Artist Turns Crowdsourced Voicemail Messages Into Animations

NYC-based animator Dustin Grella conspicuously features his phone number on his work… because he needs your calls in order to create. For his ongoing project, Animation Hotline, he takes clips of voicemails left on his phone and animates one a day, which he then posts at 11:11 AM the following day on his blog: Dirty Hands.

Though all the animations are under 30 seconds, if you call, Grella encourages you to talk for a while: “Honestly it’s best if you leave more than one [voicemail] because sometimes what you think is the perfect message might simply be impossible for me to animate in one day. This project is only as good as the messages that you leave me…”

Each slate (remember chalkboard?) and pastel animation opens up with a sketch of a timepiece, referring to the time the caller left the message, before unveiling the anonymous person’s story, dream, hope, or nightmare. Here are our top three favorites, but make sure to visit Dirty Hands for the insight behind each piece.

Soup or Salad

Follow Your Heart

Money

Call Dustin:

US: +1.212.283.2480
International: animationhotline (Skype)

[via ArtsTech News]