Made in America

Norman Rockwell Museum video interview with illustrator Wendell Minor.
Photo by Jeremy Clowe for Norman Rockwell Museum. All rights reserved.

Yesterday I spent the afternoon starting work on a new video project: a short documentary for our upcoming exhibition on illustrator Wendell Minor. Known for his many acclaimed children's books, Minor's art touches on his love of history and the environment. Wendell Minor's America will showcase original artworks, artifacts, and references from such picture books as Look to the Stars (by astronaut Buzz Aldrin); Abraham Lincoln Comes Home; and America the Beautiful. 

Wendell Minor's studio. Photo by Jeremy Clowe
for Norman Rockwell Museum. All rights reserved.

Along with Norman Rockwell Museum's Chief Curator Stephanie Plunkett, I traveled to Minor's home in Washington, Connecticut, to conduct the interview. I was lucky to once again borrow a Sony NXCAM HXR-NX5U to do the filming. We set up the interview in Minor's studio, which he shares with his wife/collaborator Florence, and it went well. The artist has a decent amount of light coming through the window near his workspace, which hopefully served us well. I used a reflector to warm up some of the background.

During our visit, I found myself appreciating the Minors' decorative sense− sort of a mix between Southwestern and Eastern U.S. This was actually my second visit to the couple's home− the first was back in 2004 when I interviewed Wendell Minor at length for my documentary Drawing Inspiration: Norman Rockwell in Stockbridge (Rockwell was a strong influence on the artist).

Wendell Minor's America opens November 9 at Norman Rockwell Museum. I'll have more details on the exhibition and video in the coming months. In the meantime, here is a promo video that the artist put together for the exhibition, which gives you an idea of his work: 



Related Link:

Wendell Minor's website