MOMENTS LIKE THIS NEVER LAST is a film documentary exploration of the life and legacy of the late artist Dash Snow. Born Dashiell Alexander Whitney Snow, Dash Snow rejected a life of privilege to make his own way as an artist on the streets of downtown New York City in the late 1990s. Developing from a notorious graffiti tagger into an international art star, he documented his drug- and alcohol-fuelled nights with the surrogate family he formed with friends and fellow artists Ryan McGinley, Dan Colen and Kunle Martins before his death by heroin overdose in an East Village hotel room at the age of 27.
Downtown was an abandoned wasteland that became ripe for artists to have their way, drawing the attention of the art world ready to cash in on it, High stakes, drugs, and the pressure to keep producing took its toll becoming a cautionary tale and forever changing the course of art history.
The film, a personal, up-close depiction of the late artist, is directed by photographer and filmmaker Cheryl Dunn (“Everybody Street”), drawing from Snow’s body of work. It uses archival footage to capture his brief life of reckless excess and creativity. It features artist Dan Colen, art dealer Jeffrey Deitch, filmmaker Larry Clark and art curator Neville Wakefield, among many others. Music features LCD sound system, Nick Cave with Grinderman, and Cat Power, and an original score by Brian DeGraw.
It was wonderful to watch this raw and powerfully engaging film, and to speak with Director Cheryl Dunn about her passionate work.
I noticed Dash mentioned you several times in the film so I know you were friends. What drew you into his circle?
Cheryl Dunn: I was, and still am, a New York Street photographer and I enjoy filming and immersing myself in inaccessible worlds that expose the Everyman and the beauty of Humanity. I had been photographing some Graffiti artists at the time and met Dash. Brian DeGraw, who did the score and music for the film, was also a friend of Dash.
The music in the film is very effective, as is the fast-paced, explosive kind of camerawork.
Cheryl Dunn: I am obsessed with not only the vision of the city but the sounds of the city. I travel through the streets of New York on a bicycle and you hear all sorts of words and sounds and music whizzing by you. I think the sounds of the city really ignite all your senses.
Although Dash is a tragic kind of hero, the film captures not only his sort of ADHD disorder but also the joy that he was capable of sharing. He doesn’t come across as unhappy, he seemed happy being what he considered his authentic self.
Cheryl Dunn: I agree.
Whose photography work has inspired you?
Cheryl Dunn: New York Street Photographers, the voice of the people! I like Jill Friedman’s work, Bruce Davidson, Danny Lion to name a few.
How did you connect with Vice Film Productions?
Cheryl Dunn: Dash was actually friends with Vice. He was on their cover three or four times. I was nervous giving my first pitch, but I owned the life rights of the film so I had something in my corner to give me confidence.
What’s next creatively for Cheryl Dunn?
Cheryl Dunn: For 18-19 years I have been photographing at the Creative Growth Art Center in Oakland, California. It is for people with disabilities and I am putting together a documentary to celebrate the 50th Anniversary. You can’t believe the passion and energy these people have. Art definitely saves people’s lives. I want their story to be shared with the world.
MOMENTS LIKE THIS NEVER LAST will be distributed by Utopia Media and open in NYC on August 20th and in LA on September 3rd, with a national expansion alongside a TVOD release on 9/3.
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