David Brothers

{{Infobox person

| name = David Brothers

| image =

| caption =

| birth_name =

| birth_date =

| birth_place =

| occupation = {{flatlist|

Artist
filmmaker

}}

| years_active =

| nationality = American

| notable_works =

| website = {{URL|davidbrothers.net}}

| style = Installation art

}}

David Brothers is an American multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker. He is notable for his art installations and co-direction of the avant-garde film It Is Fine! Everything Is Fine. (2007). His work frequently examines the line between the artificial and the authentic, exploring surreal, fantastical, and dystopian themes.

{{cite web

| first = Brian

| last = Kubarycz

| title = Sisyphean Art: David Brothers’ Rolithica

| website = SLUG Magazine

| date = February 4, 2016

| url = https://www.slugmag.com/arts/art/interviews-features/david-brothers-rolithica/

| archive-url = https://archive.today/20241126103437/https://www.slugmag.com/arts/art/interviews-features/david-brothers-rolithica/

| archive-date = November 26, 2024

| access-date = November 26, 2024

}}

Brothers' photography has appeared in publications such as Rolling Stone,{{cite journal

| last = Hedergaard

| first = Erik

| title = Not of this World

| journal = Rolling Stone

| date = August 21, 2003

| issue = 929

| pages = 60–62

| url = https://www.proquest.com/magazines/not-this-world/docview/2567870455/se-2

| access-date = November 26, 2024

}}

Maxim{{cn|date=January 2025}}, Popsmear, SLUG, Dear Dave, and Stuff magazines.

{{cite web

| first = Daniel

| last = George

| title = David Brothers: What A Show Show

| website = Lenscratch

| date = January 9, 2020

| url = http://lenscratch.com/2020/01/david-brothers-what-a-show-show/

| archive-url = https://archive.today/20241126103552/http://lenscratch.com/2020/01/david-brothers-what-a-show-show/

| archive-date = November 26, 2024

| access-date = November 26, 2024

}}

Career

=Artistic Career=

Brothers began producing, writing, and acting in radio dramas, with notable projects including The Church of Jayne Mansfield and The New Atomic Age. He wrote, illustrated, and published a variety of works, including comic books, pamphlets, religious tracts, trading cards, and Tijuana bibles, displaying an interest in unconventional storytelling and use of multiple media.

By day, Brothers worked as a film industry set designer, constructing immersive and believable spaces.

{{cite web

| last = Corrigan

| first = Lizz

| title = David Brothers: The What-A-Show Show

| website = SLUG Magazine

| date = February 28, 2019

| url = https://www.slugmag.com/arts/art/interviews-features/david-brothers-the-what-a-show-show/

| archive-url = https://archive.today/20241126073344/https://www.slugmag.com/arts/art/interviews-features/david-brothers-the-what-a-show-show/

| archive-date = November 26, 2024

| access-date = November 26, 2024

}}

His professional experience constructing sets informs his artwork, where he builds and photographs sets in his studio, creating images that blur the boundary between artifice and reality.

{{cite web

| title = David Brothers: Rolithica

| website = Utah Museum of Contemporary Art

| url = https://utahmoca.org/exhibition/david-brothers-rolithica/

| archive-url = https://archive.today/20241126073350/https://utahmoca.org/exhibition/david-brothers-rolithica/

| archive-date = November 26, 2024

| access-date = November 26, 2024

}}

A recurring theme in Brothers' artwork is the exploration of constructed environments.

{{cite web

| author = 15 Bytes

| title = Degrees of Authenticity: David Brothers’ Places and Propositions

| website = 15 Bytes

| date = July 13, 2016

| url = http://artistsofutah.org/15Bytes/index.php/degrees-of-authenticity-david-brothers-places-and-propositions/

| archive-url = https://archive.today/20241126102203/http://artistsofutah.org/15Bytes/index.php/degrees-of-authenticity-david-brothers-places-and-propositions/

| archive-date = November 26, 2024

| access-date = November 26, 2024

}}

{{cite news

| title = Utah Museum of Contemporary Art tackles politics, immigration in new exhibits

| work = Deseret News

| date = February 7, 2016

| url = https://www.deseret.com/2016/2/7/20581889/utah-museum-of-contemporary-art-tackles-politics-immigration-in-new-exhibits/

| archive-url = https://archive.today/20241126103532/https://www.deseret.com/2016/2/7/20581889/utah-museum-of-contemporary-art-tackles-politics-immigration-in-new-exhibits/

| archive-date = November 26, 2024

| access-date = November 26, 2024

}}

His sets invite viewers to question the distinction between the artificial and the authentic.

{{cite web

| last = Ortega

| first = Alexander

| title = Work in Progress with David Brothers

| website = Southwest Contemporary

| date = May 25, 2023

| url = https://southwestcontemporary.com/work-in-progress-with-david-brothers/

| archive-url = https://archive.today/20241126102724/https://southwestcontemporary.com/work-in-progress-with-david-brothers/

| archive-date = November 26, 2024

| access-date = November 26, 2024

}}

=Filmmaking Career=

Brothers has created both animated and live-action films, with three of his works featured at the Sundance Film Festival. Brothers co-directed the short film The Backward Swing (1987) and the feature film It Is Fine! Everything Is Fine. (2007) with Crispin Glover.

{{cite web

| first = Richard

| last = Gray

| title = Interview: Crispin Glover

| website = The Reel Bits

| date = July 12, 2012

| url = https://thereelbits.com/2012/07/12/interview-crispin-glover/

| archive-url = https://archive.today/20241126103423/https://thereelbits.com/2012/07/12/interview-crispin-glover/

| archive-date = November 26, 2024

| access-date = November 26, 2024

}}

The latter project is the second film in Glover’s It trilogy.

{{cite news

| first = Emily

| last = Jordan

| title = What exactly is it? Crispin Glover’s surreal, cinematic vision of the big, bad world

| work = Salon

| date = June 2, 2017

| url = https://www.salon.com/2017/06/02/what-exactly-is-it-crispin-glovers-surreal-cinematic-vision-of-the-big-bad-world/

| archive-url = https://archive.today/20241126073523/https://www.salon.com/2017/06/02/what-exactly-is-it-crispin-glovers-surreal-cinematic-vision-of-the-big-bad-world/

| archive-date = November 26, 2024

| access-date = November 26, 2024

}}

An intensely personal and surreal film, written by and starring Steven C. Stewart, that examines themes of disability, sexuality, and psychological complexity.

{{cite news

| first = Brandon

| last = Griggs

| title = Glover's 'What Is It?' aptly describes film

| work = The Salt Lake Tribune

| date = February 18, 2005

| url = http://www.utahcityguide.com/entertainment/878.asp#selection-1127.168-1143.175

| archive-url = https://archive.today/20050218011044/http://www.utahcityguide.com/entertainment/878.asp#selection-1127.168-1143.175

| archive-date = February 18, 2005

| access-date = November 26, 2024

}}

Critics have praised the film for its audacity and originality, with Time Out calling it “profoundly uncomfortable and eerily poetic.”