Animal Arts Activist

Andreas Deja’s brown eyes flash angrily as he describes the slaughter of the last black rhinos in Kenya by poachers: The 31-year-old Disney animator has resolved to help these rapidly disappearing animals. The proceeds from

an exhibit of his wire sculptures will benefit the World Wildlife Fund program to save the black rhinoceros. The sculptures may be seen by appointment Monday and Wednesday noon to 1 p.m. For an appointment, contact Dee at (818) 956-2500. The exhibit remains on display until March 31.

“I’ve been concerned about endangered species for a long time,” he says. “When I heard about the destruction of the rhinos, I was so upset I literally couldn’t sleep that night. I decided to donate any money I made from this show to help solve the problem in some small way.”

Born in Gdansk, Poland, Deja grew up in Dinslaken, West Germany. His portfolio so impressed the remaining old artists at Disney that he was hired by the studio in 1980 at 22. Deja’s draftsmanship quickly earned him a reputation as one of the best animators of his generation. He worked with the gorilla nightclub bouncer, Judge Doom’s weasels and the title character in the hit comedy “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.”

Deja became interested in wire sculpture when he saw the work Milt Kahl, one of Disney’s “Nine Old Men,” had done of ballet dancers. Impressed by this “three-dimensional form of drawing,” he decided to apply it to the forms and movements of animals. His sculptures are highly calligraphic, with a single strand of aluminum wire suggesting both the contour and the motion of an animal’s leg.

“All this work comes from an understanding of animal movement,” Deja concludes. “Animation represents one way of using that knowledge; three-dimensional wire sculpture, another. But it all comes from the study of life--you need to observe animals and acquire a thorough knowledge of their anatomy and movements before you animate or sculpt.”