Nothing in the Way of Beauty – Screening and Discussion

Synopsis: A man once set about making a place where beauty might flourish. He unlocked a door and invited everyone in. After many lifespans and a churning stream of visitors, we step through to find Tina, Chelsea, and Phoebe. One retired from government work who uses her hourly wages from Target to buy paint and canvas, another with Asperger’s lives and works on the top floor of her mother’s row house with many pet rats, and the third a polymath, with a decade of advanced medical training, a stint in adult entertainment, and thirteen years of recovery from heroin addiction. They are both together and apart, scraping colors, moving in circles, infused with a spirit we can’t see or touch, but waits to take shape, to arrive.

Director Sue Schardt made this work while in residence at the Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial in Philadelphia as she simultaneously began an extended, intermittent sojourn at Pendle Hill in January 2020. She recognizes the film rising, in part, from the sanctuary of Pendle Hill and – in particular – the continuing community gathered daily for worship via Zoom from the start of the pandemic. She and the artists featured in the film will share their reflections after the screening.

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Leaders

Director Sue Schardt is a Boston-based DJ and musician with decades of mission-focused leadership and innovation in public broadcasting. Nothing in the Way of Beauty is her first foray into independent filmmaking and her directorial debut.

Producer Gerard Silva is a conceptual and text-based artist, curator, writer and educator. He has degrees in studio art, photography, communications, and Spanish Literature. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico to biracial parents, he spent a large part of his life in New York City. In addition, he has lived in London, Madrid, and many U.S. cities before deciding to settle in Philadelphia. He has worked at Fleisher Art Memorial for over 16 years in many roles and currently holds the Exhibitions and Community Outreach Director position and teaches screen printing. He is responsible for organizing the El Día de los Muertos celebrations and the Indonesian Festival in South Philadelphia. He is in charge of the prestigious Wind Challenge exhibitions which showcase emerging local artists. Silva is liaison to regional organizations, including Modero & Company, Laos in the House, CAGE, William Way, the Leeway Foundation, Asian Arts Initiative, Casa de Venezuela, and organizations serving immigrants such as Juntos, Puentes de Salud, Taller Puertorriqueño, HIAS PA and Seamaac. Prior to this, he held a position as an art director for an advertising agency in New York.

Artist Chelsea Dalsey is a Philadelphia-based multi-disciplinary artist whose work centers her relationship with her body and also draws on the far-reaching experiences which feed her practices of expression. Personal loss informs personal growth, and with more than 13 years of sobriety, Chelsea is committed to a life of full potential. She considers herself “a multi-media machine” generating works on canvas, screen-printing, face and body painting, special FX make-up and, most recently, a focus on large scale sculpture and set building. In her spare time, she enjoys dancing and making music.

Artist Tina LeCoff is a painter who has studied at Fleisher for many years. Before turning her focus to her art, she was a landscape architect for the federal government. Tina has a distinctive sensibility for fashion, loves meandering drives in her “muscle car,” and is a part-time shift worker at Target.

Artist Phoebe Murer is an award-winning mix-media artist and graphic novelist born and raised in Philadelphia. Her content reflects a variety of interests, including nostalgia, dreamlike swimming pools, pets, illness and social problems, political issues, and entertainment themes. Phoebe specializes in working with those with autism, as she herself is on the spectrum. She is also an instructor and student at the Fleisher Art Memorial. Phoebe received her Certificate of Fine Arts at Pennsylvania Academy of Arts in Painting, a bachelor’s in Psychology/Pre-Art Therapy at Arcadia University, and a Masters in English with an emphasis in creative writing at Arcadia University. Learn more at phoebe-murer.squarespace.com.

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