Alan Magee: art is not a solace

A Portrait of the artist Alan Magee.

In this one-hour film Magee discusses the diverse influences on his work, which include the horror films of the 1920s and 30s, the art of Ed (Big Daddy) Roth and California Car Culture, Weimar-era history, the work of Bertolt Brecht, John Heartfield, George Grosz, Käthe Kollwitz, and the German anti-war activist Ernst Friedrich. Magee recounts his years as an art student, a freelance illustrator in New York from 1969 to1985, and a creative renewal sparked by encountering the beachstones at Pemaquid Point, Maine.

Best known for his captivating realist paintings, Magee also creates works that delve into the darkest aspects of human nature. His arresting images which comment on corporate greed, on cruelty and gun violence, and on civilian and military victims of war seem at odds with his serene paintings of nature and found objects, but through his distinctive visual language and interconnected themes, Magee suggests that these dual realms are inseparably interwoven.

Shot on location, from Pemaquid Point, Maine to the streets of Berlin, Alan Magee: art is not a solace explores the artist's subjects, locales, and the historical sources which have sustained his work for five decades.

"The profound, beautiful and creatively disruptive art of Alan Magee has found its perfect representatives in David Berez and David Wright. Their rich, deeply moving film is a must-see for anyone wishing to more clearly understand the role of art in our social and personal lives. It captures the role artists like Magee play in taking our political passions to an absolutely vital place beyond the surface play of ideological debate. This is a film that will enrich the educational experience of anyone lucky enough to watch it.”

T.V. Reed, Professor Emeritus, American Studies and English, Washington State University, Author, The Art of Protest, Curator, culturalpolitics.net