WFGM: Child’s Companion (companion)

In homage to ARSHILE GORKY'S PAINTING, "CHILD'S COMPANION" (1945) witness two characters, The Professor and The Artist, as they rock in exchange of play on LYRICAL ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM. Gorky’s painting, "Child’s Companion", is the map for visually unfolding a narrative, a companion to the painting. It begins with The Artist walking toward a house, immersed within a landscape in consequence of war and genocide. The rust color marks the space of bloodshed, a battlefield or a mass grave; The red crescent shape suggests the movement of the wounded toward refuge; It’s a whitescape that is cold and sheltered by tarpings and heated by coal; Lines chart the progression of people, routes, direction, intention, waywardness… It is a pirate map, a treasure map, a reminder of who you are and where you came from. It charts movement, mobility, migration, displacement, abandonment, chaos in finding space. It translates the surreal quality of consciousness and expression. Yet it is imaginary. Perhaps, the “Child’s Companion” is imagination or an imaginary friend… Or the painting itself is the companion, an offering of comfort, interaction, conversation, exchange, play…

Promo (2:38) Title Sequence (1:14) Scene 1: FOLKLORE (2:54) Scene 2: ROCKING (7:07) Scene 3: FRAMES / AFFECT / FORTUNE (1:38) Scene 4: INTERPRETATION (2:02) Scene 5: PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: STARVATON (2:08) Scene 6: EXODUS (3:05) Credits

Film Runtime: 20 minutes

Waiting for Gorky's Mother: Child's Companion (Companion) Created for the Yellowstone Art Museum by Keeara Rhoades (MFA) in collaboration with Leanne Gilbertson (PhD) and Brian Wetzstein (Musician). Produced in cooperation with the Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, Montana, with funding from Art Bridges and inspired by the life and work of Arshile Gorky.

Waiting for Gorky's Mother: Child's Companion (Companion) Title Sequence

Waiting for Gorky's Mother: Child's Companion (Companion) Scene 1 (of 6) , “Folklore”

Waiting for Gorky's Mother: Child's Companion (Companion) Scene 2 (of 6) , “Rocking”

Waiting for Gorky’s Mother: Child’s Companion (Companion) Scene 3 (of 6), “Frames Affect Fortune”

Waiting for Gorky's Mother: Child's Companion (Companion) Scene 4 (of 6), “Interpretation”

Waiting for Gorky's Mother: Child's Companion (Companion) Public Service Announcement: Starvation "In preparation for adulthood there is no waste effort!" (slogan) Scene 5 (of 6)

Waiting for Gorky's Mother: Child's Companion (Companion) Final Scene: 6 (of 6) , “Exodus”