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[Premiere] Meet Calder Greenwood, 'The Cardboard Artist'

Matthew Kaundart and Luka Fisher's documentary explores the lifelike street art installations of Calder Greenwood.
All images courtesy the producers

Creating street installations out of cardboard and paper mache, Calder Greenwood produces IRL representations of both the fantastical and the everyday to be seen and felt by the public. For Greenwood, the drive to create really kicked in when he was 22 years old, and a fellow peer passed away. "I felt like every day since then, I was living and he wasn't, and I was just very conscious of the fact life is a gift and I felt more of a desire, more of a push, to do things," he comments.

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Producers Matthew Kaundart and Luka Fisher's documentary 'The Cardboard Artist' takes us through Greenwood's journey as an artist and touches on the life and death of his installations, which constantly run the risk of being destroyed. Kaundart tells The Creators Project, "Instead of focusing on creating objects to put on display and sell within the confines of a gallery, Calder uses his art to engage people in real world locations during their everyday lives. His art encourages us to pause and recognize that our world can change and be changed. I think the idea that everything is malleable—including one’s identity—is a great notion to plant into people’s minds in an era in which many of us feel we have little to no agency or control of what’s around us."

Regarding the audience's reactions to the film, Kaundart states, "I hope viewers respond to this film by really embracing Calder’s philosophy. Calder has created an entire art practice around the notion that nothing lasts forever. Seeing his cardboard wizard or paper mache giraffe and realizing it will disappear as soon as it rains makes the work all the more impactful—you understand that you have to appreciate it while it exists. I also believe this idea applies to our own lives, and I think Calder’s a great example of how someone can make art out of living and living into art. I hope audiences respond by sharing this film and its message with as many people as possible."

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