the Art of Being
Carl Homstad
THIS FILM is about the work and life of Carl Homstad in rural Northeast Iowa, just outside of Decorah. in a community called “Springwater”. The original footage for the film was shot at an exhibit called “A Sense of Place” at Vesterheim Norwegian American Museum In Decorah, which ran from August of 2012 to May of 2013. All of the works in the original exhibit were of subject matter within a half mile of Carl’s home in the Springwater community, and the exhibit was set up to show where the art works were in relation to the center of Carl’s life — his home and studio.
We then shot footage showing the locations that inspired the art work. This footage for the film was shot over a 9 year period at all seasons in order to capture the subject matter of the artworks as close as possible to point of inspiration. We then integrated the film of the exhibit and locations with shots from Carl’s life and work to show the concentric nature of the life of this artist and how his family and friends are interwoven with his artwork. The family and friends footage was shot primarily (and appropriately) at Thanksgiving in 2018 at the Homstads’.
Carl shows us what he’s done, how, and why he’s done it. The people and places that are his inspiration. Maybe they can inspire you, too.
SEE the trailer HERE:
