Ronald Gonzales, Sculptor (2009)

• 81%
• 2009
• Ken Jacobs

Jacobs documents the work of artist Ronald Gonzalez in his Binghamton, NY home and studio space. Producing more of an abstract portrait than a documentary, Jacobs follows Gonzalez as he guides his camera through an expansive collection of eerie and affecting sculptures, figures made of found objects and animal bodies, beautifully manipulated scrap metal, or tangles of fur and string. The film is devoid of spoken word or sound other than the occasional roar of a train seen early in the piece or the resounding last words spoken by Gonzalez: "Dear God, please bless me, Cindy, and Molly. Bring us health and happiness and luck. We need a lot of luck. And please send me all the objects I?", at which point the film ends. Ronald, Gonzalez, Sculptor pairs this sparse soundtrack with Jacob's signature flicker effects to bring life to each of Gonzalez's sculptures, epitomizing and embodying the fusion of and communion between the two mediums.