Arthur Secunda and Kenneth Noland were staying in the same hotel in Paris when they met. They both studied with Ossip Zadkine (July 4, 1890 - November 25 1967). Here Secunda speak with his son, David Secunda, about going to Paris and the friendship between Secunda, Noland, and Zadkine.
There are a few moments in life when one feels he or she should be alone. Painting, for many, is one of those moments. The process of creating is so personal that the eye of any individual, let alone a camera, can be distracting. Arthur's concentration is so focused that it is impressive. I feel privileged to be part of the creation of Arthur Secunda's current work, and honored to be able to record it. Along with the above video, below are some stills from the dailies of the shoot we did yesterday when Secunda worked on his Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney painting. These dailies are part of the documentary.
Arthur Secunda met Kenneth Noland in the late 1940s in Paris, France. It was Noland who suggested to Arthur that he study with Ossip Kadkine.
Arthur Secunda and Kenneth Noland remained close friends until Noland's death in 2010. In the clip below from the dailies of the documentary on Arthur Secunda, Arthur reflects on Noland's studio and method.
Arthur Secunda lived in Los Angeles off and on. He was there in the 1960s during the Watts Riots, and was friends with Noah Purifoy. The two walked the city collecting objects left from the destruction of the violence to construct into art. Some of Secunda's work during this time is part of the permanent collection at the LACMA. It is mind-bending to know the diversity of Secunda's work, from oil to collage to woodcutting to found object art and beyond.
This is a picture of Joseph Breton driving. It is also a picture of Joseph Breton not driving. Welcome to the world of Arthur Secunda, and the making of a documentary about Secunda and his art.
Arthur Secunda and Henry Trettin see each other for the first time in about 20 years. Henry was a film producer, working out of London, Los Angeles and New York. Arthur and Henry were childhood friends in New York City. The dialogue of this moment was as follows, "Henry?" "Yes, Arthur?" "You're stepping on my toe." Beautiful friends. Both Henry and Arthur spent a lovely day together talking about old times, old friends, and drinking lattes.
Al Secunda, jazz pianist, shows his "Secunda" tattoo. From dailies from the documentary on his father, Arturo Secunda.
Al Secunda speaks about what he learned from his father. Al Secunda is a jazz pianist. Arthur Secunda was a jazz pianists, playing in New York City and Paris, FR.
I came across a photograph of a woman standing next to Arthur. I asked Arthur who the lady was. "Adele," he said. "She was an opera singer." There were thousands of questions that shot through my head to ask him about the exotically beautiful woman. But the day was late and Arthur was getting tired. Above is Adele, painted by Arthur Secunda in 1953. This painting demonstrates a totally different side of Arthur's work, more figurative than his later work. Arthur was 26 years old when he painted this piece. Interestingly, Arthur's son, Al, is in town this week. He is a few years younger than Arthur was when the portrait of Adele was painted. On camera, Al, Arthur and I spoke about jazz music, since Al is a jazz pianist. He mentioned that what he learned from his father was that when you master a technique, a style, it is important to move on, to develop new, unchartered territories (new for the artist). In the context of Arthur's later works of only a few years we can see this forward movement in technique and form. In the painting of Adele we can see fine detail, the delicate line. Later, we see rough, large brush strokes, until, in the last (the third below) we see a quasi-abstratc figure.
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Matteo Marchisano-AdamoWriter, Producer, Director Archives |