Friday Harbor Film Festival’s FREE Best of the Fest series will show “Alan Magee: Art is Not a Solace” at the San Juan Island Library on Friday, September 8 at 7 pm. This documentary was a runner-up in the Things To Consider category at the October 2022 Festival.

Following the film, the artist, Alan Magee, and the director, David Berez, will appear by livestream to discuss the film and answer audience questions. For those who can’t attend in person, the movie and will be livestreamed free. Start the film at 7 pm on the website: fhff.org.

Best known for his captivating realist paintings, artist Alan Magee also creates works that delve into the darkest aspects of human nature. His arresting images comment on corporate greed, on cruelty and gun violence, and on civilian and military victims of war. These seem at odds with his serene paintings of nature and found objects, but through his distinctive visual language and interconnected themes, Magee suggests that these dual realms are inseparably interwoven.

Alan Magee: art is not a solace explores the artist’s subjects, locales, and the historical sources which have sustained his work for five decades. Through his paintings, sculpture, monotypes, music and short films, Magee asks viewers to consider the breadth of human behavior and experience.

The film features long-time friends and collaborators, including writer Barry Lopez, Berlin-based cellist Frank Dodge, labor-union director and historian Harris Gruman, Curator/Director of the Center for Maine Contemporary Art Suzette McAvoy, and artist Robert Shetterly, creator of the Americans Who Tell the Truth project.

This exceptional film is presented in coordination with the San Juan Island Library with support from the San Juan Island Museum of Art. The Best of the Fest series is sponsored by SaviBank. Since it’s showing on Friday, it is a great “date night” activity. Mark your calendar and plan to view this special Best of the Fest documentary.