“M.C. RICHARDS: THE FIRE WITHIN”
Winner of Best Film at the 2010
Image Gazer Film Festival

Tues. February 15 7:30PM

Maine College of Art—Osher Hall
522 Congress Street
Portland, ME 04101

Produced by Richard Kane and Melody Lewis-Kane

“M.C. Richards: The Fire Within” is a love poet’s journey into discovering the delicate links between creativity and the imagination.  In rare documentary footage about this pivotal figure in the development of the American avant garde, we witness Mary Caroline Richards (1916-1999) engage in contemplative questioning regarding the nature of art, imagination, wholeness, and community. She inspires us to live creatively, to believe in ourselves, to experience the sensuality of existence.  This is a film about each of us and our quest to be authentic creators of art and community.  Known for her influential book CENTERING: In Pottery, Poetry and the Person, M.C. was head of faculty at the experimental Black Mountain College (1949-51) serving with Robert Rauschenberg, Elaine and Willem deKooning, Arthur Penn, Robert Turner, Karen Karnes, Merce Cunningham, and John Cage among others.  M.C. was a potter, a painter, a poet, and philosopher.  But above all, she was an inspired teacher. This film has been selected for nine international film festivals and won Best Film in the 2010 Image Gazer Film Festival. 

YouTube link:
M.C. Richards clip

Website link:
M.C. Richards site