A Portrait of a Friend by Friends: Emmett Williams

1988, 23 min, color, sound

In this collaborative "verbal drawing," Fluxus artist, painter and poet Emmett Williams is profiled by his friends and colleagues. Fifteen artists, poets and writers convened in the Form Hotel in Warsaw, Poland to pay tribute to Williams in the form of personal anecdotes. In this intimate "portrait drawn by friends," Williams emerges from the reminiscences — related in each person's native language — as a complex, humorous personality. The viewer sees a mediated, composite version of the subject: Williams himself only appears as an image at the tape's conclusion.

In English, French, German, and Hungarian with English titles.

Camera/Editor: Joan Logue. On-line Editor: Amy Taylor. Translation: Judith Aminoff. Produced in association with New Television, WGBH/WNET.