This documentary film examines the life and work of San Francisco Bay Area Social Surreal Artist Irving Norman who examined the world in terms of our hyperkinetic society. Little escaped his scrutiny: the ever-widening economic division between those who have and those who have not, the tragedy of war and the illusion of peace, and the physical and psychological effects of our fast-paced, technologically dependent society on all of us. Through his observations, or as he put it, his diagnosis, certain concepts, or truths emerged and were "fair game" for graphite, watercolor or oil where Irving created canvases of immense size and intricate detail.

Though he may not have realized it at the time, his vision evolved out of American Expressionism and though he understood and admired what his contemporaries were accomplishing in the variety of artistic trends of the day, Irving followed the song of a different muse. He sought a synthesis of the socially relevant themes of the Mexican muralists, Diego Rivera and Jose Clemente Orozco with the freedom of style of Pablo Picasso; a unique blend of the concrete, the abstract and always with a distinct social critique.

For fifty years his was an ongoing struggle to find legitimacy and yet remain true to his intense vision and firm belief that through the contemplation of his work people could be changed for the better.