Film Selects

Robert Hessler's pieces have unique shapes, stunning colors, and an extraordinary quality. He delights in improvising and experimenting with both the clay and glazes and is fascinated with the unknown aspect of what might emerge from the kiln. "My aim is to always try and surprise myself and come up with results that I find visually intriguing and exciting," says Hessler, "a constant quest to discover something new." Blauweiss spent a good part of the day documenting the process of creating a single piece, watching it grow from a lump of clay into one of Hessler's signature shapes: a very round base embellished with a magnificent long, thin neck. He then captured the beauty of a variety of ceramics with their intriguing one-of-a-kind glazes. Blauweiss crafted the narrative in which Hessler describes his passion and his process, and completed the film by finding a perfect fit with the music of Claude DeBussy.

A lifelong plein air painter, Barbara Masterson lives on a farm in the heart of the Hudson Valley's apple orchard region. Captivated by the sight of migrant workers who came into the scenes she painted, Masterson began incorporating them into her colorful paintings— first at a distance, but soon cultivating personal relationships and gaining a deep insight into the crucial work they perform in an increasingly harsh political environment. Her intimate, large-scale portraits of those who often remain "unseen" by society are unforgettable. Masterson was able to invite the subjects of her paintings to see their portraits exhibited in a gallery show and even meet the patrons who purchased the artwork. Audiences remember her stunning paintings long after viewing this artist profile film and have sought out her exhibitions around the region. The filmmakers had the opportunity to visit the orchards and meet the workers with whom Masterson has developed friendships over the years while creating this film in 2017 and were thrilled to watch the expert at work in her studio.

Larry Kagan is a sculptor who uses steel, light, and cast shadow as a creative medium. Kagan's challenge is to induce viewers to actually look at the shadow rather than solely at the steel. His works of art appear to be abstract metal sculptures, and even when viewers see them close-up, they have difficulty understanding how his metal constructions cast these incredible shadow images. He explains that "we are more or less aware of the presence of shadows, since they tell us something about our environment, but we do not actually look at them, unless they call attention to themselves by some unfamiliar or unexpected behavior."

Lenny Kislin gives new life to old objects by creating antique constructions from pieces he collected for over 20 years as a antiques dealer. With an eye for unique and whimsical pieces, Kislin filled his home with items he knew he'd one day make into art. By bringing together diverse objects in a unique and often humorous way, Kislin enjoys using his creations to tell a story and make people think. He has great reverence for the items he's collected “because they made it through great amounts of time to come to me; I feel like I'm doing a great thing, giving them another life.”

Mickey Mathis has been shooting all subjects for 50 years. In fact he says, "all subjects matter," He's always ready with his camera by his side ready for the image around the next corner. He has created a wide variety of photographs in color as well as black and white. Mathis, a Kingston native, moved to New York City to work in the early 1970s and subsequently settled in Jersey City. Mathis speaks about growing up in Kingston; the film includes dozens of his stunning images of people and places. After taking thousands of photographs, Mathis remains as enthusiastic as ever.

Ze’ev Willy Neumann creates sculptures out of wood. This film documents his Love Knot project, which used 40 sheets of plywood and took a year and a half to complete. The premise is to link two neighboring towns in upstate New York—Woodstock and Saugerties—via identical sculptures to help bring the towns closer by encouraging each town to visit the other. He designed these love seats as a knot in the shape of a heart, incorporating the infinity sign. Visitors are encouraged to see both. "To bring forth the idea of conceptual art is a wonderful way of actually translating a daily object into a story. Try it!" says Neumann.

Karen Berelowitz doodled through three decades of school and an international development career before launching Karmabee in 2007. She prints her hand-drawn black & white designs on note cards, baby clothes, kids and adult T-shirts, cork coasters, tote bags, face masks, and more. Karen works out of her home studio in Kingston, NY, where she does everything from artwork to silkscreening to managing the retail, wholesale, and online aspects of her business. "I didn't go to business school or art school, says Karen, "and it's really fun just to come up with ideas and then figure out how to make them happen." Growing up in South Africa and spending much of her previous career in Latin America, Karen's designs have an ethnic quality to them that she feels is more subconscious than anything intentional. "I've never known how to describe my style," says Karen, "I've always just doodled...I don't think about it." Karen also teaches small business classes, licenses her drawings, and creates custom logos and designs.

Elliot Landy is best known for his iconic photographs from the 1960s classic rock period, including at The Filmore East in Manhattan and the Woodstock Festival in Bethel. He began his photographic career working with the underground newspaper The Rat in support of the rising tide of anti-war sentiment during the late '60s. His press pass and camera not only gave him access to the political scene but also provided him a personal entry into the new rock music counterculture, capturing Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, The Band, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Eric Clapton, Jefferson Airplane, Santana, Frank Zappa, John Lee Hooker, and many others.

Carolyn Marks Blackwood photographs nature within a several mile radius of her house, with most of her photos taken just a few steps from her door above a cliff along the Hudson River, facing the Catskill mountains. Blackwood particularly loves skies, clouds and water, and depicts them with surreal abstraction. "I find my photographs," she says. Using almost no manipulation other than cropping, her photographs burst with color and depth. Sometimes they are in gray tones, such as ice breaking up into beautiful cubist patterns in the Hudson River, and she is also a fan of abstraction.