Arts
“The decision to approach Elizabeth Williams has a long journey; indeed one connected initially more to prose, rather than drawing or visual art, and going back a couple of decades. In 1984 the writer/journalist and film and t.v. producer Dominck Dunne wrote an extraordinary essay for Vanity Fair magazine that had much influence upon me. Titled "Justice: A Father's Account of the Trial of his Daughter's Killer", the piece, including the aesthetic details and judgements of, say, the judge, the jury and the defendant's demeanor, as well as the psychological dimensions of Dunne's experience ranks for me as among the best writing of that decade at least (and of course launched him as a major crime reporter on O.J. Simpson and others). The connections between the many episodes on our show is immense. Dunne's daughter who was murdered was, of course, Dominque Dunne who at the time of her murder was not only featured in an episode of Hill Street Blues, the plot of which was precisely the subject of domestic violence, but was also prominent in a number of t.v. movies that Amanda Reyes and I discussed. (I had offered on my latest episode with her to do a whole show on The Day The Loving Stopped.) (Link to listen to the episode with Amanda Reyes mentioned can be found here:https://anchor.fm/mitch-hampton/episodes/INTIMATE-STRANGERS-episode-with-Amanda-Reyes-eoipb4/a-a49a1c5) Dominck Dunne's son, Griffin Dunne, is also quite accomplished. But that one essay had a long lasting effect on me. It made me most conscious of the plight of crime victims and their families and loved ones, and thus, the victim's rights movement. And this was further complicated still by my then anti-death penalty activism, as these two communities, both of which I have great sympathies, often have come into conflict. So the daughter Dominique Dunne was on track to be a major star in Hollywood and you can observe her work on Hill Street Blues as well as other productions. In turn this one essay caused me to be a moderate "true crime" buff. I should mention the late Michelle MacNamara in this regard, probably the best or most representative of this kind of interest. And all the while I was haunted not just by Dominck Dunne's written account but all of these high profile criminal cases. They are almost always used not only in televised news reports but in so many prominent documentaries. Of course one of the themes of this podcast is calling into question the boundaries around fine art, utilitarian art, and the commercial and obscure and so on. So you could say that this episode is very much in keeping with the spirit of our podcast. I was excited to discuss the things we did on this episode and I should note, not a moment too soon that the nature of our discussion is unconventional given the subject matter. We are discussing the the nature of the worst crimes that have been committed by men in the past forty plus years; you could say the nature of evil comes into play. But we are also discussing them in the terms of public service: Williams' illustrations of these perpetrators or predators are essential for the legal system as well as basic, everyday journalism, yet they also keep alive the tradition of portraiture and illustration, which is fundamental to the history of art. Also, speaking more generally, Williams' story is the story of anybody who endeavors to become good at something; meeting mentors or masters in the chosen field, and all the stops in the journey along the way. I hope you enjoy this as much as we did creating it! “ Links to Elizabeth’s beautiful work: http://www.elizabethwilliamstudio.com For a deeper look into Elizabeth's work, this episode, visit our show Facebook page, here: https://www.facebook.com/journeyofanaesthetepodcast --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mitch-hampton/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mitch-hampton/support