As part of its monthly independent film series, the Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts and School of Art will present a free, one-night screening of “Herb and Dorothy” at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4, at The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.
Megumi Sasaki’s 2009 film focuses on Herbert and Dorothy Vogel, who managed to amass one of the most important collections of contemporary art in history with very modest means.
In the early 1960s, the couple began living on Dorothy’s librarian salary while using Herb’s postal worker salary to purchase art they liked, was affordable and was small enough to fit in their one-bedroom Manhattan apartment. After 30 years, they had literally filled the space with over 2,000 pieces, most by artists such as Sol LeWitt, Christo, Jeanne-Claude and Lawrence Weiner, who had become world renowned.
In 1992, the Vogels donated their entire collection to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and began refilling their apartment with new art.
“Herb and Dorothy” received both the Golden Starfish Award for the Best Documentary Film and the Audience Award from the 2008 Hamptons International Film Festival. It also received Audience Awards from the 2008 Silverdocs Film Festival and the 2009 Philadelphia Cinefest.
The Cole Art Center is located at 329 E. Main St. Admission is free.
The film is sponsored in part by SFA Friends of the Visual Arts and Nacogdoches Junior Forum. For more information, please call (936) 468-1131.
