I watched a fabulous documentary about an artist I never heard about before but grew to love. The title is "Nothing Changes: Art for Hank's Sake" (you will find several places online where you can watch it for free - like on tubitv with ads or on amazon - for money but without ads). The visible part of a subtitle read "How far you would go to pursue your passion? A 87-year old..." and there was a person at the art table, working and there were sketches of subway riders and still life drawings.
That one screen contained so much for me that I swallowed the whole documentary in one sitting and keep coming back to it for almost a week now. I sketched while I watched the movie, then kept adding thoughts, quotes, and things I learned - now it is a full spread with some overlays and many steps away from the movie - but that is what makes it so treasured for me.
This is the story of the artist - Hank Virgona. And how he keeps going. The movie follows him for about a year and ends about a year before his passing in 2019. It is about his art. His practice. His path. Life in general. I saw New York through several seasons, several boroughs. I saw studios of several interesting artists and heard them talk about not their art. I took a walk with Hank and rode the subway with him. And on the way, I listened to some exceptionally appropriate music (for me). And I learned about a completely new (for me) Jazz musician from Japan - Ryo Fukui. His album "A Letter from Slowboat" is worth watching this documentary by itself. And I learned about the people who made this movie and how they raised money to complete it online - the story is an eye opener for itself. You can find it here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/nothing-changes-art-for-hank-s-sake#/
In short - Hank is my art hero.
Thanks, for saying that about my Uncle Hank. he was a interesting person growing up. I live with him and our family in our two family home in Queens.
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