Tomorrow evening, Breadtruck Films, Sezio and the Museum of Photographic Arts will host the world premiere of San Diego–based director Jeffrey Durkin’s new documentary, Working Class. This Tale of Two Cities–inspired film dips into the differences and commonalities between cities, friends and artists in Southern and Northern California. Against the backdrop of street art and graffiti, their respective cities and their own art,
San Diego artist Mike Maxwell (from El Cajon) and San Francisco artist Mike Giant speak about art, religion, violence, each other’s work and personalities, and the freedom of making a living with your art – however meager that living may sometimes be.
The film is broken into chapters – surely a nod to the Charles Dickens book that was published chapter by chapter in weekly installments – devoted to the various aforementioned subjects. Mike Giant is a graffitist and a tattoo artist both on the skin and on the page, and Mike Maxwell is a painter who creates vibrant portraits through restrained–yet–dynamic use of color. “I met Mike Maxwell and Mike Giant separately and talked to each of them about doing a documentary on their art,” Durkin says about the film’s beginnings. “Then I learned that they are good friends, so I came up with the idea of doing a ‘buddy story,’ but with art, tattoos and graffiti. I thought looking at their relationship and positioning them against the subcultures of Northern and Southern California would tell you more about their art.”
The two artists spend much of the film paying tribute to the valuable community they find among each other regardless of distance, yet fittingly, only toward the final chapter do the two come together for illuminating conversations about what their cities and communities will accept or shun in terms of street art and graffiti.
Mike Maxwell's Everything I've Seen
Other thinkers, such as a historian, a feminist and a Buddhist monk, step in to elaborate on the two Mikes' ideas and art. Durkin explains, “After being inspired by Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, I started thinking about how he was looking at the fast changing world of the 1780s. I started paying attention to the fast changing world of today, and all the multiple perspectives that are out there.” That fascination is obvious in Durkin's picturesque filmmaking style. In this film, the director, who grew up in San Jose and is now based in Mission Hills, cuts from nature footage to images of alleys and rooftops and familiar locations. The artistic shots look like moving photos peppered with an array of personalities and conversations.
Working Class premiers Thursday, September 8
th (tomorrow) at 7pm at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park (1649 El Prado). Check out the
trailer,
purchase your tickets ($10), and enjoy cocktails and a performance by
The Silent Comedy (which also makes a cameo in the film) before the screening begins at 8pm.