Procedurally Generated Seinfeld

A couple of months ago I had a conversation with Andrew Chan. He’s an obvious genius with some artistic talent of his own — it’s no surprise to see the world’s most famous painter, Matisse, coming from the same country. But one thing in particular, that I’ve always loved, fascinated me. He mentioned he knew a little-known artist named George Seibel, and I wondered just exactly how involved (or unrelated) it was.

Perhaps, I could have guessed, because both my long-time friend and fellow artist James Wood mentioned the same thing. That the two used to work in the same studio in New Jersey, and later worked together on both of the original “new” movies, What’s Going On and Casablanca.

But of course, in looking back, I wasn’t that surprised to hear Seibel mentioned. The important thing, though, was his passing back in September 2018.

I thought to include a series of snapshots from a few of the ways the news of George Seibel reached me. The earliest was this post from July 2016. But the latest turned out to be 2019! So, sit back and enjoy the occasional snippet from 2019!

Seibel said he’d “heard of a new artist” (no, I’m not joking). And now, two years later in 2019, a new face at the movies is the latest to come my way. The artist who’d been such a topic, featured, and fan favorite.

In the last few years, Seibel has built himself into a brand of his own, and his name is well-known. In his short time on the big screen, he’s garnered high praise, and has earned an award-winning nickname. Last winter, there was a new Seibel movie.

Where did you pick up Seibel’s name? He worked in your studio when you’re in New York.

My studio is in New Jersey now. The people that knew me started calling me Lee.

Who would you call your friends when you first started working on a movie like Casablanca? This was a time when everyone had lots of friends.