lunch not included

14.00 Tintin and the Translation Affair: the English Connection - Michael Turner and Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper, English translators of the Tintin adventures

14.45 The Fondation Herge - Bernard Tordeur, Fondation Herge, Brussels

15.15 Discussion and questions to the panel

15.45 Break

16.00 Documentary; Tintin and I, 52 mins

17.00 Close


So, it looks most interesting. Oh well. :(

Paul
edcharlesadams
Trivia Challenge Score Keeper
#5 · Posted: 8 May 2004 10:27
Thanks for that Paul. It sounds very interesting indeed...

Ed
pauldurdin
Moderator Emeritus
#6 · Posted: 8 May 2004 14:31
Ah, apologies...I got confused with another email I received today. The one about the conference was sent to the tintinologist team! :/

I knew there was something wrong with using the same code on my own website...

Paul
Looking silly
tybaltstone
Member
#7 · Posted: 11 May 2004 09:04
Just got my tickets, so I'll be there on Saturday too.

Best -
Garen.
tybaltstone
Member
#8 · Posted: 16 May 2004 13:55
Well, it was a wonderful day, and very nice to meet up with fellow tintinologist, Harrock'n'roll, which just made the day even more enjoyable.

Rather than put my report here I have it up at my blog, so if you want to know what went on from my persepctive, just nip over to:

http://www.garenewing.co.uk/blog/index.html

Really enjoyed it.
Harrock n roll
Moderator
#9 · Posted: 16 May 2004 18:45
Nice write-up Garen, and thanks!

In defence of the 'Tintin & Moi' film - I personally like the way they animated Hergé or used a recontruction of his hands leafing through the papers, going through drawers, etc. It works quite well in emphasizing and explaining some of the points he was making - even details like him thumping the pages at the same time as he did on the tape - I like those touches.

You're right though, it does strike a melancholic tone, maybe less so in the longer version which was shown on Swedish TV and was 20 minutes longer (I think it's 72 minutes). The central theme of the film is Hergé's breakdown around the time of Tibet which I suppose is quite a melancholic subject.

The longer version has more of the Hergé/Tintin story and a lovely recreation of the waterfall scene from 'Prisoners', albeit in French. I also found that old film of him greeting Chang at the airport very moving. He obviously had a great affection for the man. And I love the recreation of the Tibet crash scene brought to life in 3D. It actually sends shivers up the spine when viewed more intimately in the comfort of your own home!

My only complaint is that for the English subtitles, the book titles were translated - i.e 'Temple Du Soleil' to 'Prisoners of the Sun', etc - which I don't think was neccesary. However it was great to finally work out what Hergé is saying on those old recordings as it's very hard to discern. I also have a French version which is 55 minutes with French subtitles just on the Michael Farr and Harry Thompson interviews and a bit of Danish which is spoken, so I don't know how they would have understood those tape recording parts.

The film may have been cut for some future TV broadcast but I think the longer version is better, so we may have to wait for the DVD for the full monty which I hope is coming soon :)

Chris
tybaltstone
Member
#10 · Posted: 17 May 2004 09:51
My server seems to be acting up at the moment, so with my apologies for the long post, here is the report straight off my blog:

The World of Tintin 15th May 2004, National Maritime Museum

My wife and I spent yesterday in Greenwich at the World of Tintin 'study day', which was held at the Maritime Museum where there is also an ocean-themed Tintin exhibition. It was a beautiful sunny day, and Greenwich is really one of the nicest places to be on a day like this, though it certainly did attract a lot of people who thought the same thing.


After picking up my tickets I met up with Chris, a fellow tintinologist, and was surprised to discover that not only did we both work as designers, but we also both played the bass guitar in bands (see his website). But he's much taller than me! I was also surprised to see that the small lecture theatre where the day's talks would all take place was not packed out, in fact there were perhaps only about 30 or so people there, and one of the organisers stated that about 20 people hadn't turned up. Well, this gave it all quite a nice intimate feel.

The first talk was by Michael Farr, author of 'Tintin The Complete Companion', as he went through some slides mainly reflecting the content of his excellent book, that is Hergé's research sources, but he had many interesting notes to add. Mr. Farr really is a knowledgeable Tintinophile with facts and anecdotes at his fingertips, and was also an excellent and intreresting speaker.

Next up was Paul Gravett, someone I have long admired as a champion of quality comics in the UK, and who, if I remember correctly, would like to set up a permanent comic strip museum for the country, similar to Brussels' amazing and inspiring Musée de Bande Dessinée. His talk was on the evolution of the ligne clair style of BD, from who and what influenced Hergé, to who and what were influenced by Hergé - he really is at the head of a whole respected school of European comic art. If you have read Paul's articles 'Hergé and the Clear Line' from Comic Art magazine (thank you Paul Harrison for sending me those!), then this was basically his talk. Very fascinating - almost too much to take in in one go, but Paul kindly offered to take people's emails and send them the text of his talk (the article). During his talk, Paul handed out various albums for us to flick through, some of which I already had, and some I wish I had.

Chris, Elyssa and I had our sandwiches in the park behind the museum and then had a quick look round the exhibition. It was nicely put together, smaller than I had imagined, but very good, and I'd certainly consider another visit with a bit more time to devote to it. The first display case held a very interesting Hergé self-portrait from 1930, which I'd never seen before, and one of his dip pens, almost like an altar. The highlight of the exhibition were the various pieces of original artwork, which quite frankly I could sit in front of and stare at all day. His line is beautiful, almost perfect, and the composition within each and every panel is just wonderful. They are very inspiring pieces.

The afternoon's talks began with the much-venerated Michael Turner and Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper, the English translators of the Tintin books, who enjoyed a close working relationship with Hergé and are a very important part of the Tintin scene for any British reader, as their own love of the books made sure we ended up with a version of Hergé's ouvre that was as meticulous as the artist himself was. They too had some fascinating anecdotes and stories to tell, and some excellent insights into the work itself, as well as of the publishing world in which Tintin made his entrance to this country. Michael Turner looks very much as though he could quite easily become one of Hergé's mad professor characters, but they are both lovely and approachable people.

Bernard Tordeur, one of the three employees at Fondation Hergé was next up to the lecturn. He apologised for his English, which was actually rather good, but I was particularly amused by the expression of mild shock on the chairman of the day's face, Robert Blyth, when, after a brief introduction, he said his 'talk' would consist of answering questions from the floor. There was a bit of a pause before a few people thought of something to ask and it all got going - though things weren't looking too bright when his answer to the first question was a single word, 'no'. Information, generally, was slow in coming and though what Bernard did have to say was of great interest, I felt it wasn't given up too freely. Someone asked about the possible Spielberg film, and though obviously under orders not to give anything away on this subject, he did confirm it was a definite project. In Bernard's defence he was speaking in a second language, but there is, I think, a general feeling that the whole Moulinsart estate is a bit of a closed shop, perhaps a remnant of the business politics that followed Hergé's death in 1983. If this is not the case, then it must be recognised that public relations is an important aspect towards diminishing this feeling that does exist, justifiably or not. The horizon may be brighter though, as Bernard mentioned the planned Hergé museum that will exist outside Brussels in the next few years.

The day's lecturers then assembled at the front for a question and answer panel. It's a shame this couldn't have been longer, but was still very absorbing. I'd have liked to have heard more from Paul Gravett who has some very interesting and worthwhile views on comics, and Michael Farr again showed his fingertip knowledge of the world of Tintin and all things Hergé, giving particular insight into the misguided accusations that George Remis was a collaborator during the German occupation of Belgium. There was hardly a peek out of Monsieur Tordeur, despite some encouragement from Michael Farr. I hope I'm not being unfair to Bernard who did add nicely to the day, and was perhaps a bit overwhelmed by it all.

The last item on the day's agenda was the UK premiere showing of the documentary 'Tintin et Moi', which I was very much looking forward to, but while that was being set up there was a bit of a disorganised jumble to get autographs from the participants of the day's unique gathering. Due to this slight disorganisation (no one's fault at all) I only managed to get the signatures of Michael Turner and Michael Farr, but not being much of an autograph hunter I didn't really mind. It would have been nice if this had been an organised part of the day though, which was hinted at earlier in the morning.

'Tintin et Moi' was very interesting, but ultimately slightly disappointing. It centred around the taped interviews with Hergé from the conversations Numa Sadoul conducted in the early seventies, but they were pictured with footage of Hergé that had a very annoying 'line-drawing' style filter applied to the image, possibly to hide the fact that words and pictures did not go together. It was a bit unnecessarily artsy, and had an overall melancholy atmosphere to it for some reason, partly due to the music. One bit I found quite moving was the footage of Hergé at the airport to meet Tchang, Hergé himself looking in poor health and quite emotional, Tchang looking slightly bewildered, and the whole thing surrounded by a media circus that can't have helped. Overall it was good, but I wished for more, particularly more insight into the creative process . In fact Chris told me he had seen a version off Swiss television that was an hour and twenty minutes, almost half an hour longer than the cut we saw.

I very much enjoyed the day, and felt I had been to a unique and special event. It was very nice to meet Chris and to bask in the presence of fellow tintinophiles.

Page  Page 1 of 2:  1  2  Next » 

Please be sure to familiarize yourself with the Forum Posting Guidelines.

Disclaimer: Tintinologist.org assumes no responsibility for any content you post to the forums/web site. Staff reserve the right to remove any submitted content which they deem in breach of Tintinologist.org's Terms of Use. If you spot anything on Tintinologist.org that you think is inappropriate, please alert the moderation team. Sometimes things slip through, but we will always act swiftly to remove unauthorised material.

Reply

 Forgot password
Please log in to post. No account? Create one!