Paperman

Domenico Zazzara’s Paperman is a beautiful and inspiring glimpse into the creation of art and the artist behind it. Much like Neil Berkeley’s Beauty is Embarrassing, which shows the life and creations of Wayne White, this documentary takes on a similar behind the scenes look at what it takes to make art, and what that art has meant to the life of Britan’s James Lake, who crafts all of his sculptures out of cardboard.

But unlike Wayne White, a personality that matches his artistic output, James Lake is both introverted and humble. He came to an artistic career late in life. Following the loss of one of his legs, coinciding with a long recovery in the wake of surviving bone cancer, Lake, who was outdoorsy and active prior to his health complications, needed something to divert his mind, and something to do with his hands.

Zazzara’s brilliant Paperman showcases what it is really like for most artists. They don’t all have money, fame, and acclaim. They toil away, day after day, with sometimes little to no appreciation for the time, dedication, and devotion that they will pour into a dream no one else can see. Along the way, we hear from the people in Lake’s life who have grown up around these one-legged artist’s curiously soulful cardboard concoctions. They all speak to the passion and care with which he imbues his work in this medium, comprising worthless recycled material.

“…the life of Britan’s James Lake, who crafts all of his sculptures out of cardboard.”

But there is a silver lining out there for Lake. After years of tragedy and toil, Lake is finally offered the opportunity to take up a residency and a place and a life achievement award at The International Biennial of Paper Art in Lucca, Italy. From there, we follow James along with the other artists from around the globe as they are given six weeks to complete their pieces.

To experience the crafting of such gigantic yet complex art using such a fragile medium, so pieces like human beings do not have a long lifespan. Thus, this renders both Lake and his art extremely compatible. As Lake, having dealt with the possibility of losing his life at an early stage, fully appreciates the time he has been given, the result is the power and restlessness he injects into these glued and bent portions of compacted pulped paper.

Paperman is fascinating and touching. It sends a message to everyone is the world who is making art right now, in all its forms. It brought to mind something Robert Rodriguez wrote once, “If you’re doing it because you love it you can succeed because you’ll work harder than anyone else around you, take on challenges no one else would take, and come up with methods no one else would discover, especially when their prime drive is fame and fortune. All that will follow later if you love what you do.”

James Lake and his work are each fascinating in their construction, and there is no more compelling a tale than that of the man whose whole life falls apart, only to become, by sheer force of will, retooled into something finer.