Nicholas Watson (born July 9, 1977) is a social entrepreneur based in Pennsylvania, United States. He was previously a producer and writer in film and television. He co-founded the

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

Stuckist Stuckism () is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson (artist), Charles Thomson to promote Figurative art, figurative painting as opposed to conceptual art.Housing Works Housing Works is a New York City-based non-profit fighting AIDS and homelessness. The charity is well known for its entrepreneurial businesses including a chain of thrift shops, which supports efforts to end AIDS and homelessness where they are ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He was also the founding Director of Social Enterprise at Project H.O.M.E. in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Life and art

Nicholas Watson has worked on films with

Jesse Richards Jesse Beau Richards (born July 17, 1975) is a painter, filmmaker and photographer from New Haven, Connecticut and was affiliated with the international movement Stuckism. He has been described as "one of the most provocative names in American un ...

since 1997."Home"
, New Haven Stuckists Film Group. Retrieved August 27, 2009. In 2001, Watson co-founded the

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

chapter of the

Stuckism Stuckism () is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson (artist), Charles Thomson to promote Figurative art, figurative painting as opposed to conceptual art.Stuckism Stuckism () is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson (artist), Charles Thomson to promote Figurative art, figurative painting as opposed to conceptual art.Billy Childish Billy Childish (born Steven John Hamper; 1 December 1959) is an English painter, author, poet, photographer, film maker, singer, and guitarist. Since the late 1970s, Childish has been prolific in creating music, writing, and visual art. He has ...

and

Charles Thomson Charles Thomson (November 29, 1729 – August 16, 1824) was an Irish-born Founding Father of the United States and secretary of the Continental Congress (1774–1789) throughout its existence. As secretary, Thomson prepared the Journals of the ...

in 1999. Watson said, "We create art in order to create an emotional connection. There's such a rampant element of falseness in onceptualartwork. I'm very comfortable saying most of it is not for real."Bass, Jordan
"Stuckists scoff at 'crap,' war"
, ''

The Yale Herald ''The Yale Herald'' is a newspaper run by undergraduate students at Yale University since 1986. Published weekly, the paper covers campus and local events and aims to provide in-depth investigative reporting; it also includes essays, interviews, ...

'', March 28, 2002. Retrieved November 10, 2008. He was part of the group that founded and ran the Stuckism International Centre USA, an art gallery in New Haven. He said the organization attracted popular support, but had been unable to gain official backing. His film with Richards, ''Blackout'', was premiered at the event ''Stuck Films'' at the New Haven Stuckism International Center in 2002.Dauphinais, Jennifer
"Maya your days be merry"
New Haven Advocate, December 19, 2002. Retrieved August 27, 2009 from the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

store of June 13, 2003."Archive: Diary"
stuckism.com. Retrieved on August 20, 2009. In 2003, he co-organized the ''Stuckism International Protest Show'' against the Iraq War, though the theme concentrated not so much on anti-war images as international artistic co-operation with works from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and England. One work showed a bust of President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

with a

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍, ) is a symbol used in various Eurasian religions and cultures, as well as a few Indigenous peoples of Africa, African and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, American cultures. In the Western world, it is widely rec ...

behind it. On March 21, 2003, the Stuckists held a "clown trial of President Bush" on the steps of the U.S. District courthouse, Church Street, New Haven.Donar, Erin
"'Stuckists' protest war with art"
, ''

Yale Daily News The ''Yale Daily News'' is an independent student newspaper published by Yale University students in New Haven, Connecticut, since January 28, 1878. Description Financially and editorially independent of Yale University since its founding, th ...

'', March 27, 2003. Retrieved November 10, 2008. Watson issued a press release for the event, stating that the event was because the double talk of leaders had made clowns out of people, and that a dummy of the President in chains wearing an orange Camp X jumpsuit would be tried by a clown prosecutor, a clown defense and a clown judge. Watson said, "Charges include planning crimes against humanity outside the sanction of international law. Our leader has reduced himself to the same level as those whose terrorist actions he condemns." Shooting at the Moon remodernist

He was associated with the

Remodernist Film Remodernist film developed in the United States and the United Kingdom in the early 21st century with ideas related to those of the international art movement Stuckism and its manifesto, Remodernism. Key figures are Jesse Richards and Peter R ...

group. His film Shooting at the Moon, co-directed with Stuckist and Remodernist photographer and filmmaker

is one of the first works of Remodernist film. ''Shooting at the Moon'' premiered at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival in November 2003. On March 8, 2008 the film made its London premiere at

Horse Hospital The Horse Hospital is a Grade II listed not for profit, independent arts venue at Colonnade, Bloomsbury, central London. Its curatorial focus is on counter-cultural histories, sub-cultures, outsiders and emerging artists. It organizes undergroun ...

during their Flixation Underground Cinema event. Watson lives and works in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. He is the bassist for South Brooklyn Art Rock band Battle of the Camel and a Member of the Glue Stick Collective, a group of artists associated with Clean and Humble Recordings.

Filmography

*'' Shooting at the Moon'' 1998 -re-edit- 2003 *" King of the Crown" 1999 *" At the Last Minute" 2000

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Nicholas 1977 births Living people American experimental filmmakers Stuckism Writers from New Haven, Connecticut

Life and art

Filmography

See also

Notes and references