Paul MacGowan has a long history in videography beginning in Burlington many, many years ago.   He recently participated as an offline editor for an HBO documentary airing tomorrow night, July 7th, at 9pm.

Full details below the fold.  Is the subject about art or emotional illness?  You tell me.

For Immediate Release HBO Docs
THE ART OF FAILURE: CHUCK CONNELLY NOT FOR SALE
TAKES AN UNFLINCHING LOOK AT THE RISE AND FALL OF A
TROUBLED ARTIST WHEN THE DOCUMENTARY
DEBUTS JULY 7, EXCLUSIVELY ON HBO
When neo-expressionist Chuck Connelly burst on the New York art scene in the ‘80s, he found himself compared to Van Gogh, and his work was discussed in the same breath as that of successful contemporaries Jean-Michel Basquiat and Julian Schnabel. During that time, Connelly sold more than a million dollars’ worth of art and was represented by one of New York’s most successful dealers.
Today, however, he is remembered primarily for alienating every collector and gallery owner with whom he worked. An unflinching portrait of the ascent and decline of an enigmatic artist, THE ART OF FAILURE: CHUCK CONNELLY NOT FOR SALE debuts MONDAY, JULY 7 (9:00-10:05 p.m. ET), exclusively on HBO.
Other HBO playdates: July 8 (11:45 p.m.), 10 (8:00 p.m.) and 16 (3:50 a.m.)
HBO2 playdates: July 7 (12:55 a.m.), 16 (11:35 p.m.) and 22 (3:25 a.m.)
THE ART OF FAILURE: CHUCK CONNELLY NOT FOR SALE is part of the HBO Documentary Films summer series, which features a provocative new film every Monday night at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT) through Aug. 25.
Directed by Jeff Stimmel and shot over a six-year period, this intimate and often troubling character study explores the creative passion of a painter who is his own worst enemy. Along with cinema verité footage, the film features candid interviews with such individuals as artist Mark Kostabi, curator Atanasio diFelice and art dealers Annina Nosei, Eduard Doga and Mary Lou Swift.
The documentary chronicles Connelly’s early career and his entry into the center of the art scene. Emulating his idols in both alcoholism and a no-holds-barred style of creating art, Connelly started to lash out at what he considered the hypocrisy and financial dishonesty of that world. Before long, he alienated everyone around him, lost every opportunity that came his way and fell into obscurity.
In 1999 Connelly left New York, where he had painted for nearly 20 years, and moved to Philadelphia. Though his work is in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and his paintings sell in online auctions, he hasn’t had a major art show since the 1990s, and continues to struggle as an artist, angry at being almost entirely forgotten.
Reflecting his working-class Pittsburgh roots, Connelly holds “traditional” beliefs that art is about personal expression and craftsmanship, a less-than-fashionable notion in today’s elite art world, the inner workings of which are glimpsed in the film.
Segments of THE ART OF FAILURE: CHUCK CONNELLY NOT FOR SALE include:
In a home video, Connelly has a drunken tirade in which he becomes belligerent toward his wife Laurence. Dealer Mary Lou Swift thinks that he drinks because he is unhappy in his life, but also because he sees a correlation between creating art and being an alcoholic.
At a Pittsburgh cemetery, Connelly visits Andy Warhol’s grave, observing that dying was Warhol’s best career move, adding, “Now he’s a hero.”
Connelly’s violent personality has driven away everyone who has worked with him, including his latest patron, Matt Garfield. Laurence tells her husband, “You make people fall out of love with you.” Later, the artist reads aloud a letter from his wife about the terms of their separation agreement. It’s nothing new, Connelly concedes, saying, “Gallery. Patron. Wife. All gone down the drain.”
Driven by desperation, Connelly hires actor David Nelson to pose as a young, upcoming artist to sell his work to galleries and art dealers. Nelson poses as Connelly’s early art school alter ego Fred Scaboda, visiting galleries to attempt to sell his work, and embellishing stories of the inspiration behind each piece. Though the tales are entirely fabricated, one gallery owner responds, “I see that your work is very autobiographical.”
The film concludes with “The Chuck Show: A Retrospective,” which shows onscreen some of the 3,000 paintings in storage in Connelly’s attic. Assessing his prospects, Connelly says, “I’m at the point if you don’t toot your horn, who’s gonna toot it for you?” He adds with a laugh, “Call me an egomaniac…but call me.”
People who haven’t forgotten Connelly still debate his talent, with some continuing to call him a genius. THE ART OF FAILURE: CHUCK CONNELLY NOT FOR SALE asks whether someone this uncompromising can make a comeback in an art world based increasingly on commerce not just art.
THE ART OF FAILURE: CHUCK CONNELLY NOT FOR SALE was produced and directed by Jeff Stimmel; executive producer for Films Transit International, Diana Holtzberg; editor, Paula Heredia; associate producer, Joanna K. Stimmel: original songs by Paul A. Anderson. Produced in association with BBC Storyville, ZDF/Arte: For HBO: supervising producer, Sara Bernstein; executive producer, Sheila Nevins.

— Paul MacGowan
Video Expeditions
802.865.0123
paul@vexp.org
www.vexp.org

WATCH THE MOVIE!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YirkQ0yYPxs

“Obviously, someone was thinking ahead,” said department spokesman Stephen Wark.

This is the first and perhaps biggest understatement in this article .

The second is by the reporter stating that this potential for big profits presents an enormous financial incentive for re-licensing the aging nuclear cash cow .

Why bother with new power sources the old ones are working just fine ,look at all this money .

“They”were thinking ahead by covering all the bases .$750million in unexpected profits from a “sweetener ” clause added almost as an after thought to the original Yankee/Entergy deal.

Back in the winter of 2002, when Vermont regulators were pondering the sale of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant to Entergy, a Louisiana-based energy giant, a short clause was inserted into the sales agreement that no one at the time paid much attention to.

But that little-known provision could reap about $750 million in unexpected profits for two of Vermont’s utilities, Central Vermont Public Service and Green Mountain Power, in coming years if the Vernon reactor is re-licensed and energy markets remain high. The most recent state estimates indicate the profit-sharing provision in the contract with Entergy could hit $1.2 billion over the life of the 10-year agreement. It’s not clear at this point whether the windfall would be used to lower electricity rates for Vermont ratepayers.

The so-called “strike price” provision in the 2002 sales contract is a profit-sharing agreement between Entergy and the state’s two largest utilities, CVPS and GMP. The potential profits present an enormous financial incentive for regulators to approve the re-licensing of Vermont Yankee, which wants to keep operating for another 20 years.

Legislators, who also must approve the re-licensing, say their requests for basic information about the profit-sharing deal have been stymied by Entergy Nuclear, the utilities and state regulators.

If the profits were used to keep electricity rates down, the creation of the provision was “extremely savvy,” Shumlin said.

If  the profits are used for leverage to keep the aging nuclear plant running it is equally savvy from a different perspective.

http://www.timesargus.com/apps…