EYEMAZING: Review: Line of Beauty and Grace * A documentary about Jock Sturges by Karl E. Johnson

September 11th, 2008

LINE OF BEAUTY AND GRACE
A documentary about Jock Sturges

Beauty, truth, identity, family life, an appreciation of nature and, not least of all, enduring love: nearly everything associated with an ideal human existence seems addressed in Line of Beauty and Grace, a documentary by filmmaker and photographer Christian E. Klinger about Jock Sturges, an American photographer whose vast body of work has held a unique position in the world of contemporary photography for more than three decades.

Labelled “a tale of photography and beauty, but also of art and life…,” Klinger`s documentary presents itself as a film with a cause. Apart from being a well-conceived portrait of an artist, it goes to elegant lengths to underscore the argument that beauty has been ignored, if not rejected, by the art world over the last decades. The documentary’s first spoken words drive this point home. The film begins in silence. Then, to a black screen void of images, a calm female voice talks about the sad state of affairs in the art world: “Beauty has been practically banned from art. Today, there are only a few artists who attempt to depict beauty.” And Jock Sturges is obviously one of them. If the beauty in his photography – stylised nude studies of children and adults – is ever to be correctly and ethically discussed on the level of its humanness, love of form, and naturist’s spirit, this film will be essential to that cause.

Line of Beauty and Grace is literally shaped by the pursuit of beauty and truth. And truth be told, the simplicity and technical beauty of Klinger’s film effortlessly communicates the aesthetic beauty of Sturges’ …. (more on EYEMAZING.com)

EYEMAZING FALL 2008