Artifacts of the Present: Portrait of a Printmaker

Over a decade ago I was a printmaking student of Brian's. I loved his quiet masculinity, deep voice, thoughtful approach to art-making, and his intense face - so much so that I asked him to participate as an actor in one of the experimental "dream narrative films" that I was making as a college student! (And that is a whole other story, involving an antique rifle, a trench-coat, and a giant four-legged animal costume). Having maintained a connection and a friendship over these past 16 years, Brad and I created this portrait of Brian when I discovered that he was terminally ill and racing against time to pull his body of artwork together into a retrospective. If "Art is a gift from tomorrow's dead to tomorrow's living," as Brian says, then his frank, vulnerable, and exquisite openness in talking about dying and the role that art plays in our lives is itself a gift to tomorrow’s living. I hope that viewers will examine their own feelings and attitudes towards death and mortality, and reflect on the profound role of art that can shape and change us in ways that we need, crave, and deeply benefit from over the course of our lives.