Memphis Blues
2024, 5 mins
Sean G. Phillips (seangarrison), a Minneapolis-based artist, responds to the news of another Black man's murder through poetry and painting.
Director's Statement
"Give it two years", Sean said to me about the George Floyd uprisings, "People will forget." Sean G. Phillips, an artist professionally known as seangarrison, makes and performs art so that, as he puts it, "others can feel." He is uniquely compelled to explore challenging topics: gun culture in America, unhealed wounds from our legacy of mass lynchings, and society's short attention span about the murders of Black men. Memphis Blues documents Sean's exploration of what is left after the initial excitement of social and political upheaval wanes. What happens when the protest signs fade and the rubble is cleared? Who will remember?
Sean's first response to the murder of Tyre Nichols in 2023 by Memphis police was an Instagram post of him reading a poem he had written for the young victim. He indicated that he would soon create a series of paintings to follow. I had known Sean since 2021 when we worked together on Art & Healing, an arts documentary commissioned by Broadway Family Medicine in North, Minneapolis. I was deeply moved by Sean's work and his message, but I also saw how he struggles, like many artists, to get his message out beyond a close group of friends and family. After seeing Sean's Instagram post I contacted him to propose a collaboration to document the creation of his artwork for Tyre Nichols. The resulting film, Memphis Blues, is my way of supporting a fellow artist who is waging an unpopular yet crucial fight against ongoing inequality in our country. Similar to the killings, I didn't want Sean's work to fade into the oblivion of social media.
Upcoming Screenings
March 20, 2025 - Minnesota Film Festival at Zeitgeist Arts. Duluth, MN.
Past Screenings
2024 Midwest Video Poetry Festival. Madison, WI.
2024 Square Lake Film Festival. Stillwater, MN.
2024 Maryland Film Festival. Baltimore, MD.
2024 Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival. Minneapolis, MN.