WHAT’S UNDER YOUR HAT?
Price: $310.00 Code: 2297 |
Directed by Lola Barrera and Iñaki Peñafiel
2007, 75 minutes
Purchase: $310 Classroom Rental: $125
This absorbing documentary traces the life of Judith Scott, a deaf 62-year old woman with Down Syndrome who became an internationally collected and critically-acclaimed sculptor after 36 years of incarceration in a mental institution.
As a recent book on Judith Scott ("Metamorphosis" by John MacGregor) noted, "Scott has spent the past fifteen years producing a series of totally non-functional objects - obsessively wrapped, knotted, braided fiber masses revealing hints of concealed scavenged objects, pieces which loom large and wraithlike or sit as small tightly wound secrets. Her works, to us, appear to be works of Outsider Art sculpture, except that the notion of sculpture is far beyond her understanding. As well as being mentally disabled, Judith cannot hear or speak, and she has little concept of language. There is no way of asking her what she is doing, yet her compulsive involvement with the shaping of forms in space seems to imply that at some level she knows."
What's Under Your Hat? visits with Judith in California where she lives with her fraternal twin sister Joyce (who openly talks about their childhood together and their emotional reunion after nearly four decades apart), and at the Creative Growth Center, a non-profit center dedicated to serving disabled artists. It is at Creative Growth where we are introduced to other mentally and physically challenged individuals who create extraordinary works of art, and where Judith's own work is viewed in the context of art history.
A delicate examination of outsider art, this unique documentary, produced by renowned Spanish director Julio Medem (Lovers of the Arctic Circle, Sex and Lucia) challenges our perception of ‘the artist' and serves as a touching memorial to Judy and her secret world.
2007, 75 minutes
Purchase: $310 Classroom Rental: $125
This absorbing documentary traces the life of Judith Scott, a deaf 62-year old woman with Down Syndrome who became an internationally collected and critically-acclaimed sculptor after 36 years of incarceration in a mental institution.
As a recent book on Judith Scott ("Metamorphosis" by John MacGregor) noted, "Scott has spent the past fifteen years producing a series of totally non-functional objects - obsessively wrapped, knotted, braided fiber masses revealing hints of concealed scavenged objects, pieces which loom large and wraithlike or sit as small tightly wound secrets. Her works, to us, appear to be works of Outsider Art sculpture, except that the notion of sculpture is far beyond her understanding. As well as being mentally disabled, Judith cannot hear or speak, and she has little concept of language. There is no way of asking her what she is doing, yet her compulsive involvement with the shaping of forms in space seems to imply that at some level she knows."
What's Under Your Hat? visits with Judith in California where she lives with her fraternal twin sister Joyce (who openly talks about their childhood together and their emotional reunion after nearly four decades apart), and at the Creative Growth Center, a non-profit center dedicated to serving disabled artists. It is at Creative Growth where we are introduced to other mentally and physically challenged individuals who create extraordinary works of art, and where Judith's own work is viewed in the context of art history.
A delicate examination of outsider art, this unique documentary, produced by renowned Spanish director Julio Medem (Lovers of the Arctic Circle, Sex and Lucia) challenges our perception of ‘the artist' and serves as a touching memorial to Judy and her secret world.
Subjects & Collections
Reviews
“A rare and extraordinary look into the world of a 62 year old deaf woman who suffers from Down syndrome who also happens to be gifted fiber artist/sculptor... Explores the delicate synergy between mental disability and creativity. What’s Under Your Hat? is an honest and engaging documentary that stirs unexpected emotion. Highly recommended for all libraries.” - Educational Media Reviews OnlineRelated Films
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