Other Worlds Austin 2018 - Artist Depiction
Artist Depiction delves into the lives and the techniques of artists who have done work with NASA.
Interview with Director/Producer Brett Ryan Bonowicz
Watch Closer Than We Think on Prime Video
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Artist Depiction grew out of my last project Closer Than We Think. The main focus in that film, Arthur Radebaugh, was an artist in Detroit in the 1950s, and somehow no film or audio was ever found of him in our research. I couldn’t help but be frustrated by that. It was only 70-odd years ago, so how could this person, who touched history in such a unique way, not be there?We couldn’t hear his story directly from him.
Rick Guidice, I had interviewed for Closer Than We Think; and I started thinking about another project where we could go into his career and that’s how this project really started. I wanted to hear Rick’s story directly from him while he could tell it, so that 70-odd years into the future, humans (presumably) can watch it. Don Davis, and Charles Lindsay (the other 2 artists in the film) were contacts that came out of my research into NASA art in a more general sense.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
If you’ve read any article in the news for the last 50 years about space settlements or really any art space related, you’ve seen the work of one of these artists. If you’re interested in their stories and how their careers and images came to be, take a seat and start watching Artist Depiction.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Art is universal in that we don’t have to speak the same language to come to an understanding of what’s being put across. I think it's rather extraordinary that homo sapiens have this ability to articulate thought and idea into something visual to communicate to other homo sapiens. Why isolate it there, though? The voyager record that we’ve sent into deep space has visuals throughout to try and communicate to an extraterrestrial civilization that might one day find it drifting by their planet.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Other Worlds Austin is going to be our first real audience that has seen the film. In fact, the cut shown at Other Worlds Austin was edited and compiled specifically for Other Worlds Austin. We added a NASA short film at the front, and a dozen or so more images of the art and artists. I made early cuts of the individual films available to our crowdfunding campaign and received some feedback there, but no large changes were made. For a low-budget project, that kind of test screening can be really economical, I highly recommend it to other filmmakers.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
For this project, the feedback was pretty standard. Cut a scene here. Hide a jumpcut there. I’d be lying if I said it really challenged my point of view. I am looking forward to engaging with audiences about it as we screen the film.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Always looking to expand our audience.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Distributors and festival directors are always nice but really journalists are the most helpful in really amplifying the message and getting the audience connected to the film.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Ideally I’d like everyone with a computer or television set to see the film and have a new appreciation of the artists depicted in the film.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film
What role does art play in communication? Are past visions of the future valuable?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I’m working on a science fiction short story collection that’s coming out late 2019 called (as of now) “This Is The End Of an Interval”.
Interview: December 2018
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Artist Depiction
Artist Depiction delves into the lives and the techniques of artists who have done work with NASA.
Length: 82 minutes
Director: Brett Ryan Bonowicz
Producer: Brett Ryan Bonowicz
About the writer, director and producer:
BRETT RYAN BONOWICZ is the producer and director of Artist Depiction. Brett’s production company Clindar produces films that explore our relationship with technology in the past, present, and future.
Key cast: Don Davis, Charles Lindsay, Rick Guidice
Looking for: journalists
Facebook: Clindar
Twitter: @ArtistDepiction
Funders: IndieGoGo
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Will be debuting on the science streaming service Labocine in January.