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The New York Stock Exchange pediment is undoubtedly one of the most attractive sights in Lower Manhattan. However, most visitors are there to pay tribute to the god of finances and the nearby bull's testicles. Others come to admire the sculptural figures on the pediment designed by two great masters of the American Renaissance, John Quincy Adams Ward, and Paul Wayland Barlett. Nevertheless, the identity of the man who executed the works remains in the shadows except for the strictly encyclopedic or museum references. His name was Getulio Piccirilli, one of the six brothers from the Piccirilli Studio in the Bronx where many of the celebrated sculptures populating the public space in New York were created, including the seating Abraham at the Lincoln Memorial. The video included in this brief but spectacular blog entry (a silent tribute to PBS) was made in my editing room during the location scout and research for the film The Italian Factor by Eduardo Montes-Bradley. The dreadful background music is royalty-free content courtesy of YouTube. The Sculpture Notes on the New York Stock Exchange pediment from the blog of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and its Renwick Gallery The pediment consists of 11 figures. The central figure is Integrity, a classically robed female figure wearing a winged cap and standing on a stepped base. She stretches both of her arms outward with clenched fists. At her feet are two naked children who sit on either side of her base. One child reads a book, and the other examines a grain hamper. Figures representing the "works of man" are positioned on either side of Integrity. To her proper right is the symbol of Mechanical Production depicted by a nude male figure who holds a gear shift with his proper right hand and a gear with his proper left hand. Next to him is a male figure who symbolizes International Trade. He stands with his proper right hand resting on a ship's wheel. Next to him is a group of two male figures, one reclining and one kneeling, studying some charts. These two figures represent Realizing Intelligence and Science. On the other side of Integrity are figures representing the "works of man" which relate to gifts of the earth. The first figure to Integrity's proper left is a nude male who walks bent over under the weight of a sack he's carrying on his back. In the background is a relief of wheat sheaths. Standing next to him is a female dressed in a skirt, blouse, and kerchief. In her proper right hand, she holds a distaff. These two figures represent Agriculture. Next to them is a group of two nude males, both crouching to examine a rock. These two figures represent Mining. At each corner of the pediment is a wave which symbolizes the influence of the Stock Exchange, which stretches from sea to sea.

Kanopy's report shows that HFP has a strong presence in academic and public libraries thus fulfilling our mission to produced documentary films that will serve the public interests. I often wonder who's watching the documentaries we make. My family supports my effort and has unconditionally sustained me in my work as a producer and director in challenging times of COVID when filming wasn't such a walk in the park. Even the cats support me at home by keeping me company late at night. However, who's watching remains the question that keeps me pondering at times. Are our films serving the purpose of helping others in the quest for answers and even more questions? Have we fulfilled the mission to serve our community by producing meaningful documentaries that hope to contribute to a better understanding of our world? The answer to my questions came with a partial report from Kanopy, the curated streaming platform founded by Olivia Humphrey in 2008, the same year our family and Heritage Film Project moved to Charlottesville. Kanopy's report shows that our films have a solid presence in academic and public libraries in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The following is a list of institutions where Daniel Chester French: American Sculptor, Black Fiddlers, and many of our other films are having considerable impact fulfilling our mission of informing and serving the public interests. Heritage Film Project partial presence in 2021-2022 Based on Kanopy report Highland Park Public Library, Edison Township Free Public, LibraryPace University, University of Guelph, Edmonds College, Baltimore County Public Library, Jefferson County Public Library (Colorado), West Hartford, Public Library, Geelong Regional Libraries, Santa Clara County Library, San Francisco Public Library, Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library, Sonoma County Library, Hume Libraries, Merri-bek Libraries, Plano Public, Library System, Harris County Public Library, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Fulton County Library System, Prince George's County Memorial Library System, Toledo Lucas County Public Library, Bernards Township Library, District Of Columbia Public Library, City of Sydney Library, Arapahoe Library District, Calvert Library, LSF Brookfield Library, Montclair Public Library, Houston Public Library, Mobile Public Library, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, Copper Queen Library, Los Angeles Public Library, Fort Vancouver Regional Library District, Spartanburg Community College, Port Phillip Library Service, University College London, Dallas College, Inner West Library Service, Newton Free Library (Massachusetts), Dominican University of California, Yarra Libraries, Fort Smith Public Library, Ateneo de Manila University, St. Charles City-County Library, Nashville Public Library, Toronto Public Library, Harrison Memorial Library, Mill Valley Public Library, Sno-Isle Libraries, University of Liverpool, Dekalb County Public Library, Labouré College of Healthcare, Seattle Public Library, University of Queensland, LA County Library, University of California Los Angeles, Southwark Libraries, Vancouver Island Regional Library, Central Rappahannock Regional Library, Timberland Regional Library, Western Manitoba Regional Library, Solano County Library, Hancock County Public Library (Indiana), Department of Defense Libraries, University of Denver, Fontana Regional Library, Santa Barbara Public Library, Carmel Clay Public Library, Santa Clarita Public Library, University of California (Davis), Santa Cruz Public Libraries, St. Albert Public Library, Belmont Public Library (Massachusetts), Palatine Public Library District, Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales du Québec, Loudoun County Public Library, Libraries ACT, Tyler Public Library (Texas), Marin County Free Library, Pueblo City-County Library District, Jessamine County Public Library, Citrus College, Old Bridge Public Library, Daniel Boone Regional Library, Las Vegas - Clark County Library District, City of Ipswich, Kirkwood Public Library, University of Notre Dame, Arlington, Heights Memorial Library, Tacoma Public Library, Calaveras County Library, Carroll County Public Library, Ottawa Public Library, Orange, County Library (Florida), Rock Island Public Library, Hussey-Mayfield, Memorial Public Library, Clearwater Public Library System, Yale University Libraries, Anythink Libraries, Phoenix Public Library, Harvard University Libraries, City of Unley Libraries, Lake Oswego Public Library, Wright Memorial Public Library, Fuller Public Library, Napa County Library, Macquarie Regional Library, Burnaby Public Library, University of Otago, London Public Library (Canada), Newcastle Region Library, Coronado Public Library, Carlsbad City Library, Christchurch City Libraries, New York University, Long Beach Public Library, Hurst Public Library, Paul Sawyier Public Library, Hamilton Public Library (Canada), Bozeman Public Library, K.O. Lee Aberdeen Public Library, Oregon State University, Jefferson Parish Library, Denver Public Library, Huntsville - Madison County Public Library, Porter County Public Library Syste, Suffolk Libraries, University of Virginia Libraries, Technological University of the Shannon, UC San Diego Library, Mesa County Public Library District, Gloucester County Library, La Sierra University, University of Westminster, Vaughan Public Libraries, The Westport Library, Frankston City Libraries, Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library, Fresno County Public Library, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Anoka County Library, VCU Libraries, Montgomery County Public Libraries (Maryland), Windsor Public Library (Canada), University of Chester, Northeast Iowa Community College, Cambridge Public Library, Latrobe City Libraries, Oak Lawn Public Library, Midcoast Libraries, Central Queensland University, San Mateo County Libraries, Pikes Peak Library District, Mead Public Library (Wisconsin), Burlington Public Library (Wisconsin), Baldwin Public Library (Michigan), Columbus Metropolitan Library, Spokane Public Library, Henderson Libraries, Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library Cooperative, Long Hill Township Public Library, Eastern Regional Libraries, Mount, Prospect Public Library, Kansas City Kansas Public Library, Framingham Public Library, Middle Georgia Regional Library, North Vancouver District Library, Victoria University, Knox County Public Library, South Coast Cooperative Library Service, Fairfield Free Public Library (New Jersey), Calgary Public Library, Austin Public Library, Washington County, Cooperative Library Services, Clark County Public Library (Ohio), Ulster, County Library Association, College of Charleston, East Baton Rouge Parish Library, Pima County Public Library, NCW Libraries, Lansdale Public Library, Milwaukee Public Library, California State University San Marcos, Collierville Burch Library, Iowa City Public Library, Ramsey County Library, Transylvania County Library, Jacksonville Public Library, McGill University Library, Winnipeg Public Library, Jersey City Free Public Library, County of San Luis Obispo Public Libraries, Howard County Library System, Pellissippi State Community College, Brazoria County Library System, Camden Public Library (Maine), Greensboro Public Library, Shaker Heights Public Library, Evansville-Vanderburgh Public Library, Austin Community College, Edmonton Public Library, Skokie Public Library, Broward County Libraries, Boynton Beach City Library, Newburyport Public Library, University of California Berkeley, Camarillo Public Library, Hampton Bays Public Library, The Smithtown Library, Cottonwood Public Library, Multnomah County Library, Stonnington Libraries, Berkeley Public Library (California), Teaneck Public Library, San Diego Public Library, Weber County Library System, Manchester Metropolitan University, Fletcher Free Library, Long Beach Public Library (New York), Hunterdon County Library, Corona Public Library, Boulder Public Library (Colorado), Anne Arundel County Public Library, Westchester Library System, Chemeketa, Cooperative Regional Library Service, Boston Public Library, Greater, Victoria Public Library, Boroondara Library Service, Bullitt County Library District, Richland Public Library (Washington), Free Library Of Northampton Township, Warminster Township Library, Sacramento Public Library, Chandler Public Library (Arizona), Glen Rock Public Library, Westerly Library and Wilcox Park.

"Beimar Mamani”, no in postproduction, is a documentary about the plight of immigrants from Bolivia in Argentina, a nation of mostly European ancestry that often turns its back on the indigenous folks coming from bordering countries. Beimar Mamani was twenty-four years old and the father of two when he was clubbed to death by white supremacist bouncers at a nightclub in Buenos Aires. The day after the murder, I visited Remi, Beimar's wife, to tell her that one day I would make a film to let their children know about the sad and cruel story of Beimar Mamani. My journey started in Potosi, the ancient homeland of the Mamani clan. At an altitude of 13,419 feet, Potosi is the second-highest city in the world, home to the colonial silver mines in Cerro Rico, where most of the Mamani still make their living. Like everyone else, I paid tribute to The Uncle of the Underground in Cerro Rico. The Uncle is a devilish totem standing alone one hundred feet inside the main mineshaft, and there, in the presence of the Lord of the Underground, I broke bread with Bolivian miners. From Potosí, I followed the winding road to Sucre and Santa Cruz. A few weeks later, I crossed the mosquito-infested waters of the Bermejo River into Argentina. On the other side, men and women carrying their children and few belongings were waiting to cross the border to continue the 1000 miles journey to the Bajo Flores, the shanty town of 1.5 million in the heart of Buenos Aires. El Bajo Flores is a patchwork of identities of hardworking immigrants from Bolivia, Perú, Paraguay, and Venezuela. El Bajo Flores is the other Norte, where those who can't make it to the United States hope to find a better life. "Beimar Mamani" is a film about a pilgrimage to the land of milk and honey, which does not always end as it was supposed to end. To my family, Argentina stood as the promised land; to Beimar Mamani, it was just the opposite. HD | 60 minutes Directed by Eduardo Montes-Bradley Director of Photography: Norberto "Negro" Ramirez Locations: Buenos Aires, Potosí, Tarija, Santa Cruz, Bermejo.

In 1971 Deira created a series of paintings collectively known as "Identifications". These paintings mirror tragic political events in Latin America, Vietnam, and Bangladesh. The title refers to the severed hands of Ernesto Che Guevara used to confirm his identity after execution. The series was being exhibited at the Instituto de Arte Latinoamericano de la Universidad de Chile when, on September 11, 1973, the military regime of Augusto Pinochet came to power by overthrowing the democratic government of Salvador Allende. The military regime burned books in public plazas, thousands were arrested, tortured, and nearly 3000 Chileneans and even foreign citizens were executed or vanished. Deira's series of "Identifications" was hidden until rediscovered in 2003. In November of 2020, after lengthy negotiation with involved the collaboration of Interpol, the canvases were returned, and exhibited at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires. Today, "Identifications" becomes the subject of a possible documentary that I believe will narrate the circumstances under which the series of "Identifications" was created, a time of political turmoil, political unrest, and violence. The military coup in Chile was followed in Argentina by a shift to the right of the constitutional Peronist regime. For the next three years, terror reigned in the streets of Buenos Aires at the hands of paramilitary bands. If memory serves me well, it was sometime between ten and the Argentine military coup of 1976 that Deira and his family went into exile in Paris. The possible documentary might be just the right opportunity to revisit a period I have consistently avoided mentioning in my documentary work.

During principal photography for the upcoming documentary The Art of Joy Brown, I had the opportunity to partake in the creative process and evolution of the mural Joy calls One World. In the process, I learned about the artist, about myself, and the world we both share. Eduardo Montes-Bradley Visitors to the gallery where the mural was temporarily installed, walked away with multiple interpretations of the meaning conveyed. The artist named it One World, an it was being shown for the first time in Kent, CT before being shipped for a permanent exhibit in Japan. Measuring fifty feet in length, the work was mounted on a 30 degree angle wall were the public could read it as a scroll. I have gone through several readings myself, and with every passing along the stories printed on earth and fire, my understanding of the story coded on the scroll kept changing, allowing for a deeper understanding of what was there in front of me. If one where to ask the artist she will probably say that the fifty-foot-long clay-scroll that came out of her anagama kiln in Connecticut, tells the story of Mother Earth as she is laying at the edge of the world dreaming of peace and harmony. However, Joy Brown’s fertility godess doesn’t look like the Venus of Willendorf, Persephone, Aphrodite, not even Isis or Pachamama, Brown’s mother figure is more human, more down to Earth. She’s not in a pedestal, on top of a truncated pyramid nor toping a marble column, Brown’s fertile self seems to have fallen asleep with a pet companion, as an infant would with a stuffed animal. In fact, Brown calls these creatures that that have been emerging from her kiln for years her “animals”. Brown’s animals, along with her pods and other constant formal references are an intrinsic part of her toolbox of characters made of clay. I suspect the woman in the mural is no other than the artist herself, and that story unfolding before the visitors’ eyes is a projection of the artist’s hopes and aspirations. Joy Brown loves to take siestas, this time she shaped it and fired it in her kiln for everyone to see, and that takes courage. These “animals” and other creatures may seem mythological, but they’re not. They are deeply rooted in the landscape of Amami Oshima, a tropical island in Japan. Mangroves, butterflies, families of farmers or artisans holding hands in small villages tucked in valleys between mountains by the sea, newly born babies surrounded by woman, ferns and a magic tree that only grow in Amami Oshima, a compact school of indigenous fish, a flock of birds migrating to the unknow. Perhaps that last figure, one that Joy Brown chose to close her story on the far right end of the mural, is also a reflection of herself between two cultures. One World, the mural recently unveiled for a temporary showing before it is shipped to its permanent home at the Horokan Museum, is Brown’s legacy and tribute to multiculturalism, a confession of sorts, and poetic plea that echoes the final stanza in Life Is A Dream: I dream I am bound with chains, And I dreamed that these present pains Were fortunate ways of old. What is life? a tale that is told; What is life? a frenzy extreme, A shadow of things that seem; And the greatest good is but small, That all life is a dream to all, And that dreams themselves are a dream.

Notes from the Editing Room - It might not always be the case, but it so happens that often takes a village to fire a kiln, and when it comes to Joy Brown’s anagama dragon, the effort takes epic proportions. From start to finish, her process takes about a month. Witnessing the sequence of unfolding events is like watching a carefully choreographed dance that begins with loading clay pieces inside the kiln followed by the sealing of the tunnel, and lighting of the initial fire right in front of the front opening of the kiln. This initial fire is meant to warm and dry the atmosphere inside the kiln. This slow process is constantly supervised by the artist, who is permanently measuring the temperature inside the chamber. On her instructions, the fire will be moved inside and to the front of the kiln where considerable space as been allowed to host the fir that will be continuously fed through a small opening regulated by a closing iron gate which is elevated to allow for the team to feed the previously chopped wood, mostly from dead trees in surrounding forests. During the following week, the artist will constantly compare the temperature in both extremes of the kiln hoping to maintain a balance between both extremes. For this purpose, Joy. The last day calls for a celebration of sorts. Everyone gathers around to share their experiences and the front wall of the dragon is taken down to allow for a slow cooling of the harvest. It is an ancient tradition that evolved unrelatedly in distant parts of the globThethe anagama kiln has its roots in China, Korea, and Japan, but that refers just to a particular type of kiln, a process, and a technique. Similar pottery in many other forms undistinguishable to the naked eye has been found in multiple locations, from the dusty plains of Santiago del Estero in Argentina to the Middle East, North Africa, Mesoamerica, and Mitteleuropa. Pottery is a common language in many civilizations. The anagama kiln produces heat of up to 1400’s degrees Celsius and favors fly ash and volatile particles of salt that stick to the surface of the pots or sculptures, providing the characteristic blend of earthlike browns and ash greys and blacks. The position of every piece inside the anagama kiln will distinctively affect the outcome. Each piece coming from such a dragon will have unique DNA. Perhaps, that is the distinctive notion that precedes the Industrial Revolution. Paradoxically, the wood-fire burning traditions in the United States are gaining traction in a time in which the industrial process is ceding way to Artificial Intelligence. There is nothing artificial about Joy Brown’s craft. Grounded in essential human ingenuity, it presents us with a down-to-earth approach to life.

I just finished watching The Testament (2017), a film that move me on many different levels. Although fictional, The Testament is riveting and believable because it works with real evidence from many other instances in which the plot is rooted. The Testament stirred in me a profound sense of loss and anxiety embedded in the experiences of my mother’s family in Europe during the war. No one ever truly survives the atrocities committed against their kind, and so they say, the trauma is perpetuated for generations. It is in our demeanors, fears, survival strategies, and language. The photo that illustrates this confessional post, shows three young girls, my mother’s age at the time it was taken in Kamenetz-Litovsk, a few kilometers northwest of Brest in what is today Belarus. The two girls on the right of the photograph are showing-off the outfits sent by my mother for the transatlantic journey for which my grandfather sent passage. It was a race against time, which unfortunately the girls lost. Shortly after this picture was taken, special forces of the German army executed the girls at point black at the edge of a mass grave excavated by her parents and other Jews from the collective farm they worked in the outskirts of Kamenetz. My mother would not admit, not even today, that her life was greatly affected by this and several other tragic incidents surrounding the past. Nevertheless, I can see it in her late octogenarian gaze just as I remember seeing it on my grandfather’s eyes. If it’s true what they say that such traumas are passed on to at least two generations, then I can see myself in them, posing before a wooden fence in the final days of Anatevka.

Filmmaker Eduardo Montes-Bradley's thoughtful and engaging documentary profiles former poet laureate Rita Dove, exploring her life, influences, and formative experiences through on-camera interviews, still images, and home movie clips. Between short chapters focusing on one or another of Dove's memories or impressions, the poet recites one of her poems (with the words presented onscreen). Among other topics, Dove discusses how she is a child of the great post–World War II migration of African Americans, her grandparents and parents having moved from the Deep South to the industrialized North. Raised in Akron, OH, Dove developed a sense of wonder and possibility in part thanks to her father, a taciturn chemist who took little Rita on stargazing outings with his telescope. Dove also talks about the impact of the tumultuous 1960s on her awareness of the world—particularly the Civil Rights movement. And she reflects upon the role of the church in her life, her time in Germany on a Fulbright Scholarship, and an incident in which she and other young poets were invited to meet President Nixon at the White House—only to be turned away. Offering a nicely crafted biographical portrait of a key figure in American literature, this is recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (T. Keogh)

On October 27, I participated in a discussion with students following the screening of Black Fiddlers at George Washington University. The screening was part of "Musical Cultures of Black Americans" a course taught by Dr. Kip Lornell. Lornell's research in American vernacular music has led to the publication of 33 articles in music journals, nine chapters in books, 29 encyclopedia entries, 16 record notes, 31 record or book reviews in journals, 27 record projects, two documentary films, and 26 hour-long radio documentaries. Lornell has also published 14 books, including textbooks, ethnographic studies, and reference books. His awards include a 1997 Grammy for co-authoring the program notes for the Anthology of American Folk Music (Smithsonian/Folkways). During filming for Black Fiddlers, Kip Lornell welcomed me, and my camera to his home in Silver Springs, Maryland, and he has since remained advisor during the research, production process. Following is the unedited text from a letter from Dr. Lornell’s that we received today and that I we are pleased to share with the larger community dedicated to the exploration, and understanding of the complex and centuries long tradition of Black American music. Dear Eduardo, Thanks so much for making your hour-long documentary film "Black Fiddlers" available to my students as part of this fall's "Musical Cultures of Black Americans." Their experience was enriched by your and Earl White's 75-minute Zoom appearance in this class on October 17, 2022. "Black Fiddlers" proved invaluable in helping my students to understand the complex and centuries long tradition of Black American fiddle playing and string band music as well as raising issues related to cultural interchange, the importance of community music making, and the impact of race relations in music-making. Your film and the conversations among you, Earl, and I when you appeared in my class also addressed thorny, contemporary questions about cultural appropriation. We spoke about your film and the Zoom conversations in the following class, which cemented the fact that they learned a great deal from both the film itself, Earl's perspective about his place in the small world of Black fiddle player, and your role as a documentary film maker who created a film that evolved from “The Other Madisons,” your earlier documentary film about the African American ancestors of James Madison. I hope that other classes across the county can benefit from watching "Black Fiddlers" and hear from you about the making of the film, which could not be more timely in its intent and content. Sincerely, Dr. Kip Lornell

Chances are that Paul Chaleff immediate ancestors and mine came from the same parts of Western Belarus, then Poland. I met Paul last summer during a visit to his studio in upstate New York, very much upstate. Any further would have been downstate Connecticut. Chaleff is a very strong man, he seems to have been forged in the same anagama kilns he used to produce much of his work, now at the MOMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Paul and I hit it off from the get-go, and that’s usually a preamble for he will certainly make an extraordinary subject for documentary film. His empirical knowledge of the anagama tradition in Japan, and in America makes him a witness of extraordinary value. In 2012 interview with Judith Schwartz Chaleff framed his early experience as a ceramist in the following terms: “My initial thoughts include major changes in regards to our attitudes about East Asia especially Japan (China was closed and Korea had a repressive military dictatorship) in the early 70's including the first showing of Japanese Pottery on the balustrade at the Met in 1980, easy travel to Japan and the study options that afforded us, an influx of Japanese students especially women, looking for a less restrictive education (Yoko Ono...) or art scene in the early 1970's.” Japanese artist and musician Yoko Ono sits in a white-painted half bedroom entitled Half-a-Room, in “Half-a-Memory” exhibition, at the Lisson Gallery, London, 1968. Photo by Roger Jones/Keystone Features/Getty Images. Paul’s contextualization of his early experiences allowed me to refocus my interest on his work, and evidently that of Joy Brown, subject of my current documentary film project, although under more specific circumstances. Chaleff thinks beyond the clay, and his written work may very well become indispensable to understand the evolution of wood-fire ceramics, not only in the United States, but perhaps in Europe and even in Japan, China, and Korea. Paul Chaleff belongs to that rare breed of artisans that can see beyond the shape and color into a world where artifacts are shaped by socioeconomic development, and define by war, class, and inherited beliefs. Next Friday I will be driving up north, to where New York meets Connecticut, and where the ancient anagama tradition meets a working-class kid from the Bronx with roots in Belarus. Perhaps this is the start of a new conversation, one that may very well deserve to be preserved and interpreted on a documentary film.