Event

ROCATERRANIA with Q&A

ROCATERRANIA
Dir. Brett Ingram, 2009
USA. 74 min

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14th 6:30 PM *BRETT INGRAM Q&A*

A documentary feature exploring the secret world of scientific illustrator and self-taught artist Renaldo Kuhler (American, 19312013). For thirty years, Kuhler created hundreds of plates for the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, illustrating diverse flora and fauna for scientific journals, reference books, and exhibits. Unbeknownst to family, friends, and coworkers, Renaldo was also a prolific self-taught artist.

The son of Otto Kuhler, a renowned industrial designer, Renaldo was bullied and ridiculed by classmates, teachers, and headmasters simply for being different. When Otto moved the family from upstate New York to a remote cattle ranch in the Colorado Rockies, teenaged Renaldo found the isolation unbearable. He escaped to the private fantasy world of his notebooks, inventing an imaginary country he called Rocaterrania. For the next 60 years, Renaldo illustrated the nations history, a coded, metaphoric account of his own life. Situated on the border of New York and Canada, populated mostly by European immigrants, Rocaterrania has a unique government, language, religion, railroad infrastructure, movie industry, prison system, and a fully mapped geography of cities, mountains, lakes, rivers, and farmlands. It also has a political history fraught with turmoil, one that mirrors Renaldos own struggle for independence and freedom.

Featuring an eclectic original score by Merge Records recording artists Shark Quest, Rocaterrania unveils Kuhlers stunning creation, intricately dovetailed with the powerful story of his life. brettingram.com