In Cassidy Rast and Odin Wadleigh’s documentary short, Body of Work, the directors spotlight the work and career of artist Eric Anfinson, who, as a young man, was never destined to be an artist, but fate had a different plan.
At 16 years old, Eric Anfinson was a promising young linebacker at Austin High School in Minnesota. In 1985, a routine tackle gone wrong changed everything. As seen on a local broadcast in Austin, Anfinson crushed a vertebra in his neck, leaving him a quadriplegic. Through interviews with Anfinson and his family, archival footage, and 16mm recreations, we walk through the incident, his slow recovery, and his transformation as he builds a new life after the one he planned as a teen is gone.
“Over his twenty-five-year career, his ‘body of work’ numbers over 700 pieces and lives in collections across North America and Europe.”
In 2001, Anfinson found himself in Key West, Florida, on an island known as “the rock.” There, he picked up a paintbrush for the first time and became a self-taught artist. He worked in oil paints and began painting abstract portraits, many of whose subjects appear in the documentary. His portraits may lack fine detail, but he captures the spirit and personality of anyone who sits for him. Over his twenty-five-year career, his “body of work” comprises over 700 pieces and is held in collections across North America and Europe.
In Body of Work, filmmakers Rast and Wadleigh pull a sneaky move by showing Anfinson’s work right off the bat, along with commentary from him and his admirers. At the moment we fall in love with his work, we learn of his tragic backstory…but only tragic from certain perspectives. Anfinson’s life is one of hope and persistence. It’s also one of overcoming challenges, such as in the end, when his body had broken down so much that he was unable to paint anymore…so he found a new artistic outlet.
As a film, Body of Work captures the beauty and nuance of Anfinson’s life and work. His career inspires and brings hope to anyone who finds themselves limited in life in any way. At one point, he questions whether the title “hero” even applies to him, and in my opinion, it does. His heroism is an example to all that giving up is not the only option when tragedy rears its ugly head.
"…never destined to be an artist, but fate had a different plan."
