FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
James Castle: Portrait of an Artist premieres at the Philadelphia Film Festival
The Foundation for Self-Taught American Artists is pleased to announce its first production James Castle: Portrait of an Artist—a documentary film directed, written, and produced by Jeffrey Wolf—has been selected by the Philadelphia Film Festival. The film will be shown on Saturday, April 12, at 5pm in the Ritz East 2 Theater. This world premiere screening will be followed by a brief panel discussion with the filmmaker and members of the Foundation.
James Castle was born deaf in 1899 in central Idaho’s remote Garden Valley. He refused to read, write, sign, or finger-spell, communicating instead through the eloquence of his art. Castle, who was self-taught, has gained world recognition as a prominent contemporary artist since his death in 1977. President and CEO of the Philadelphia Museum of Art Anne d’Harnoncourt has stated, “In the final analysis, James Castle’s art will be judged by the same criteria applied to all great contemporary art. To my eye, his work belongs in that pantheon.”
In 2005, Hollywood and independent feature film editor Jeffrey Wolf (Holes, Life, Beautiful Girls) began filming James Castle: Portrait of an Artist, a creative manifestation of his commitment to the art and film worlds, which represents his vision—a way of telling the Castle story that focuses on the merits of his art production while showing various aspects of the artist’s life as a means of enriching the viewers’ understanding and appreciation of the artwork. Wolf worked closely with Ann Percy, Philadelphia Museum of Art’s curator of drawings, and the resulting synergy produced the film, as well as a traveling exhibition and catalogue, which includes a text contributed by Wolf. Organized by Percy for the Philadelphia Museum of Art, “James Castle (1899–1977): A Retrospective” is scheduled to open at the Museum in fall 2008.
The 53-minute documentary portrays the artist’s life and creative process, as told by family members, art historians, curators, artists, collectors, and members of the deaf community. A true case of triumph of the spirit, Castle’s inspirational story is one of monumental achievement. Follow this link to view the
James Castle: Portrait of an Artist trailer:
www.jamescastlefilm.com.
Two months premature, Charles James Castle was the sixth of seven children born to Mary Nora Scanlon Castle, a mid-wife, and Francis John Castle, the local postmaster. Though Garden Valley was isolated, their residence was a rustic social center, serving not only as family home, but also as the community's post office and general store. In the mail came publications designed for the pew (The Catholic Sentinel and liturgical calendars), the plow (scores of almanacs and periodicals devoted to animal husbandry, agriculture, and gardening), and the outhouse (Sears and Roebuck catalogues)—a favorite source for drawings and collaged illustrations.
Everywhere, the tactile allure of packaging, twine, rope, paper, envelopes, cardboard, heavy cloth, and leather stimulated Castle’s imagination. Castle used drawings to examine everything in sight. With a mixture of stove soot and his own saliva on tips of sharpened sticks, he recorded his immediate surroundings—the interior and exterior of his house, the shed, the barn—in drawings with perfect perspective and almost scientific attention to detail. Castle was supported by his family in his zeal to produce, which resulted in works stacked and bundled by the thousands—drawings, books, and constructions that thoroughly captured his singular view of the world.
James Castle: Portrait of an Artist features interviews with Castle’s nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, and cousins; painters Stephen Westfall and Terry Winters; gallerists Jacqueline Crist, Frank Del Deo, and John Ollman; curators Ann Percy, Sandy Harthorn, and Robert Storr; art historian John Yau; Gooding School Museum curator Jerry Wilding; frontier historian and former Idaho Supreme Court justice Byron Johnson; Castle collector and concert pianist Christian Zacharias; and Idaho-born singer-songwriter Rosalie Sorrels. The experts describe Castle’s personal history, brief education at the Gooding School for the Deaf, and artmaking process, along with a critical assessment of the artist’s work. Layered with images of the Boise Basin, vernacular architecture, and the artwork themselves, the film unfolds episodically—revealing a sensitive portrait of Castle: his rustic milieu, his tangible isolation, and his prolific art production.
James Castle: Portrait of an Artist is the first documentary produced by the Foundation for Self-Taught American Artists. The Foundation’s mission is to create a deeper understanding and broader appreciation of self-taught art through the production, acquisition, and dissemination of documentary films—supported by an engaging and dynamic website—to educate and inspire growing audiences of diverse communities. Most self-taught American artists have come from very humble backgrounds, and their resonant stories demonstrate that artistic achievement can be found in unexpected places.
Major funding for James Castle: Portrait of an Artist has been provided by H. F. (Gerry) & Marguerite Lenfest, an anonymous fund at The Philadelphia Foundation, the Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation, the Christian R. & Mary F. Lindback Foundation, and the Board of Trustees, Foundation for Self-Taught American Artists. This program is supported in part by a grant from the Idaho Humanities Council, a State-based program of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Additional support comes from The Judith Rothschild Foundation, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts; and individual donors.