Of First and Last - The paper clip

David Anfam was a British Art historian, specialist of Abstract Expressionism. This film is an essay.
Its language develops in the meeting between words and images, supported by original works of art, rarely shown (paintings by Clyfford Still). David Anfam constructs a method of seeing. The subjectivity necessary for such a discourse, makes him take detours into his own life experience, which gives the film an autobiographical character. For this narrative aspect, we took position against a retrospective look, but chose instead to start from the present of the shoot, to take it as a ground to work from.
This way, we could talk about the present and evoke memories, but also
unfold the path that helps reveal how David Anfam worked his gaze, what led him to discoveries or achievements. If documentaries about artists abound, it is far more rare to reveal what animates a historian, an exhibition curator and a writer.