The first Covid-19 lockdown in New York invoked artist Linda Karshan’s memory of her father’s crippling polio affliction in the 1952/53 epidemic, and his gallant battle against it. This inspired her to “push back” by producing her most prolific body of work to date, “…because I can stand up, and he could not.”  

A World War II hero, Karshan’s father, Roger E. Joseph, was mentally equipped to grapple with his debilitating illness with uncommon fortitude — he outlived his doctor’s pessimistic prognosis by sixteen years, during which he resumed law practice in his family’s law chambers..

Directed by Ghanaian poet/filmmaker Ishmael Fiifi Annobil, Linda Karshan: Covid-19 Conversation shows Linda Karshan at her most eloquent, offering a rare insight into the pioneering minimalist artist’s inner and outer impulses, during her "channelling” of the art works, which saw her draw circles for the first time in her long career, and the influential role played by her agent, Jill Silverman van Coenegrachts. 

Linda Karshan: Covid-19 Conversation evokes Karshan’s profound art practice, her magnificent exhibitions, and her groundbreaking ‘Walked Drawing’ genre. It is lavishly illustrated with telling family photography, and interspersed with poignant anecdotes from the collective memories of Linda and her sisters. It also offers a mesmerising tableau of the new 'Covid Works'.  

It is a testament to human resilience, and to the role of memory in the mark making of artists. It is Linda’s requiem for her father.

Director/Editor: ISHMAEL ANNOBIL 
Cinematography/Sound: MAX MALLEN 
Associate Producer: JILL SILVERMAN VAN COENEGRACHTS 
Still Photography: ROGER KARSHAN, NANA YAA ANNOBIL, ALLISON WUCHER, ISHMAEL ANNOBIL 
Production House: STONEDOG PRODUCTIONS

MORE INFO:
Linda Karshan: https://lindakarshanstudio.com/
Jill Silverman van Coenegrachts: https://jsvcprojects.com/
Stonedog Productions: https://www.stonedog.info/