Condition: Zero Hour December 30, 2010

Condition: Zero Hour
December 30, 2010
Sunie and Stitchwolf in the vender / artist alley at Condition: Zero Hour August 2010 Editor’s Note: During the tail end of the summer, I attended Condition: Zero Hour, an exceptionally unique convention. This particular event was London Ontario’s very first anthropomorphic convention. Since the mass media generally has a tendency to misinterpret this specific subculture, I felt that there should be a little clarification on the subject. Anthropomorphism refers to applying human characteristics to non-­‐human entities, in this case animals. The people that attend these conventions and online communities have an appreciation of art, animation, stories and other mediums that involve anthropomorphic characters. Humanity has superimposed its values and beliefs on animals for centuries, for example various world mythologies, religions, folk tales and fairy tales. Specific examples can be found in the collected works of Aesop, the Brother’s Grim and novels such as The Wind in the Willows, The Jungle Book, Black Sad, as well as movies such as The Secret of Nimh or The Fantastic Mr. Fox. Now that I have given a brief selection of works, it should open the doors to the knowledge that anthropomorphism has been present throughout history and across a diversity of cultures. I do not intend to impose my beliefs on my readership, but I hope that they will realize that a misconception created through misinformation is not an excuse for ignorance. I was a bit surprised to find out that I was not the only media personnel present at Condition: Zero Hour. In addition to myself, there was a film crew from SPACE TV doing a brief documentary on the anthropomorphic convention. I just wish that they had let me eat my damn sandwich in peace! Much like any of the other conventions I have attended, there were a variety of panels, an artist’s alley with a vendor’s section and tons of other fun activities. What set this convention apart from your regular run of the mill conference was the fact that there was a story concept for the event. Frostscar, along with several of the other organizers including Potoroo and several of the members of Camp Feral, developed the idea for Condition: Zero Hour. The story that was created for this convention is one of espionage and assassination, pitting the Coalition against the Feral Extremists. The intricate storyline that they had developed for this event was woven through the convention with a variety of skits and games that were played that weekend. I must say that the concept went over exceptionally well with the convention goers and I bet that they will be looking forward to next year’s Condition: Red. There were some issues in tallying the total number of attendees at Condition: Zero Hour as the machine ate several of the entries. After the issue was cleared up, Frostscar estimated the numbers around 230 attendees for the convention. Quite a few of the visitors and artists at the convention had that travelled up from the United States was, which was awesome, not only because of the great distances that they travelled, but also for the enthusiasm they expressed for the convention. Considering the fact that this was the first year for the convention, the turnout was quite the success. This year’s Artist’s ally was graced with an abundance of talented craftsmen and craftswomen. I found that their art styles and methods were exceptionally diversified, which included drawings, sculptures, inked wood plank paintings and steam punk items. With so many interesting individuals present, I decided that this would be an excellent opportunity to start a mini series of interviews. Currently, I have completed two of the interviews, the first being with Brandon “Kaze” Slomski (Inked wood drawings) and then John Barrett (The creator of Roxikat). Hopefully once things settle down a little bit with the conventions, we will see the rest of the interviews slowly drift in. On the very last day of the convention, a charity auction was held with all of the proceeds going to Salthaven; a wildlife rehabilitation and education centre in Mount Brydges, Ontario, Canada. I was quite impressed by the generosity of both the donators and the auctionees, as they raised $2200 during the auction. This charity auction was made possible through the generous donations made by the Furnal Equinox group, Kimba from Critterama and several of the artists, including John Barrett, Kamber, Kitty and Patto. I would like to thank the staff and volunteers of Condition: Zero Hour; without their hard work and dedication to this project, there would not have been a convention at all. With the end of Condition: Zero Hour, I noticed quite a few friendships developed out of this unique three-­‐day event. There were also several chances for old friends to catch up with one another to make new memories. Watching everyone saying goodbye to one another reinforced in me the belief that this particular community can be a very welcoming and accepting group. Ink Pot
Photography rights belong to Ink Pot August 8, 2010 Intellectual rights belong to Ink Pot December 30, 2010