Alan Magee: art is not a solace Concludes FREE Best of Fest Series on September 8 at SJI Library
Updated: Sep 1
Friday Harbor Film Festival’s FREE Best of the Fest series will show Alan Magee: art is not a solace at the San Juan Island Library on Friday, September 8 at 7 pm. This documentary was a runner-up in the Things To Consider category at the October 2022 Festival.
Following the film, the artist, Alan Magee, and co-director, David Berez will appear by livestream to discuss the film and answer audience questions. For those who can’t attend in person, the movie and Q&A will be livestreamed free. The online program will begin at 7 PM on the website: fhff.org.
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, 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 that 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 Tell the Truth project.
This exceptional film is presented in coordination with the San Juan Island Library with support from the San Juan Island Museum of Art. The Best of the Fest series is sponsored by SaviBank.Since it’s showing on Friday, it is a great “date night” activity. Mark your calendar and plan to view this special Best of the Fest documentary.
ABOUT ALAN MAGEE
Artist | Film Subject
"Magee is a man of conscience, who speaks with great humility, honesty, and conviction of past and present events. He is an engaged onlooker, whose works make us look and as we look and see, make us feel and think. His art speaks compellingly and adamantly asks us viewers to speak in return -- to speak out." - Véronique Plesch, Professor of Art, Colby College, Editor, Maine Arts Journal
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 which comment on corporate greed, on cruelty and gun violence, and on civilian and military victims of war 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.
ABOUT DAVID PEREZ
Co-Director | Editor
David Berez, a multifaceted Producer, Director, and Editor, boasts a portfolio of over 300 video, film, and multimedia projects designed for a diverse range of broadcast, corporate, and non-profit clientele. As the lead producer at Post Office Editorial in Camden, Maine, and a key figure at Penobscot Bay Media in Union Hall, Virginia, David's vast experience in the media world is undisputed.
Among his noteworthy projects, David directed "Moving Stories/Moving Pictures", an extensive multimedia chronicle of orthopedic surgery that clinched a prestigious CLIO award. He also took the helm for "Wounded in Action", a PBS-aired documentary highlighting WWII battlefield surgeons – a masterpiece now housed at the D-Day Museum in New Orleans. From filming underwater vistas at Bloody Bay Wall in the Little Cayman Islands to capturing moments at a combat support hospital in Balad, Iraq, David's work has graced screens on PBS, The Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and countless corporate board rooms. As the primary editor of his firm, he's meticulously edited numerous programs for both his own clientele and fellow producers.
Away from the lens and editing suite, David enjoys life in Camden, Maine. Surrounded by the love of his wife, three daughters, and son, he often finds himself adventuring outdoors – whether it's paddling, trekking, or fly fishing in exotic locales.
WATCH THE TRAILER
Alan Magee: art is not a solace | Directed by P. David Berez, David Wright | 2022 | 60 minutes
Trailer: Alan Magee: art is not a solace