Joan C. Gratz Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase (1992)

An accomplished director, artist, and animator, Joan Gratz pioneered the animation technique known as claypainting. Working with bits of clay she blends colors and etches fine lines to create a seamless flow of images. Gratz s most recent short film, Puffer Girl, moves into the digital realm by incorporating photography, Photoshop and AfterEffects with claypainting. In Mona Lisa Descending a Staircse, images of the human face are transformed to communicate the graphic style and emotional content of key a