ART MONOGRAPHS

George Segal
58 minutes, color

Narrated by the artist.

As a young painter in New York City, George Segal was profoundly impressed by the dignity and humanity of Abstract Expressionism. At the same time, along with artist friends such as Jim Dine, Allan Kaprow, Roy Lichtenstein, and Claes Oldenburg, he was acutely conscious of the homogenizing effects of mass production and the pressures of conformity that shaped life in postwar America. In reaction to this Segal invented his own highly personal medium: white plaster figures which he cast from live models. They were mostly Segal's family and friends. "I have to pick a model who has a mental life that I respect," explained Segal. In an age of standardization, Segal is after individuality - not only the surface details of each figure, but the personality that differentiates every one of his subjects.

The film looks back over two decades of Segal's achievements, as seen at a retrospective exhibition at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. Segal helps to install the environments and wall reliefs, talking lucidly about key works and the artistic issues that they embody. In his rural New Jersey studio, a former chicken coop, Segal is seen at work on various commissions. The film follows his "Abraham and Isaac," a commission to honor the students killed at Kent State University.