The End of Fear is a cinematographic essay on our relationship to Modern Art from the perspective of a crucial and controversial work from the 1960’s, the painting Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue III by Barnett Newman.
From the moment the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam acquired this large – 245X544cm – primarily monochrome red painting in 1969 until today, Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue III is an artwork that raises questions, triggers emotions and provokes emotional reactions.
A brutal attack on the piece on the first day of spring in 1986 was followed by what later proved to be a rather unconventional restoration procedure which in its turn led to a 125M legal battle, turning the artistic highlight into a juicy conversation piece. Some said the work has become a ‘prop’, a copy of itself, while others argue that the basic concept remains intact.
The End of Fear
poster 59,5 X 42 cm
production still
This icon of Abstract Expressionism, once permanently on display in the Hall of Honors, is now in the museums’ storage and is not allowed to travel to be exhibited abroad, like other key works.
The End of Fear takes multiple perspectives on important and fascinating questions that were raised during the painting’s lifetime, starting with the provocative title of the work itself, and looks at how they are still present in our current relationship to contemporary art.
What is a work of art made of? What makes it authentic? Which values does it represent? What is it worth, and what affects the value in economic, artistic, societal and social terms?
Renske van Enckevort while painting a copy of Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue III
still from Wer hat Angst von Rot, Gelb, Blau? Fiction film by Heiko Schier (1991)
Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue III, minutes after the attack, 1986
Setphoto, scalemodel of the Stedelijk Museum Storage Sugar Factory, Halfweg
credits:
Directed by Barbara Visser
Research Bart Haensel
Script Barbara Visser and Bart Haensel
Cinematography Niels van Koevorden
Sound Tim van Peppen
Editing Xander Nijsten
Musical score Juho Nurmela
Sound design Tijn Hazen
Produced by De Familie Film & Televisie
Production Management Jessie Mentjox
Postproduction by Amator
made possible with the generous support of
Filmfonds
Mondriaan fonds
Mediafonds
VPRO
Ernst van de Wetering, arthistorian
setphoto, Sugar Factory, Halfweg
The End of Fear was shown at:
IFFR 2018 – Rotterdam, Nederland, world première
CPH:DOX Festival 2018, competition Copenhagen, Denmark
Docaviv 2018, Tel Aviv, Israël
Dokfest 2018, München, Germany
Hotdocs 2018, Toronto, Canada
DOK Leipzig 2018, Leipzig, Germany
Openingsfilm Panorama Europe 2018, New York, USA
New Horizons Wroclaw 2018, Poland
Open City Docs 2018, London, GB
Doku.Arts 2018 Berlin 2018, Germany
Brussels Art Film Festival 2018 – Brussel, Belgium
Lo schermo dell’arte 2018, Florence, Italy
Rencontres Internationales du Documentaire de Montréal 2018 – Canada
Antenna Documentary Film Festival 2018, Sydney, Australia
broadcast VPRO - NPO2 30 mei 2018
Nederlands Film Festival 2018, Utrecht, NL
Dokfest Kassel 2018, Germany
Salem Filmfest 2019, Salem, USA
Master of Art Filmfestival competition 2019, Sofia, Bulgaria
Renske van Enckevort, still