Norman McLaren was born in Stirling, Scotland, on the 11^th of April, 1914. He's had an interest in cinema, particularly for abstract films, since the age of 18 and in 1939 he settles in New York where he's produced many short films for the National Broadcasting Corporation and the Guggenheim Museum. In 1941, he comes to Canada to work for the National Film Board of Canada. From 1941 to 1943, he realizes five 35mm shorts, in colour, using an animation technique in which the image is drawn directly on the film, without the use of a camera. Between 1943 and 1945, he creates the National Film Board's animation department and goes on to produce a number of films while continuously experiementing with new techniques such as scratching the film, animating pieces if paper, incorporating actors as well as creating the sounds to correspond to the images. Amongst his films we can find 'Blinkity', 'Blank', 'Begone Dull Car', 'Neighbours', 'La Chaise', 'Le Merle', 'Vertical Lines', 'Horizontal Lines', 'New York Lightboard', 'Canon', 'Mosaic', 'Pas de deux' and 'Synchromy' to name a few. He's also produced two programs for Unesco, one in China, broadcast in 1949-50, the other for India in 1953-54. The Royal Academy of Arts of Canada presented him with a medal of honour and in 1971 he obtained an honorary doctorate from the University of Montréal. Norman McLaren also did some work in graphic arts, notably two series of silkscreens, 'Mutations' and 'Interplay', which la Guilde Graphique has proudly published. Norman McLaren passed away in Montreal, January 26^th, 1987.