What does it take to make a significant contribution to the worlds of art, film, and culture?
Visionary mixed-media animator Manuel Barenboim Segal knows all too well what a unique eye and passion for the arts can produce. His achievements have set him as one to watch in the world of mixed media, but what is it about him that makes his work so progressive and extraordinary?
Let’s uncover all there is to know about Manuel Segal.
From Argentina to New York City
Manuel Barenboim Segal’s journey began in Argentina. With architecture deep in his family’s roots, its creative and precise nature has profoundly influenced his artistic approach. But it was during his studies at the Universidad del Cine that Manuel first began to dabble in freelance animation. From there, Manuel has gone on to become a leading figure in creative video and mixed media animation in New York.
As the Visual Effects and Animation Creative Director at Motion Principles, the creative studio he founded in 2018, Manuel has spearheaded numerous high-profile projects across various creative industries and built a thriving career in the arts.
Mixed Media Animation in Fashion
Segal has worked with numerous high-profile brands, including Prada, Louis Vuitton, Versace, and Chanel, bringing a fresh, dynamic visual narrative to their campaigns. His distinctive blend of digital and analog techniques has allowed these brands to stand out in a competitive market.
What sets Manuel’s approach apart?
His work integrates a wide variety of media, including typography, drawings, still photography, archival material, 3D animation, and video. As Manuel himself puts it, the “key ingredient is movement.” His design philosophy centers on the expressive power of motion, viewing animation as akin to dance or choreography. “What conveys emotions is more than just the images; it’s how they move,” he explains. This unique approach allows him to create a style that aligns perfectly with the fashion world’s focus on innovation and aesthetics.
On Culture and Live Performances
Segal has also made waves in the world of Museums, art institutions, and live performances.
In the museum and art institution realm, Manuel has worked with the prestigious Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), contributing to the “Intro Stories” series of exhibition trailers that ran from 2018 to 2020. This series featured exhibitions such as Félix Fénéon: The Anarchist and the Avant-Garde, Lincoln Kirstein: Kirstein’s Modern, Theater of Operations: The Gulf Wars 1991–2011, MoMA: Good Design, and Betye Saar: The Legends of Black Girl’s Window.Using all the original work of the exhibitions, these videos are a exquisite example of Manuel’s signature collage animated style. He also created in-gallery videos for various MoMA exhibitions, including the 2022 exhibition Matisse: The Red Studio, where he produced a lively, mixed-media biographical documentary on the artist. Segal’s ability to bring both historical and contemporary art to life through animation has played a key role in engaging audiences. He is also working on animated map videos that will be part of the permanent exhibition at the newly renovated Rockefeller Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2025.
Segal has contributed to live performances at some of the most iconic venues in the world, including the Sydney Opera House, New York’s Carnegie Hall, and Lincoln Center, where his animations added new dimension to operatic and theatrical productions such as Lucia de Lamermoor, George Balenchine’s the Nutcracker, or Prokofiev’s Cinderella.
Manuel Barenboim Segal’s Innovation in Mixed Media Animation
By refining and popularizing a mixed media animation style that sits at the intersection of traditional animation and video post-production, Manuel is truly innovating. His method of creating without a clear roadmap – like assembling a puzzle without a reference picture – has allowed for greater creative freedom and unexpected, yet impactful, results. His style is clearly exemplified in Manuel collaboration with the Cultural Institute of Radical Contemporary Arts (CIRCA) and renowned artist Ai Weiwei on Where Do We Go From Now?, a project inviting public responses to this question through various media. Manuel synthesized the diverse inputs into an 8-minute mixed-media animation, blending motion graphics, animation, kinetic typography, video, and sound design. The result was a dynamic audiovisual collage capturing the collective spirit and essence of the project. It was showcased in public billboards in London’s Piccadilly Circus, New York’s time square, and many others.
His work has influenced the broader creative industry, setting new standards for how mixed media can be used to tell compelling visual stories in fashion, art, and culture.
What the Future Looks Like for Manuel Barenboim Segal
Manuel Segal currently lectures at Yale University’s School of Drama, where he mentors the next generation of animators with a unique blend of academic rigor and industry experience.
Through his contributions to the world of art, fashion, and cultural creativity, Manuel Barenboim Segal is certainly one to watch. Moving forward, he intends to expand his work with museums and cultural institutions, and hopes to launch a short film competition through his studio, Motion Principles.