"Phyllis Bramson: Love and Affection in a Hostile World"
9 min 11 sec.

In January 2012, the Union League Club of Chicago honored Bramson with its DIstinguished Artist Award, putting her in the rarified company of Ed Paschke, Ruth Duckworth, Dawoud Bey, Kerry James Marshall, Barbara Crane, Michiko Itatani, Robert Lostutter, John David Mooney, Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, Richard Hunt, James Valerio, William Conger, Don Baum and Vera Klement.. The club showed this video alongside an exhibition of her paintings, including the one she's creating in the video, "Promiscuous Joinings."
Phyllis Bramson paints from her wholly-owned perspective of Fragonard, Chinese pleasure books, bawdy ashtrays, and the provocative Art that cartoons hope they grow up to be.
She's painting/collaging in her Chicago Greektown studio, discussing her work with a minimum of artspeak and a maximum of intimate detail, and she invites us in for a revealing studio visit.
See and hear how and why she creates the beauty and mystery, and a little naughtiness of her works, many of which are in important collections worldwide.
When Bramson commissioned this Studio Visit Video, I used her written artist statement as the armature of this short documentary.

What a pleasure to go backstage and see where all this loveliness comes from. Phyllis was a delight, an unjaded cosmopolite.

The music on the soundtrack is composed by her friend, Pat Hamilton, performed by Via Verso. Special thanks to critic Miranda McClintoc, Celeste Rapone, and Lanny Silverman, curator for Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.