‘Natural souvenirs’ and ocean sounds form a sea-salty celebration of the shore

The US animator and artist Al Jarnow is best known for the short films he’s directed for the children’s TV shows Sesame Street and The Electric Company. But this recognition perhaps belies the sophistication and all-ages appeal of his influential body of work, which has been displayed at institutions including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Shorelines (1977), exhibited here via the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, offers a seasalt-tinged taste of his visual charms. Crafted with meticulous care from an array of ‘natural souvenirs’ and beachside sounds, the stop-motion short evokes the unmistakable sensations of a trip to the edge of the ocean.