Art21 - Extended Play and New York Close Up

Episode #255: Renowned abstract painter Jack Whitten discusses the personal philosophies that drove his work over the course of nearly six decades, chronicling his development as an artist and his relentless innovation in painting. "I can build anything I want to build," said the artist. "It's all about the materiality of the paint."

Editor

In between longform projects, I edit shorts like these for Art21’s Extended Play series. The short profiles document the processes of 21st century artists. I’ve had the honor of editing pieces on Jack Whitten, Wangechi Mutu, Meriem Bennani, Kara Walker and Marcel Dzama. It’s been an exceptional experience peering into each artist’s process and philosophy. I grew up painting, drawing and going to art museums, and I even caught a few late night episodes of Art21 as a teen. So coming to the table with a passion and love for art, Marcel even inspired me to break out some water colors. The Jack Whitten piece screened at the 2018 Bushwick Film Festival, and was embedded in this NYTimes piece on Jack’s sculpture work and life. “Sending Out A Signal,” featuring Kara Walker and Jason Moran, was linked to in this Forbes article on Kara and Art21. The Marcel Dzama “Organizing Chaos” and “Making Movies With Amy Sedaris & Friends” pieces screened at Nitehawk Cinema in NYC.