Alan Magee: art is not a solace

Runner-up: THINGS TO CONSIDER category at the 2022 Friday Harbor Film Festival

Best known for his captivating realist paintings, artist Alan Magee also creates works that delve into the darkest aspects of human nature. His arresting images comment on corporate greed, on cruelty and gun violence, and on civilian and military victims of war. These seem at odds with his serene paintings of nature and found objects, but through his distinctive visual language and interconnected themes, Magee suggests that these dual realms are inseparably interwoven.

Alan Magee: art is not a solace explores the artist’s subjects, locales, and the historical sources which have sustained his work for five decades. Through his paintings, sculpture, monotypes, music, and short films, Magee asks viewers to consider the breadth of human behavior and experience. The film features long-time friends and collaborators, including writer Barry Lopez, Berlin-based cellist Frank Dodge, labor-union director and historian Harris Gruman, Curator/Director of the Center for Maine Contemporary Art Suzette McAvoy, and artist Robert Shetterly, creator of the Americans Who Tells the Truth project.

Released in 2022

Running time: 60 minutes

Sponsor: San Juan Islands Museum of Art (SJIMA)