There are some weighty topics — both biblical and personal — that are explored in the documentary “Jimmy & the Demons,” about the sculptor and woodcut artist James Grashow.
First there is the art, which is inspired by religion. Grashow, 83, is the titular “Jimmy” in the film, which will debut on Sunday at the Tribeca Festival. The documentary tells the story of his quest to complete “The Cathedral,” his five-foot-tall wood sculpture of Jesus Christ bearing a cathedral on his back while sinister creatures — many of them demons — flock around his feet. It is playful and surreal and obsessively detailed.
Then there is the personal: Grashow’s ruminations about life, or more accurately, death. The film captures the artist’s view about the sculpture possibly being the “grand finale” of his career and his belief that he is “in the bottom of the ninth” of his life. The feeling of mortality is strong. Even more resonate, however, are Grashow’s passion for his craft and love for his family.
During a video interview last month, Grashow expressed mixed feelings about “The Cathedral” being finished. “It’s an unbelievable relief,” he said. But elation over completing the project was balanced with another emotion: “At the same time, there’s sort of an emptiness,” he said. “Where do I go now? And what do I do?”
“Beginnings are the most difficult,” he said. “Being in the process in the middle of the project is phenomenal.” He likened his creative experience to an enormous spiral. “The fist steps are unbelievably sluggish, but as it quickens and the vortex keeps spinning around, you can’t wait to get up in the morning and approach the work.”
“The Cathedral” was commissioned by Michael Marocco, an art collector who works in private equity. Marocco is a fan of Grashow, who most often uses cardboard and wood for his art. He enjoyed some of Grashow’s more whimsical creations — monkeys made out of cardboard — and has his own set, though his are cast in bronze and thus are more sturdy.
When Marocco had some indoor space for which he wanted Grashow to create a piece, he presented the artist with a challenge: “I wanted him to do something different.” Marocco suggested a church, which eventually became a cathedral. Grashow built the initial cardboard model for his vision over a weekend.
Cindy Meehl, who directed the film, initially saw the project as a short documentary, but, like “The Cathedral,” the project grew as she observed Grashow at work. “He eats, sleeps and breathes art,” she said. “That’s what he does all day, every day, even weekends.” She shot nearly 300 hours of footage.
Meehl said she hoped viewers would embrace the film and Grashow’s welcoming spirit. “There’s a lot of chaos in the world,” she said. The film is a chance to “take a moment and breathe, and remember what life and creativity and friendship and love is all about. And that is to me the quintessential Jimmy.”
Grashow finished working on “The Cathedral” in July 2024, and since then, he has filled the void with a couple of projects. He is working on “Vegetabrawl,” a woodcut sculpture depicting feuding vegetables, and “London Houseplant,” a commission made out of wood, paper and paint. From the plant emerges not bulbs, blades or leaves, but buildings — in this case, from London. Already completed are Big Ben, the Tower of London and the skyscraper nicknamed the Gherkin.
Grashow’s dedication to detail is absolute. The documentary shows his painstaking work on inner parts of the cathedral that most people will never see. “My body, you know, just won’t let me say, oh my God, leave it,” he said.
That is less true for his wife, Lesley, who goes by the nickname Guzzy, and who was always in favor of Grashow taking time to recharge. “She’s a great partner. I don’t know where I’d be without her.” The film, he said, could be called “Jimmy & the Demons & Guzzy.”
Guzzy was initially out of camera range during the interview, but her husband enthusiastically adjusted the angle to include her. She noted that “The Cathedral” was supposed to take a year and a half but it stretched to four. “Thank goodness the collector was understanding and loved the process,” she said. The process was essentially a parade of guests, including the documentary crew, watching Grashow work in his studio in Redding, Conn. “I kind of miss that, all these people coming to see the cathedral.”
This was not Grashow’s first time being in a film. In 2012, one of his cardboard sculptures, the “Corrugated Fountain,” was at the center of the documentary “The Cardboard Bernini,” directed by Olympia Stone. It also had a message of inevitability and impermanence: The fountain was placed outdoors, at the mercy of the elements, which eventually wore it down.
Grashow said the first film felt more physical as he cut large pieces of cardboard and pasted them into the shapes he wanted. “Jimmy & the Demons” was more sedentary: There are many close-ups of him at his desk, carving intricate details into wood. He remarked that he liked the way wood sounds when it is touched or sculpted. “I think everybody has a great gift,” he said, before revealing his own: “For some inexplicable reason, I cut well, whether it’s cutting cardboard or cutting wood.”
Grashow can wax poetic about the wonders of cardboard. “The great thing about cardboard is it’s mistake proof,” he said. Because “it knows it’s going to be trash,” it is “grateful to have the opportunity to become something more.”
At the end of the filming — which has some twists and turns that will not be spoiled here — Grashow conducted a cardboard workshop with the aim of participants finishing and painting cardboard fish he had made. It attracted toddlers, adults and grandparents. “It’s such an unbelievable bonding experience,” he said. “You build a gate, you let people in and then you watch people light up.”
As children, he said, everyone thinks they are an artist, but most lose that feeling as they age. “But cardboard! Oh my God, cardboard is the gate back!”
George Gene Gustines has been writing about comic books for The Times for more than two decades.
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