Portrait of Dora Dolz

This film portrait of the Spanish visual artist Dora Dolz, viewed through the eyes of her daughter, the filmmaker Sonia Herman Dolz, illustrates the possibilities one has to take control of one’s own life and destiny.

Dora Dolz’ playful, down-to-earth and accessible work and personality appeals to people from all walks of life. She is a ‘working-class hero’ and a diva at the same time. She migrated from Spain to the Netherlands in 1965. Her capacity to develop from an isolated outsider into an ‘insider’ is a universal phenomenon among expatriates who sometimes have to fight harder, inwardly as well as outwardly, than the local people.

Over a span of thirty years, Dora Dolz’ many-sided, trend-setting artwork and monumental ceramics have put an indelible stamp on the Dutch and the international art scene. Presently, she is at the apex of her creative life. The film’s purpose is not to mystify that life, but to show it as an example of how one can have a ‘light’ approach to the weight of reality.

This sparkling film lifts a tip of the veil of the bountiful art and soul of Dora Dolz.

december 12, 2007 Jonieke van Es (Boijmans van Beuningen)
interviewed by Chris Vemer (Radio Rijnmond