In conjunction with our current exhibition “Still the One: Douglas Lloyd Makes Portraits of Women Making Change the Old-Fashioned Way” we will screen Courtney Rile and Michael Barletta’s documentary about the life and art of Arlene Abend, one of the 26 women honored in the exhibition. The film originally released in 2010, is reedited with new footage filmed over the last year.

About the Film:

At nearly 80, sculptor Arlene Abend decided to have a retrospective exhibition. The process forces her to take a hard look at her life, the choices she has made and the art she has created. ”I never thought that I would be defined by my work,” she reflects on camera. For an added perspective on the woman and her sculpture, the camera turns towards Dick Case (Syracuse Post-Standard Columnist), Mary Cunningham (Teacher, S.U. Early Education and Child Care Center) Bill Delavan (Owner of Delavan Center), Anne Novado Cappuccilli (Curator of Limestone Art and Framing Gallery), Jim Hueber (President of Mack Brothers) as well as Arlene’s friend and painter Linda Bigness and Arlene’s two children, Les and Tema Abend. The result is a well rounded portrayal of a woman who consistently stretched the boundaries of her life and the materials she worked with to create her art.

“It’s an excellent film about how an artist works, and an excellent portrait of an artist in our midst who’s now taking stock on what such a lifetime means.”

–Nancy Keefe Rhodes, Film Columnist at The Syracuse City Eagle 2010