Ed Seeman

Edward Seeman (pseudonym Eduardo Cemano^[2]) is an American artist whose works have spanned disparate fields, from award-winning animated television commercials for children to films of artistic nudity and hardcore pornography.^[3][4] He is also known for his cinemaphotography and for his work with Frank Zappa in the 1960s.

Ed Seeman
Ed Seeman self-portrait
Born	(1931-07-16)July 16, 1931 Bronx, New York City
Other names	Eduardo Cemano
Movement	Art fractals photomontage abstract art Animated cartoons Popeye the Sailorman Casper the Friendly Ghost Animated commercials Sugar Bear Trix Rabbit Flintstones Photography & cinemaphotography montage documentary film human form dance erotic photography unsimulated sex in film
Spouses	Marilyn Sofer Amy Seeman
Awards	1967 Clio award, Luden's Cough Drops commercial 1968 Cine Golden Eagle Award, Mothers of Invention 1970 Silver Phoenix award, Atlanta International Film Festival, "World's Best Experimental Film" for short movie Space Oddity^[1] 1981 Emmy award, The Great Space Coaster

Career

 

Security adverts from c.1953, from the 4th Infantry Division's Ivy Leaves newspaper, by Corporal Ed Seeman

Seeman was born in New York in 1931, and attended both the High School of Music & Art and the Pratt Institute. He began his animation career at Paramount Pictures, making animation cels for shows such as Popeye the Sailorman and Casper the Friendly Ghost. He won several awards for his work, including Clios and ADDYs.^[3]

Seeman's career was interrupted when he was drafted into the U.S. Army. He served in Frankfurt with the 4th Infantry Division from 1952 to 1954. Seeman produced cartoons for Army's internal information program.

After returning from military service, Seeman and his partner Ray Favata began the media company Gryphon Productions, which ran from about 1960 to 1969. They produced commercials using cartoon characters, including the Trix rabbit, Sugar Bear and My Little Pony.^[5]

In 1967 Seeman paid Frank Zappa $2,000 to produce music for a Luden's cough drops television commercial.^[6] Zappa's music was matched with Seeman's animation and the advertisement won a Clio Award for "Best Use of Sound".^[7][8] An alternate version of the soundtrack, called "The Big Squeeze", later appeared on Zappa's posthumous 1996 album "The Lost Episodes". The completed soundtrack version includes narration from Seeman.

Seeman also produced other films with Zappa, such as the 14-hour montage Uncle Meat, for which he won a Cine Golden Eagle Award. In 1981 Seeman and Favata won an Emmy Award for their work on the intro to the children's television show The Great Space Coaster.^[3]

Seeman also produced and directed a number of pornographic films, such as The Healers, Fongaluli, and Madame Zenobia, which were marketed outside the US.^[9]

Films

Film festival

• Frekoba, 1968,^[1] dancer Frances Alenikoff
• Dana and Clay, 1969,^[1] dancers Dana Wolfe and Clay Taliaferro
• High Contrast, 1969^[1]
• Space Oddities, 1970^[1]
• Incubus c. 1971,^[10] dancer Frances Alenikoff

Frank Zappa

• Electric Circus, c. 1967^[11]
• Rehearsal, c. 1967^[11]
• Sex, Paint and Sound, c. 1967^[11]
• Mothers of Invention,1968^[12]

Also known as:

• Uncle Meat (40-minute version)
• Frank Zappa and the Original Mothers of Invention,video cassette version of film, 1987
• The Real Uncle Meat
• Raw Meat
• Suzy Creamcheese What's Got Into You?

Seeman contributed motion picture photography for Frank Zappa's:

• The Burnt Weeny Sandwich (unpublished)
• Uncle Meat 14 hrs version (the footage of the Mothers of Invention) (parts of it were shown publicly, but the whole was unpublished)

As Eduardo Cemano, sex industry films

• Millie's Homecoming, 1971^[13]
• The Weirdos and the Oddballs (aka Zora Knows Best), 1971^[4][13]
• The Healers, 1972^[13]
• Fongaluli, 1972,^[13] also named Aphrodisiac and The Love Potion^[14]
• Madame Zenobia, 1973^[13]

Eduardo Cemano short films

• Blushing Nude^[1]
• Cucumber^[1]
• Floating Nudes^[1]

Gallery

•  
  Circa 1953, Corporal Ed Seeman putting up a display of his artwork and the award, "A Pat on the Back."
•  
  Circa 1953, The Corporal Seeman cartoon, captioned "A note has just been handed me."

References

1. "Eduardo Cemano, Other Works". imdb.com. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
2. Williamson, Bruce (August 1973). "Porno chic: hard-core films come out of the closet". Playboy.
3. Wineriter, Nick (7 August 2017). "Artist morphs from cel animation to computer art". OCALA Star Banner. Ocala, Florida. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
4. Bowen, Michael J. (2008). Grindhouse Director's Series, The Films of Eduaro Cemano, The Wierdo and the Oddballs (Zora Knows Best) (Liner notes). Aquarius Releasing Inc. Eduaro directed two of New York's first explicit XXX features...
5. Cenziper, Debbie. . Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2018-02-16. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
6. "Luden's Cough Drops Commercial". YouTube.
7. "Frank Zappa's Clio Award". June 30, 2015.
8. "Zappa's Luden's Cough Drops". YouTube.
9. Peter Keough (1995). Flesh and Blood: The National Society of Film Critics on Sex, Violence, and Censorship. Mercury House. p. 15. ISBN 978-1-56279-076-9.
10. "Our Contributors". Craft Horizons. 31 (6). American Crafts Council: 11. 1971. Frances Alenikoff...She was a soloist in Ed Seeman's film, "Incubus"...
11. "New York Filmmakers' Newsletter". New York Filmmakers Newsletter. Suncraft International, Incorporated. 1967. Retrieved 30 August 2017. [Volumes 1-2, page 18] Electric Circus, Rehearsal & Sex, Paint and Sound by Ed Seeman, New York City
12. Text from the Cine 1968 Golden Eagle Award: "Cine 1968 The council on International Nontheatrical Events congratulates Ed Seeman for the motion picture Mothers of Invention selected for its excellence to represent the United States of America in international motion picture events abroad and awards to it The Golden Eagle". Page with picture of the award.
13. woodyanders. "Eduardo Cemano Biography". IMDb. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
14. "Aphrodisiac 1972". pre-cert.co.uk. Retrieved 30 August 2017.