Extended excerpt from the documentary Much Ado About W: Art Wars of Santa Barbara.
Appalled by the policies of George W. Bush, two prominent artists, Colin Gray and John Nava, are compelled to take a political stand in their art for the first time, one in a public sculpture exhibit on State Street, and the other in a local gallery. The documentary follows the threats, tabloid journalism, and controversy that ensue as the layers of Santa Barbara’s culture, media and politics unravel through the various perspectives of an eloquent panel of commentators from the professional art world and from people interviewed on the streets of Santa Barbara.