| Audience Award Winning Documentary CONNECTICUT FILM FESTIVAL October 2006 w Next Screening: Veterans' Day November 11, 5:00pm at the Carriage Barn Arts Center Call to reserve a seat! - 203.972.1895 For more information and preview clips visit: www.artinthefaceofwar.com “Art in the Face of War” A Documentary This film runs 76 minutes. Described as “beautifully and movingly told” by festival organizers, the documentary features eight local area artists who are veterans of WWII. The artist/veterans recount their service experience but “the film’s main focus is on their use of art in journalism, as a tactical tool, and to preserve their own sanity.” Directed By David E. Baugnon Camera/Editor Ed Holt Exec. Producer Cecelia M. Barnett “Art in the Face of War” – The DVD A DVD of “Art in the Face of War” is available for purchase. Proceeds will benefit the Carriage Barn Arts Center. In addition to the feature documentary, the DVD’s additional material includes a remarkable “stories” segment that could not be included in the main film because of time constraints. In the “Today’s War” segment the veterans voice their opinions about the current conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan. Eloquent and moving speeches by Howard Munce and Tracy Sugarman at the exhibition’s closing event are also included, as is a “slide show” of all the images from the 2004 exhibition. The DVD price is $15 (plus shipping and handling if required). The price for NCSA members, seniors or US service veterans or for more than one DVD is $12, plus S&H). The disc can be purchased at the Carriage Barn, or by calling the gallery at 203-972-1895. More About the Documentary “Art in the Face of War” was developed in connection with the Carriage Barn Arts Center’s October 2004 exhibition “WWII Artists -- Front Lines to the Home Front,” which featured images of WWII by 14 area artists involved in the war, including the eight veterans in the documentary. The exhibition was curated by Cecelia M. Barnett, who is the film’s Executive Producer. The film was directed by David E. Baugnon, and shot and edited by Ed Holt, independent filmmakers from New York. Public response to the 2004 art exhibition was overwhelmingly positive, but Barnett realized that the exhibition only conveyed one aspect of the veterans’ stories. She undertook the documentary project to preserve this important part of living history with the artists themselves – articulate, passionate – telling their remarkable stories in their own distinct voices. “I was lucky to have a Director and a DP/Editor who are as enthusiastic as I am about these artists, their stories and their images. Their involvement has moved this project into a new realm, one that can share this fascinating wealth of talent and experience with a much wider audience.” In the documentary, the artist/veterans recount their service experience, but Director David Baugnon explains that “the film’s focus is on their use of art in journalism, as a tactical tool, and to preserve their own sanity.” Baugnon was originally drawn to the project by his desire to comprehend the truth of war and to explore its effect on the artistic spirit. As in the original exhibition, the documentary examines the war through the lens of the artists' powerful imagery rather than historical analysis. Their images of WWII – some done “on-the-spot” and others done recently from haunting memories - are highlighted in the film. “The works are enlightening, challenging, even amusing. They show that ‘war is hell’ but that creativity can exist in the face of destruction,” according to the filmmakers. The Artist/Veterans The featured artists are Victor Dowd (Westport), Syd Greenberg (New Canaan), Doug Leigh (Huntington), Howard Munce (Westport), Clark Robinson (Wilton), Arthur Shilstone (Redding), Tracy Sugarman (Westport), and Ed Vebell (Westport). They served in all theatres of operation in WWII and in all branches of the U.S. military. All are combat veterans. After the war, each went on to a successful career in the arts. All are active artists today. See brief bois below. The Film Project “The 2004 exhibition was an introduction to an incredible nucleus of talent in our midst – a remarkable cultural and historical resource, articulate and passionate. It became imperative to me to get their images and their stories on film as a more permanent record,” said Cecelia Barnett. “I wish we could have included all 14 artists from the original exhibition, but it made sense to concentrate on the 8 veterans of the US military for this project.” According to Barnett, the film project was pulled together in almost no time, with very little money. Filming took place in the Carriage Barn over two days in December 2004 before the close of the art exhibition. “I am extremely grateful for the generous support of major two patrons and the two filmmakers, who have given countless hours of their time because they believed it was worth the effort and helped make it happen,” Barnett said. “Art offers a different view of the war than most historical documentaries give. This film gives a very personal view of history from these artist/veterans. It shows the war through their eyes -- their immediate impressions and later interpretation of events,” said Barnett. “These men survived extraordinary events in their youth and now reflect on that experience with the benefit of a 60-year vantage point. They have a special understanding of the impact war has on those who are sent to fight. They know they were the lucky ones. They don’t glorify the war; they wonder if there will ever be another way.” Director David Baugnon says that the process of creating the film has given him a deeper understanding of his father-in-law's experiences as U.S. Marine during WWII. Barnett’s father was in the Navy in the Pacific in WWII and her father-in-law was a paratrooper sent in as a replacement in the Battle of the Bulge. “They had very different experiences. I grew up listening to my Dad’s “sea stories” but my father-in-law doesn’t talk about ‘his war’ at all. And I understand that much better now.” A public screening planned for the fall of 2005 was cancelled when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, the director's hometown. Baugnon had to put the project on hold for several months as he helped his family and friends piece their lives back together. "Seeing the destruction in New Orleans gave me a greater appreciation for these veteran artists. The fact they could create art as their lives were inundated by death and destruction is awe-inspiring." The film had a special premiere screening at the Carriage Barn on June 17th. The capacity crowd of 100 included the artists and the filmmakers. The initial run of DVD copies sold out immediately following the screening. “The enthusiastic response was rewarding for everyone involved in the project,” Barnett commented. The film has also been accepted into the New Hampshire Film Festival in Portsmouth New Hampshire and the American Artist Film Festival in Kansas City, MO. An additional screening at the Carriage Barn Arts Center (limited seating) is being planned for Veterans Day, November 11, 2006. The Filmmakers David E. Baugnon is a native of New Orleans currently living in New York. He is a fulltime filmmaker and screenwriter whose directing credits include the award winning short documentary Matisyahu, (2004), an official selection in over 38 film festivals and the Special Jury Prize winner at the God on Film Festival in July 2004; the short documentary White Bait, (2003); and as writer of a Public Service TV campaign for United Cerebral Palsy Foundation produced by Give a Damn Films in 2002. He also teaches screenwriting in New York at Writers Boot Camp and the Pratt Institute. Ed Holt has written, produced, and edited a collection of award winning short films. His film, Sparks, has screened at over 30 festivals, the Independent Film Channel and several European networks. “Art in the Face of War” is the third film on which he has collaborated with David Baugnon. He is originally from Ohio, but now lives in Hoboken, NJ and works as a video producer at Columbia University. Cecelia M. Barnett is curator at the Carriage Barn Arts Center in Waveny Park, New Canaan. After developing the 2004 WWII art exhibition, she conceived the documentary project as an extension of the exhibition and as an oral history record for the participating artists, their families and the public. “Art in the Face of War” is her first film project. She was reared in New Canaan and now lives in Stamford, CT. More about the Artist/Veterans – Then and Now, Briefly The “on-the-spot” sketches Victor Dowd (Westport) made as his unit moved across Europe filled sketchbooks he sent home. After the war, he became a successful freelance and fashion illustrator, and an instructor at the Famous Artists School, founded by fellow Westport artist Stevan Dohanos. Dowd’s fine art now includes figurative works and scenes from travels to Europe that is far different than the one he first encountered during WWII. On D-Day, Tracy Sugarman’s LCVP crew carried troops onto Utah Beach. His 77 wartime paintings are now in the Library of Congress, but they were published with many of his poignant letters to his wife in his memoir, “My War” (Random House, 2000). Sugarman, a Westport resident, is an award-winning filmmaker and reportorial artist, and has written (and illustrated) several books. As the only true “combat artist” in this group of 8, Ed Vebell’s wartime work illustrated Stars & Stripes and other publications. He resumed his interrupted art career after the war, specializing in historical illustration. His extensive knowledge of military history is still much in demand by other artists and filmmakers. He is a Westport resident. Clark Robinson (Wilton), a pilot who managed to find some humor in wartime situations, drew cartoons both for Army Air Corps publications and in letters or “v-mail” to family and friends. After a successful career in advertising, Robinson returned to painting. Recently he created images of his WWII experiences, including the day his B-24 was shot down. He never stopped cartooning, and now his cartoons are seen weekly in the local newspaper. As his Marine unit took Bougainville and Guam, Howard Munce (Westport) managed to send illustrated letters to friend and fellow Westport artist Stevan Dohanos so that the Saturday Evening Post artist would understand how things on the front lines really looked. In 1947 Munce wrote a powerful anti-war editorial for a local paper and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Munce became a successful creative director as well as an editorial cartoonist. Now, at 90, he is extremely active in the community arts scene. Arthur Shilstone (Redding) also sent home sketches done “on-the-spot” with a fountain pen on the back of index cards. He went on to a 30-year career illustrating for Smithsonian and Life, and other publications, including articles on the secret “Deception Corps” both he and Victor Dowd were in. Shilstone has another successful career in fine art now as a watercolorist concentrating on hunting and fly-fishing scenes. Before his career as a news and stock photographer, Syd Greenberg (New Canaan) was taking pictures for the U.S. Army in China and Burma. The Army let him keep some of his extraordinary images from this grueling mission. The images are in black and white, but Greenberg adds the color in this documentary. Today Greenberg’s photos appear regularly in his local paper. He and his “war bride” Beverly are Justices of the Peace. After a rewarding advertising design career, Doug Leigh (Huntington) turned to fine art, creating pastoral scenes and figurative works. But his memories of the Battle of the Bulge had to be painted. His recent series of 12 powerful images was the genesis for the 2004 exhibition. The original paintings have been promised to the National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning, Georgia. The interview in this film took place 60 years to the day of some of the gut-wrenching experiences depicted in his WWII paintings. |
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