Sol LeWitt
"Conceptual artists leap to conclusions logic cannot reach," Sol LeWitt (1928-2007) said in a rare audio-interview from 1974. Notoriously camera-shy, Lewitt refused awards and rarely granted interviews. In the first ever documentary about the artist, made by Chris Teerink with the blessing of LeWitt's estate, the pioneering conceptual American artist comes alive. Sol LeWitt's artwork often involved simple ideas, communicated simply (he often simply faxed instructions to a museum or gallery as to how they were to create a piece) yet LeWitt's instructions generate astounding visual and intellectual complexity. For example, to create Wall drawing Number 801 - Spiral, a white line spiraled down the black wall of a cupola 3.2 miles long. Sol LeWitt documents the piece's 2011 installation in Maastricht, the Netherlands, which takes eight assistants 30 days to complete; when the painstaking work is done and the scaffolding taken away, the result is transformative. Using extensive interviews and documentation of artwork installed around the world, Sol LeWitt sensitively explores the artist's work and philosophy.
Starring
Sol LeWitt, Sol LeWitt, Janet Passehl
Director
Chris Teerink