Making A Shrine For My Friend So She Wins An Oscar
Published March 24, 2021 · 5:15 · 281,368 views
About This Video
Van Neistat discovers his friend Garrett Bradley has been nominated for an Oscar for her documentary Time and responds the only way he knows: by building a shrine. The 5-minute, 15-second video introduces sympathetic magic, a concept Van credits to artist Tom Sachs, and argues that the real prize of an Oscar nomination is the chance to keep working.
The friendship has coordinates. Van last saw Garrett at Alex and Alex's wedding, where he shot film photos as a gift and discovered she had done the same. Before that, she hosted him for what he calls "a lonely Christmas" in New Orleans. Before that, at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival premiere of her film Below Dreams, she told him "you're next." She was right. Van went on to direct A Space Program, his feature about Tom Sachs, which premiered at SXSW in 2015.
Sachs, the New York artist Van Neistat has collaborated with for decades, taught him two things that land in this video. The first is a restatement of cinematographer Sven Nykvist's 1974 Oscar speech, which Van calls the greatest of all time. Nykvist said, in 15 seconds: "I'm quite sure that this fine award will give the possibility for me to make much better work than I've done before." Van's joy at the nomination is not about the statue. It is about what the nomination means for Garrett's ability to keep making films. "The reward for good work is more work."
The second concept is sympathetic magic. Van defines it: "If you truly want something, then make your version of that thing out of whatever you have at your disposal, and due to unpredictable forces beyond your control, the universe may align just right to get you that thing." He says it sounds stupid. He says it works even if you do not believe in it. So he builds an Oscar shrine to Garrett Bradley and her film Time, lights the candles, and says he will keep them lit.
Related: The Spirited Man introduction, You Are NOT an Artist, and Why Do Details Matter?
FAQ
What is sympathetic magic in Van Neistat's videos?
A concept Van credits to artist Tom Sachs. The idea: if you want something, make your own version of it from whatever materials you have. Van says it works even if you do not believe in it. In this video, he applies it by building an Oscar shrine for his friend Garrett Bradley.
Who is Garrett Bradley?
An American filmmaker whose documentary Time was nominated for an Academy Award. Van met her through the independent film circuit, including the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival premiere of her film Below Dreams. He describes their friendship through specific places: a wedding, a New Orleans Christmas, a festival screening.
What is Sven Nykvist's 1974 Oscar speech?
Van calls it the greatest Oscar speech of all time. Swedish cinematographer Sven Nykvist won for Cries and Whispers and said, in 15 seconds: "I'm quite sure that this fine award will give the possibility for me to make much better work than I've done before." Van uses it to explain why the nomination matters: not the trophy, but the work it enables.
Transcript
this spirited man was scrolling through amazon prime recently when he discovered his friend was nominated for a [ __ ] oscar his joy was mortifying [Music] he was possessed by this jubilation not because of the heavy golden statue no but because this meant his friend could keep working keep doing what she does the last time this spirited man saw his friend garrett was at alex and alex's wedding he had decided to shoot film photos as a wedding present and coincidentally so did garrett that's a film camera in her hand embarrassingly he has not given his photo album to alex and alex some two years later but he bets garrett has
before that garrett had hosted this spirited man on a lonely christmas in her new orleans and before that he saw garrett at the tribeca film festival premiere of her 2014 film below dreams after the screening she graciously said to him you're next and she was right he was next he made a feature film about an artist this artist this spirited man and this artist taught this spirited man two things pertinent to garrett's oscar nomination the first thing pertinent to garrett's oscar nomination that the artist taught this spirited man can be summed up in sven nyquist's
1974 oscar speech the greatest oscar speech of all time and here's the speech in its 15 second entirety thank you very much and i'm quite sure that this fine award will give the possibility for me to make much better work than i've done before thank you very much making better work is what the artist lives to do to put it in the words of this artist the reward for good work is more work and that is why this spirited man was so psyched when he found out that garrett was nominated for an oscar
and the second thing pertinent to garrett's oscar nomination the second thing that the artist taught the spirited man was a magic trick a trick because magic is not real and magic because well because magic is magic and the magic trick that the artist taught this spirited man is called sympathetic magic and sympathetic magic is this if you truly want something then make your version of that thing out of whatever you have at your disposal and due to unpredictable forces beyond your control the universe may align just right to get you that thing that thing you desire sounds stupid
but it works even if you don't believe in it this spirited man has seen it work and this spirited man truly wants his friend garrett to win that [ __ ] oscar [Music] so here is his oscar shrine to this spirited woman garrett bradley in her beautiful movie [Music] time best of luck to you garrett and we'll keep the candles lit [Music] you
People Referenced
Garrett Bradley, Tom Sachs, Sven Nykvist