LA JOLLA, California -The 26th Annual San Diego Jewish Film Festival is underway, and the film selections seem to run the gamut from comedy to maudlin, somber to joyous, but Friday morning’s film, Imber’s Left Hand, a documentary, can only be described as bittersweet.
Jill Hoy, artist and wife of Jon Imber, introduced the documentary of this brilliant artist’s battle with ALS, and allowed viewers a glimpse of the philosophical process he adopted in the final year of his life. In 2012, after experiencing tremors, tingling, and weakness, Imber was diagnosed with this cruel disease, that dismantles the body in stages, beginning with extremeties and brazenly invading the entire nervous system.
The film was hosted by the San Diego chapter of the ALS Association, and prior to the showing, Megan, a sophomore at Canyon Crest Academy in San Diego, shared her own personal engagement with this debilitating disease, as she told the auditorium about her aunt’s courageous fight with this illness.
Imber’s documentary is the encapsulation of his life as a painter, Harvard educator, observer, philosopher and human. Throughout the film, the artist and his wife share very personal revelations and emotions. We laugh with Imber when he reveals his Vaudevillian humor, and we choke on sobs, as they bravely soldier on, even though loss is omnipresent.
At the outset of the film Imber is hoisted to his feet and held up to an easel, where he painstakingly applies paint to a canvas with his left hand. His few seemingly random strokes fatigue him, and the artist is guided back to his chair. Cut to a few months earlier.
Jon Imber and Jill Hoy are at home, where Imber is painting with his left hand. He can no longer use his right hand, but he finds the “limitation is liberating.” He tells his wife that his anxiety “never stays put, it keeps getting worse.” Hoy helps him turn canvases upside down to apply new coats of paint. She remains his steadfast support, critic and companion as he uses the medium and creates beautiful texture in his abstract landscapes.
Imber spoke with great admiration for De Kooning . He admired De Kooning’s use of technical tools, brushes, and spatulas. A number of times and through various pieces he spoke of looking for a source of tension, conflict, a necessary clash. Before he was forced to use only his left hand to paint, Imber stated that perhaps his previous works had not naturally had this struggle, but now that his left hand took over, it flowed from him easily, unbidden.
The artist declared Cezanne’s ability to have a “dialogue with nature” the asset that “makes him better than anyone.” This is something that is evident on Imber’s many colorful canvases. He was a keen observer and urged the painter to keep looking.
As his body became less cooperative, Imber developed what he referred to as the “anxious stroke,” that came from his left hand acting of its own accord. His paintings became a quest, a surprise. The uncertainty kept him off balance. He described his left handed paintings as having “unmannered grace.”
At one point in the film, Imber and Hoy are going through photographs. We see family seders from Imber’s childhood. While he has not been an observant Jew, Imber avers that Judaism has been embedded in his psyche and has informed his conduct. He states that he is keenly aware of his delivery, responsibility, and integrity. His Jewish roots are impressive. Great Uncle Naphtali Herz Imber is credited with having penned Hatikva, the Jewish national anthem, in 1878.
The film unveils how human physical frailty yields an expansion of the spirit. Imber and Hoy share their passion for Deer Isle, Maine. Their lovely home becomes a pivotal point where friends, arists and guests come to learn more about painting technique and life from Imber. Though his body is deteriorating right before the viewer’s eyes, Imber seems to grow more peaceful, humorous and joyous. He says, “I have little desire to embrace gloom. I’d rather do a little battle with it.”
In the last eight months of his short life, Jonathan Imber produced 200 works. Lou Gehrig’s disease does not garner the same magnitude of attention as other illnesses, but this poignant documentary provides us with a spectacular sense of the triumph of spirit over flesh.
The documentary will be shown again Sunday Feb. 7 at 7:30 pm at the Reading Cinemas 14, 4665 Clairemont Drive, and again on Monday , Feb. 8 at 5 pm at the Edwards San Marcos Stadium 18, 1180 W. San Marcos Blvd., San Marcos.
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Trieger is a freelance writer who specializes in coverage of the arts. She may be contacted via eva.trieger@sdjewishworld.com. Comments intended for publication in the space below must be accompanied by the letter writer’s first and last name and by his/ her city and state of residence (city and country for those outside the U.S.)