THE ART OF ART
The Life and Work of Art Rosenbaum
Directed by Brian Freer
Written by Brian Freer and Lee Matney
The Art of Art is the story of a man humbly attempting to stamp his place within the history of American folklore and art. We will unravel the life and work of Art Rosenbaum — painter, musician and Grammy winning documentary archivist. From his birth in Ogdensburg, New York, to exhibiting his life’s work in museums and galleries worldwide. We’ll cover his journey to becoming an influential figure within the Athens art community and the intersection between his love of American folk music and his masterful contemporary allegorical paintings.
TREATMENT The film will cover the life and career of Art Rosenbaum and his influence in Contemporary art, specifically the art scene in Athens, Georgia. The film will dive into Art’s relationship with his wife — painter and photographer Margo Rosenbaum — to understand the creative dynamics between them. We will interview artists, musicians, curators, collectors, and other key figures in Rosenbaum’s life to reveal how his work has influenced the community around him and the works of other artists he has taught and mentored. We will weave in the story of the efforts of John Lee Matney — Matney Gallery in Williamsburg, Virginia — to champion Rosenbaum’s work and promote it to collectors of Contemporary American Art.
The anchor in this film will be the conversations with Rosenbaum. As with many documentaries, this will be a discovery process. We will investigate the challenges, triumphs, disappointments, and potential contradictions within his life to build a psychological profile of Rosenbaum and the intention and complexities of his work. We’ll attempt to arrange Rosenbaum’s paintings and music in the context of the post- WWII era in which he grew up and explore how it shaped the man and artist. Major events in Rosenbaum’s life will be covered using archival photography, b-roll, interview footage and voice-over narration. We will use Rosenbaum’s paintings to illustrate the story of his life as told by key people over the span of his life and by Rosenbaum himself. The score and sound design will be punctuated by Rosenbaum’s own music along with the music he recorded and preserved throughout his career. We will interview people close to Rosenbaum — musicians, artists, family, collectors and curators to deepen our understanding of Rosenbaum.
Locations including Athens, GA, Williamsburg, VA, New York, Germany, etc. will become supporting characters in the film.
The intention is to produce a compelling feature-length film about an artist who attempted and succeeded in stamping his place in the history of twentieth-century American folklore and art.
