Watch at Home 03.01.2018

An Art That Nature Makes: The Work of Rosamond Purcell

Directed by Molly Bernstein
Film Movement
2015
75 Minutes
USA
English
Documentary, Biography

Finding unexpected beauty in the discarded and decayed, photographer Rosamond Purcell has developed an oeuvre of work that has garnered international acclaim, graced the pages of National Geographic and over 20 published books, and has enlisted admirers such as Jonathan Safran Foer, Errol Morris and Stephen Jay Gould. AN ART THAT NATURE MAKES details Purcell’s fascination with the natural world – from a mastodon tooth to a hydrocephalic skull – offering insight into her unique way of recontextualizing objects both ordinary and strange into sometimes disturbing but always breathtaking imagery.

Director & Cast

  • Director: Molly Bernstein
  • Starring: Rosamond Purcell

Trailer

Photos

Reviews

  • "'An Art That Nature Makes: The Work of Rosamond Purcell" serves as a fine primer to academic darling Purcell's object-driven focus, from which questions about the natural world and its relation to aesthetics are impossible to ignore."
    Robert Abele, LA Times
  • "CRITIC'S PICK. Now it's clear to me that she is without question our greatest living 17th-century photographer."
    A.O. Scott, New York Times
  • "The filmmaker serves her subject well with her excellent presentation of many examples of Purcell's work from throughout her long career. The ultimate effect is like walking through a well-curated museum exhibition while listening to expert commentary on headphones."
    Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
Nominated
Best Documentary
Cleveland Int'l. Film Festival
Official Selection
DOC NYC