Former Ghosts and Josef Bolf: in the name of art and music
former-ghosts-and-josef-bolf-in-the-name-of-art-and-music
April 05, 2012
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# Former Ghosts and Josef Bolf: in the name of art and music
**Josef Bolf** is one of the most respected mid-generation artists in
the Czech Republic. His uncanny characters, sometimes half-animals,
inhabit a post-apocalyptic world devoid of hope and redemption. Death,
gloom and doom are expressed in a menacing but playful way. A new
English language documentary directed by **Benjamin Hunwicke** aims to
capture the persona of this enigmatic auteur. Bolf's affection for music
is made obvious in the film, but perhaps a lesser-known fact is his
influence on bands like **Former Ghosts** (Freddy Ruppert's project
which also includes collaborations with Zola
Jesus, Xiu Xiu's Jamie Stewart or **[Tearist][1]{:
target="_blank"}'s** [Yasmine Kittles][2]{: target="_blank"} and is
featured here alongside up-and-coming Czech project **[Mon
Insomnie][3]{: target="_blank"}**.) **EB: What motivated you to do a
film about a Czech artist?** Benjamin Hunwicke: I first came to the
Czech Republic to study for one month, and ended up staying for almost
three years. I fell head over heels in love with Prague and the Czech
people. I started attending art openings and underground parties, and
was amazed at the talent here. My first thought was "Why have I never
heard about this before?" In England, we hear a lot about Berlin, New
York and Tokyo, but sadly a lot of foreigners have a problem even
locating the Czech Republic on a map. Many people think it's just a
place to come and get drunk for the weekend. There's so much going on
here, such amazing art, music and culture, and a lot of it coming from
this friction between West and Eastern Europe and Czech history. So I
began thinking about a documentary. **How did you choose to portray
Josef Bolf, one of the leading Czech painters??** I first saw Josef's
work at a gallery in Prague. It was everything I felt art should be --
intense, visceral, surreal. I was eventually introduced to him by a
mutual friend, just after I'd bought his book of art. It was a bit
embarrassing, as I was looking at the book as we were introduced. I must
have looked like the biggest fanboy in the world! But Josef is very
friendly, modest and polite, almost the opposite of his paintings. I
found this juxtaposition to be very intriguing, and we quickly struck up
a friendship. Eventually I left Prague to study film in Brighton, and
was given the opportunity to create a documentary. I thought to myself,
"Who's the most interesting person I know?" Immediately I thought of
Josef and his work, and the arts scene in Prague. I pitched the idea,
thinking it would be a tough sell -- some guy from Brighton going to
make a film about a Czech painter? -- but people loved the idea, and we
were soon in Prague with a digital and Super-8 camera, running around
like mad dogs for forty-eight hours. **Why did you decide to premiere it
online??** I decided to do the documentary in English. There is a lot of
fantastic coverage of the Czech arts scene, but most of it is in Czech,
which makes it very difficult for foreigners to learn about contemporary
culture. I hoped by making the documentary in English that people from
all over the world could better appreciate the exciting things happening
in Prague. **Could you tell us more about the music in the film??**
Former Ghosts and Mon Insomnie are two of Josef's favourite bands, and I
think they capture a sound that is similar to his visual art, a kind of
intense melancholy. Many people have heard of Former Ghosts, but Tomas
from Mon Insomnie is an amazing musician, very young and talented.
**What about your future projects?**? I'm devoting myself to making
music at the moment, but if the interest is there, I would love to shoot
another documentary in Prague -- but with better equipment and this time
about the music scene. There is so much great stuff happening in there;
the potential is almost limitless. *Josef Bolf -- The Documentary will
premiere on the 6th of April on Youtube and Facebook, and will be
available until the 13th of April. Find out more [here][4]{:
target="_blank"}.?*
[1]: http://www.electronicbeats.net/music/news/tearist-create-mixtape-for-actual-pain-0
[2]: http://www.electronicbeats.net/node/9195
[3]: http://moninsomnie.tumblr.com/
[4]: https://www.facebook.com/events/128914003900064/
---
id: 8d320a67-d17e-445d-b928-6416a3b47a00
blueprint: article
title: 'Former Ghosts and Josef Bolf: in the name of art and music'
date: 2012-04-05T13:25:16+02:00
wp_id: '11669'
slug: former-ghosts-and-josef-bolf-in-the-name-of-art-and-music
contents:
-
type: text
text: '<p> <strong>Josef Bolf</strong> is one of the most respected mid-generation artists in the Czech Republic. His uncanny characters, sometimes half-animals, inhabit a post-apocalyptic world devoid of hope and redemption. Death, gloom and doom are expressed in a menacing but playful way. A new English language documentary directed by <strong>Benjamin Hunwicke</strong> aims to capture the persona of this enigmatic auteur. Bolf’s affection for music is made obvious in the film, but perhaps a lesser-known fact is his influence on bands like <strong>Former Ghosts</strong> (Freddy Ruppert’s project which also includes collaborations with<strong> <a href="http://www.electronicbeats.net/node/9814" target="_blank">Zola Jesus</a>, Xiu Xiu</strong>‘s Jamie Stewart or <strong><a href="http://www.electronicbeats.net/music/news/tearist-create-mixtape-for-actual-pain-0" target="_blank">Tearist</a>‘s</strong> <a href="http://www.electronicbeats.net/node/9195" target="_blank">Yasmine Kittles</a> and is featured here alongside up-and-coming Czech project <strong><a href="http://moninsomnie.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Mon Insomnie</a></strong>.) <strong>EB: What motivated you to do a film about a Czech artist?</strong> Benjamin Hunwicke: I first came to the Czech Republic to study for one month, and ended up staying for almost three years. I fell head over heels in love with Prague and the Czech people. I started attending art openings and underground parties, and was amazed at the talent here. My first thought was “Why have I never heard about this before?” In England, we hear a lot about Berlin, New York and Tokyo, but sadly a lot of foreigners have a problem even locating the Czech Republic on a map. Many people think it’s just a place to come and get drunk for the weekend. There’s so much going on here, such amazing art, music and culture, and a lot of it coming from this friction between West and Eastern Europe and Czech history. So I began thinking about a documentary. <strong>How did you choose to portray Josef Bolf, one of the leading Czech painters??</strong> I first saw Josef’s work at a gallery in Prague. It was everything I felt art should be – intense, visceral, surreal. I was eventually introduced to him by a mutual friend, just after I’d bought his book of art. It was a bit embarrassing, as I was looking at the book as we were introduced. I must have looked like the biggest fanboy in the world! But Josef is very friendly, modest and polite, almost the opposite of his paintings. I found this juxtaposition to be very intriguing, and we quickly struck up a friendship. Eventually I left Prague to study film in Brighton, and was given the opportunity to create a documentary. I thought to myself, “Who’s the most interesting person I know?” Immediately I thought of Josef and his work, and the arts scene in Prague. I pitched the idea, thinking it would be a tough sell – some guy from Brighton going to make a film about a Czech painter? – but people loved the idea, and we were soon in Prague with a digital and Super-8 camera, running around like mad dogs for forty-eight hours. <strong>Why did you decide to premiere it online??</strong> I decided to do the documentary in English. There is a lot of fantastic coverage of the Czech arts scene, but most of it is in Czech, which makes it very difficult for foreigners to learn about contemporary culture. I hoped by making the documentary in English that people from all over the world could better appreciate the exciting things happening in Prague. <strong>Could you tell us more about the music in the film??</strong> Former Ghosts and Mon Insomnie are two of Josef’s favourite bands, and I think they capture a sound that is similar to his visual art, a kind of intense melancholy. Many people have heard of Former Ghosts, but Tomas from Mon Insomnie is an amazing musician, very young and talented. <strong>What about your future projects?</strong>? I’m devoting myself to making music at the moment, but if the interest is there, I would love to shoot another documentary in Prague – but with better equipment and this time about the music scene. There is so much great stuff happening in there; the potential is almost limitless. <em>Josef Bolf – The Documentary will premiere on the 6th of April on Youtube and Facebook, and will be available until the 13th of April. Find out more <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/128914003900064/" target="_blank">here</a>.?</em></p>'
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# Former Ghosts and Josef Bolf: in the name of art and music
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# Former Ghosts and Josef Bolf: in the name of art and music . **Josef Bolf** is one of the most respected mid-generation artists in the Czech Republic. His uncanny characters, sometimes half-animals, inhabit a post-apocalyptic world devoid of hope and redemption. Death, gloom and doom are expre...
Chunk #3 (Position: 2)
*Josef Bolf -- The Documentary will premiere on the 6th of April on Youtube and Facebook, and will be available until the 13th of April. Find out more [here][4]{: target="_blank"}.?* . [1]: http://www.electronicbeats.net/music/news/tearist-create-mixtape-for-actual-pain-0 [2]: http://www.electro...