Reviews & Quotes | Westermann: Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea

Chicago Reader
"Westermann lived a life destined for the documentary screen."

Frank Gehry during Hammer Museum post-screening discussion
“Staggeringly powerful; mind-blowing”

Art Report Today
“[Westermann’s] hand-carved wooden sculptures pop off cinema screens.”

New York Sun | Mario Naves
“The true star of ‘Westermann: Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea’ is not its subject, the artist H.C. Westermann (1922-81), but its director, Leslie Buchbinder.”

Art Newspaper
“The details provided by [Westermann’s] letters and the heartfelt interviews with his family and friends (famous and otherwise), coupled with the 3D focus on his handcrafted objects, here provide a unique kind of intimacy with the subject.” 

Document | Tina Kukielski, Art21 Executive Director
“Like Pina, the category-defying artistry of H.C. Westermann lends itself to the expanded medium of 3D. Westermann’s personalized handcrafted sculptural assemblages come to life on screen. With a voiceover by Ed Harris, the film reveals how the tragedies of war find something close to resolution in the polished surfaces of Westermann’s surrealist and anthropomorphized totems.”

Art Net
“A star-studded ensemble”

Documentary Magazine
“Westermann, [was] a marine veteran whose anti-war stance and social commentary are humorously transformed in his art practice, and who influenced a generation of renowned artists.”

Time Out LA
“Recommended ✓”

HoloFiles | By George Bate & Josh Reilly B.
“Explores Westermann’s work, its novel insightful into psychological trauma, its impact on generations of artists, conceptions of masculinity, hope, resiliency, and more.”

Curate LA
“Extraordinary”