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Q: How do you balance the commercial aspect of art with the preservation and promotion of artistic integrity?Fine art ultimately is about communicating something important to a willing audience.First and foremost, an artist has to produce artwork that is meaningful to them. If they try to do something mere- ly because they think it will sell, they will fail and the resulting work will lack essential artistic character. As a gallerist, I have to respect, nurture and encourage that artistic vision and quest for meaningfulness.Conversely, if there is no audience for a particular body of work, then the artist%u2019s message doesn%u2019t get communi- cated and it can%u2019t impact humanity.The key then is more about selecting, encouraging, and promoting artwork to the right audience. If you can present the artist%u2019s message with integrity to a receptive audience, then you%u2019ll maintain artistic integrity while realizing commercial success.Q: WS Productions is involved in both short and fea- ture-length films. How does your background in the business of art influence your approach to filmmaking? Can you elaborate on how this entrance into film came about and any challenges you may have encountered?The world of fine art is often about vaguery. Most art- ists communicate through their art. It is visual com- munication rather than literal communication, visual language rather than written or spoken language.Just as the most profound artwork is often meaningful for non-descript reasons, the best films often leave an impact on the viewer that defies definition. In these ways, fine art and the cinematic arts are twins, fraternal if not identical.Much like my entry into the world of fine art, my entry into the world of cinema was unexpected and unplanned. I never aspired to make films, or frankly, to have any involvement with the process.Rather, my involvement grew out of a desire to promote the artistic vision and philosophy of Sir Daniel Winn to a larger audience. %u201cCreation,%u201d the short film and first cinematic project I%u2019ve been involved in, was original- ly conceived as more of a promotional video than an arthouse film. It grew into more than was planned and more than could have been planned. It was not done in the way films are usually done and that has been both its limitation and its brilliance.Q: As an executive producer on %u201cCreation,%u201d what motivated the decision to turn it into a trilogy? Can you provide any insights into what audiences can expect from this ex- panded narrative?%u201cCreation%u201d was an interesting challenge, particularly as there is no dialogue. The entire verbal communication of the film is composed of two parts %u2013 the title and the tagline %u201cCreation begins where destruction ends.%u201dPainting and sculpture can be experienced, understood and interpreted by anyone re- gardless of their native language. We want- ed to recreate that experience in the %u201cCre- ation%u201d short film. The film can be viewed anywhere in the world and the audience will understand it. And just as with fine art, they will understand and interpret the film according to their own experiences and influences. That makes %u201cCreation%u201d a work of fine art in an alternative media.The remaining short films in the trilogy comprise both a prequel and a sequel to %u201cCreation.%u201d The prequel, titled %u201cCreation: Ectropy%u201d examines the significance of chaos evolving into order, which is an important theme in Sir Daniel Winn%u2019s Existential Surrealism philosophy. We anticipate a fall 2024 release for %u201cCreation: Ectropy.%u201dThe sequel, titled %u201cCreation: Entropy,%u201d will examine the exact opposite %u2013 the signifi- cance of order devolving into chaos. We%u2019re working towards a fall 2025 release on this short film.Collectively, the three films will be the basis of a feature length film, tentatively titled %u201cSir Daniel Winn%u2019s Creation,%u201d that will provide more insight and detail than can be achieved in short films. It will explore Existential Surrealism, Sir Daniel%u2019s artis- tic philosophy and style, in a way that will transcend language, culture and period.MOST MAGAZINE - ISSUE 40 37