Fresh Docs Film Screening: "Earthcaster"

The Center for Documentary Studies and the Southern Documentary Fund present a free screening of directors Georgann Eubanks and Donna Campbell's "Earthcaster" as part of the Fresh Docs series, which features documentary works-in-progress. Following screenings, SDF director Rachel Raney moderates a conversation with the filmmaker in which the audience participates, providing valuable feedback. "Earthcaster" tells the story of Raleigh-based international artist Thomas Hart Sayre and his massive concrete sculptures. Sayre, the recent recipient of the NC Award for lifetime achievement in the arts, says, "My artwork is also part of a larger spiritual pursuit of balance." Through a process he calls "earthcasting," Sayre explores the differences between forms made by nature and those made by humans. Using heavy equipment to dig complex molds in the earth, the artist then pours in colored concrete that echoes the hue of the native soil. When the concrete has cured, the sculptures are lifted by crane to stand in bold relief against the sky.