Vince Vaughn Captures the Art of Conflict

by Natasha Wolff | May 31, 2013 12:00 am

You might have caught him hosting SNL recently or on trailers for Shawn Levy’s upcoming comedy The Internship, but Vince Vaughn’s latest documentary shows a different side of the actor altogether. Art of Conflict: The Murals of Northern Ireland[1] is a look into the politically-charged murals painted throughout the region—street art that Vaughn only recently noticed on a trip to Belfast while shooting a film in London. After learning that these murals were steeped in the centuries-old political conflict surrounding Northern Ireland, Vaughn recruited his sister Valeri to further explore the art, its history and cultural impact in a film.

“I had never seen anything quite like that where the neighborhoods were completely covered in these murals ranging from threatening to keep outsiders out, or remembering events that were terrible, or battlecries or rallying cries.” Vaughn said. That these murals rose out of the conflict itself was one of the compelling points to the producer. “It was really just an investigation. We were going in, seeing something unique—an art form that came out of this situation—that was very unique. And we were very curious to kind of go in and investigate and find out sort of how this came about and all the reasons for it.”

During the duo’s time in the North, interviewing artists and politicians alike, they couldn’t help but be moved by the murals themselves. Director Valeri Vaughn told DuJour about the one mural that sticks out most in her mind: “The Mona Lisa mural on the [Shake Hill Road]. To see something where a gun barrel follows you like Mona Lisa’s eyes follow you. It really is a strong intimidating image, and it’s really saying a lot to the people that are not welcome for whatever reason.”

Watch the trailer for Art of Conflict below, and catch the documentary exclusively on Netflix June 1.

Source URL: https://dujour.com/culture/art-of-conflict-vince-vaughn-documentary/