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Henri Rousseau, referred to as "le Douanier", started to paint in Paris around 1880, at the age of 40. This self-taught artist was friendly with the poet Apollinaire, Robert Delaunay and Pablo Picasso, who recognised his genius, and yet his work was to remain under-rated during his lifetime.
However, with its dislocated compositions and profoundly dreamlike subject matter, it was to have a decisive influence on modern art, from surrealism to abstract art. This documentary film explores the secret inspiration and the little known influences of a painter whose canvasses are much less naive than they appear to be.
In joyous, early 20th century Montmartre, a band of penniless artists comprising Max Jacob, Picasso, Apollinaire, Derain and Vlaminck, among others, takes up residence in an old piano factory : le Bateau-Lavoir.
Soon enough, anyone who is anyone in the way of painters, writers, and art collectors is rubbing shoulders in the shabby-chic hallways of their warehouse. The bohemian lifestyle that they cultivate revolves around doing work, meeting muses, and making merry.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Seine, Matisse, known for leading a life of austerity, is busy turning the established order upside down at the Salon d'Automne of 1905, exhibiting works that burst with flamboyant color. Fauvism is born. From within the murky halls of the Bateau-Lavoir, Picasso prepares his response. Paying homage to their respective visions of modernity, the two painters ready their brushes for a contest of canvases.
The interwar period is significant for its tumults of enthusiasm and illusion. Communism is a tempting alternative, and the desire for social, moral, artistic, and political revolution hangs in the air¡K
In 1936, war erupts in Spain. Malraux and Hemingway are covering the Republicans' struggle as journalists, and photos by Capa and Gerda Taro get published in the international press, fostering a broader awareness of the conflict.
In April 1937, the Guernica massacre inspires Picasso to create a monumental canvas symbolizing the violence perpetrated by Franco's supporters and by fascism more generally. The Spanish Republic is lost, and one war ends as another begins.
World War Two erupts, and France mobilizes its war effort. After the debacle of June 1940 and the Occupation of Nazi Germany, Europe is in tatters, and artists and intellectuals flee in droves.
Old friends among those who stay behind are eventually torn apart. Some collaborate, some resist - many make do as they can, and others pay for their commitment with their lives. When the war at last is over, Paris reawakens to find that an astonishing work has been created from within its war-torn midst : the film "Les Enfants du paradis", an homage to freedom written by Jacques Prevert and masterfully directed by Marcel Carne.
On being released from the hospital, Apollinaire discovers what life is like in Paris during the war. In Montparnasse, foreign artists - most of whom are Jewish, having fled the anti-Semitism of Eastern Europe - are dying of hunger. They form the School of Paris.
Soutine, the poorest of the Russian artists, strikes up a friendship with Modigliani, the handsomest of the Italians. In 1917, Apollinaire stages a performance his play Les Mamelles de Tiresias using the subheading "surrealist drama."
The word "surrealist" is born. It catches on, becoming common currency in art circles around the globe. One year later, Apollinaire succumbs to the Spanish flu. Modigliani passes away on January 24, 1920. His funeral, attended by all the artists of Montparnasse, brings the age of bohemianism to a definitive end.
Picasso responds to Matisse with Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. The canvas causes a scandal and ushers in the aesthetic of cubism.
Not long thereafter, however, a series of rifts occur. Picasso, now wealthy from record sales figures, leaves the Bateau-Lavoir. Apollinaire moves into the heart of the Saint-Germain neighborhood. The poet Max Jacob, the poorest of them all, is one of the only bohemians to continue living in the hardscrabble misery of Montmartre.
When the First World War breaks out, yesterday's friends part ways forever. Braque, Derain, and Vlaminck go to the front. Picasso stays in Paris. Apollinaire is wounded on the front lines in 1916.
The war has ended, and the streets erupt in celebration. Montparnasse swings to the rhythms of jazz and hops to the buzz of lively cafes. Paris is a movable feast. Conceived as reactions against the absurdity of war, the Dadaist and Surrealist revolutions are underway.
Leading the charge are "the three musketeers": Breton, Aragon, and Soupault, backed by Man Ray, Desnos, Tzara, and many others. In 1919, one of the major works of the Surrealist movement is unveiled : Les Champs magnetiques.
The model Kiki, revered by every painter of the day and poised to be crowned queen of Montparnasse, has a tumultuous love affair with Man Ray before he takes off with Lee Miller.
In this documentary, photographer Don Freeman explores the homes designed and lived in by notable American artists, revealing the inventiveness derived from the dialogue between each artist's practice and the construction of their handmade homes. Ranging from the romantic (Hudson River School painter Frederic Church's Olana, framing views of the Catskills to echo his paintings), to the futuristic (Paolo Soleri's silt-casted structure Cosanti growing out of his bell-making experiments in the Arizona desert), to the sublime (George Nakashima's mid-century modern ode to the beauty and versatility of wood), what they all have in common is a fierce spirit of individual expression that deserves deeper examination in this age of architectural standardization.
Enter the dark and foreboding world of Chet Zar, where apocalyptic industrial landscapes are inhabited by disturbing yet beautiful monstrosities. Sometimes gruesome, periodically funny, but always thought-provoking, Zar's art is as enigmatic as it is frightening. But who is Chet Zar, and why does he like to paint monsters? These are the questions at the heart of Chet Zar: I Like to Paint Monsters.
Zar is an influential figure in the Dark Art Movement, and, given his chosen moniker "Painter of Dark," this is no surprise. Born in 1967 in San Pedro, California, Zar was well known as the family prankster. With a passion for horror films, an innate urge to create bizarre artwork, and a superhuman work ethic, Zar seemed to be made for the special effects industry. During his time with the film industry, he designed and created creatures and make-up effects for such films as Darkman, The Ring, Hellboy I & II, and Planet of the Apes. Even more well-known is his work with the band Tool, contributing to both their music videos and their on-stage theatrical animations.
Despite his success in the film industry, Zar became disenchanted by the many artistic compromises required of him. With the support of his family and horror author Clive Barker, Zar decided in early 2000 to pursue his passion for monsters by painting them. In this new arena, he has flourished and found the much-needed freedom to explore his internal world and all of the oddities created by his brush strokes.
Chet Zar: I Like to Paint Monsters is your opportunity to take a journey into the mind and life of Zar. Become acquainted with his thoughts, motivations, and reflections of the past as well as his projections of the future. Delve into his experiences in the film industry, his transition from early special effects into the world of computer animation, and, ultimately, his evolution into the distinctive artist he is today.
This unique opportunity will allow you unprecedented access into the Dark Art movement, including the studios where it is being forged and the galleries where this cataclysmic work is being shown. Take part in this dynamic endeavor to explore the life and work of Chet Zar, "Painter of Dark"!
The roots of COLORFUL LIFE (1907), just like those of Wassily Kandinsky himself, were firmly anchored in age-old Russian soil.
And yet the painting contains all the elements that were to accompany the painter in the greatest revolution in the history of art: the leap into abstraction.
The Dying of the Light explores the history and craft of motion picture presentation through the lives and stories of the last generation of career projectionists. By turns humorous and melancholic, their candid reflections on life in the booth reveal a world that has largely gone unnoticed and is now at an end. The result is a loving tribute to the art and romance of the movies - and to the unseen people who brought the light to our screens.
A LADY IN HER BATH (circa 1571), by Francois Clouet, bears witness to a period in which the pleasure of the senses and the spirit were caught up in religious conflict.
Troublemakers: The Story of Land Art unearths the history of land art in the tumultuous late 1960s and early 1970s. The film features a cadre of renegade New York artists that sought to transcend the limitations of painting and sculpture by producing earthworks on a monumental scale in the desolate desert spaces of the American southwest. Today these works remain impressive not only for the sheer audacity of their makers but also for their out-sized ambitions to break free from traditional norms. The film casts these artists in a heroic light, which is exactly how they saw themselves. Iconoclasts who changed the landscape of art forever, these revolutionary, antagonistic creatives risked their careers on radical artistic change and experimentation, and took on the establishment to produce art on their own terms. The film includes rare footage and interviews which unveil the enigmatic lives and careers of storied artists Robert Smithson (Spiral Jetty), Walter De Maria (The Lightning Field) and Michael Heizer (Double Negative); a headstrong troika that established the genre. As the film makes clear, in making works that can never be possessed as an object in a gallery, these troublemakers stand in marked contrast to the hyper-speculative contemporary art world of today.
Troublemakers features Germano Celant, Walter De Maria, Michael Heizer, Dennis Oppenheim, Robert Smithson, Nancy Holt, Vito Acconci, Virginia Dwan, Charles Ross, Paula Cooper, Willoughby Sharp, Pamela Sharp, Lawrence Weiner, Nancy Holt, Carl Andre, Gianfranco Gorgoni, and Harald Szeemann.
With the war of colonisation raging, Eugene Delacroix was the first artist to cross the Mediterranean.
The naturalism of WOMEN OF ALGIERS IN THEIR APARTMENT (1834) takes us into the calm and simplicity of a harem as Eugene Delacroix saw it with his own eyes.
Altina is the provocative portrait of an American trendsetter whose free spirit defied convention. A woman ahead of her time, Altina Schinasi was born in 1907 in New York City; the daughter of a tobacco tycoon and decedent of Sephardic Jews, she upended the expectations that accompanied her position. Altina was a paradox: simultaneously seductive and reserved, her genteel upbringing was in sharp contrast to the bold sexuality of her art and her life.
In addition to creating whimsical works of art and sculpture, Altina invented the glamorous Harlequin 'cat's-eye' eyeglasses, worn by the likes of Lucille Ball and Peggy Guggenheim, and as well directed an Oscar-nominated documentary about Nazi brutality told through the drawings of German expressionist artist George Grosz. Altina's life was anchored in the social and political issues of the time: helping Jewish refugees escape the Holocaust; providing aid and shelter to friends who were targeted by Joseph McCarthy's Un-American Activities campaign; and being involved early on in the struggles of Martin Luther King Jr.
Directed by her grandson Peter Sanders, the film captures this unpredictable woman whose bold, uninhibited passion for life is an inspiration for all.
In 2003, the ambitious renovation of one of the world's greatest museums began. The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, home to a glorious collection including masterpieces by Rembrandt and Vermeer, was supposed to reopen its doors in 2008 after five years of construction. But from the start, the project was opposed by unyielding bureaucrats and public resistance. The museum directors battled politicians, designers, curators and even the Dutch Cyclists Union as they struggled to complete the renovation and put its massive collection back on public display. Five years late, with costs exceeding half a billion dollars, the museum finally reopened.
Oeke Hoogendijk's epic documentary captures the entire story from design to completion, offering a fly-on-the-wall perspective on one of the most challenging museum construction projects ever conceived. With its decade-long scope, the film reveals a surprisingly dramatic story that art and architecture lovers will not want to miss.
DVD (Dutch, English, French, and Spanish with English Subtitles) / 2014 / () / 131 minutes
Chinese urban and rural landscapes are changing at a frantic pace.
From the banks of the Yellow River converted into an amusement park, to the towers of Canton forming the new Manhattan of Asia, to the mountain villages of the Yunnan inhabited by the last ethnic minorities, photographer-documentalists portray a China in mid-metamorphosis - a vast, chaotic building site, and at the same time, the showcase of an ultra-modern empire.
LEVITATED MASS is Doug Pray's new documentary about a two-story tall, 340-ton, granite boulder that was moved from a quarry in Riverside to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and mounted atop the walls of a gigantic slot in the earth. The massive artwork, titled Levitated Mass, is the latest 'land sculpture' by one of America's most exciting and misunderstood artists, Michael Heizer. Heizer's sculpture references the expanse of art history - from ancient traditions of megalithic stones to modern forms of abstract geometries and cutting-edge feats of engineering.
The boulder's 105-mile journey from quarry to museum attracted international media attention and challenged the imagination of thousands of Southern Californians over 10 nights as it crawled through 22 cities on a football-field length, 206-wheeled trailer. The film captures this spectacle while weaving together the dramatic story of the reclusive Heizer, the ambitions of a major metropolitan museum, and the public's wild reactions to this massive display of modern yet eerily timeless conceptual art.
Vandal is the story of a wayward young man who comes of age in the world of graffiti art.
Like the stolen car he is driving in circles, Cherif's life is going nowhere in a hurry. When he is arrested for the umpteenth time, Cherif's exasperated mother strikes a last-chance deal with a judge to send the troubled juvenile to live quietly with his aunt and uncle and attend vocational school. Cherif's earnest attempt to go straight is sending him directly to the doldrums, until he discovers that his even straighter-laced cousin Thomas is actually part of a local gang of taggers, who roam the night bombing walls and overpasses in the shadow of a mysterious tagger whose death-defying works have made him a legend.
DVD (French with English subtitles) / 2013 / () / 84 minutes
The anger and outrage captured by graphic artists have defined revolutions through the centuries. Printmakers have depicted the human condition in all its glories and struggles so powerfully that perceptions, attitudes and politics have been dramatically influenced. And the value and impact of this art is even more important today.
In the new documentary, Art Is¡KThe Permanent Revolution, three contemporary American artists and a master printer help explain the dynamic sequences of social reality and protest. Among the wide range of 60 artists on display are Rembrandt, Goya, Daumier, Kollwitz, Dix, Masereel, Grosz, Gropper, and Picasso. While their stirring graphics sweep by, the making of an etching, a woodcut and a lithograph unfolds before our eyes, as the contemporary artists join their illustrious predecessors in creating art of social engagement.
Bert Stern's photography career began in the mailroom of Look Magazine - where he formed a close relationship with a young staffer named Stanley Kubrick - and quickly took off during the Golden Age of Advertising. Sought after by Madison Avenue, Hollywood, and the fashion world, Stern, like Irving Penn and Richard Avedon, became not just a photographer but a star in his own right. This is a story of self-creation - rise, fall, and reinvention - exploring creativity, celebrity, and desire through the eyes of a man who got everything he wanted. Almost.
Italian-born Lella and Massimo Vignelli are among the world's most influential designers. Their contributions to the fields of industrial, graphic, and production design have resulted in iconic achievements in the development of corporate identity programs, home furnishing and interior design, architectural graphics, and publishing. Garnering international awards and recognition for over forty years, the Vingelli's have led the vanguard of innovative designers through their interdisciplinary mentorship. Throughout their career, their ambitious motto has been, "If you can't find it, design it."
In 1965 Massimo brought the Helvetica typeface to the United States. Igniting an interest in the Vinelli's work, this design development lead to a series of notable projects: New York's subway signage and maps; the interior of Saint Peter's Church at Citicorp Center; Venini lamps; Heller dinnerware; furniture for Poltrona Frau; and branding initiatives for Knoll International, Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue, Ford, and American Airlines.
Their work has covered such broad spectrum of industries and produced so many recognizable images that one could say the Vignellis have a distinct global identity, even though many do not recognize their names. Experts from the world of design including architects Richard Meier and Peter Eisenman, as well as graphic designers Milton Glaser, Michael Bierut, and Jessica Helfand, offer their anecdotes and memories of the Vignellis' work in Design is One. The film captures the Vingelli's intelligence and creativity, offering the audience intimate access into their everyday life and continuing work and a glimpse of their humanity, warmth and humor.
One man's wild, lifelong adventure of testing society's boundaries through his subversive art, Far Out Isn't Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story combines traditional documentary storytelling with original animation culled from seven decades worth of art from the renegade children's book author and illustrator.
Using a palette of 20th century events to paint an artist's epic yet controversial life story, the film offers a retrospective of Ungerer's life and art, and ponders the complexities and contradictions of a man who, armed with an acerbic wit, an accusing finger and a razor sharp pencil, gave visual representation to the revolutionary voices during one of the most tantalizing and dramatic periods in American history.
This wry documentary takes viewers through the insane and passionate journey of two artists forced to ponder the unexpected. It begins as a simple chronicle of the construction of a thousand-foot stone wall by a novice builder on a large property in rural Quebec. But what was estimated as an 8-week project slowly morphs into a 10-year undertaking that makes both subject and filmmaker question their personal identities and the meaning of what they have made. Sometimes art - and life - are as much about the process as they are about the finished product.
1957. The Latin Quarter, Paris. A cheap no-name hotel becomes a haven for a new breed of artists fleeing the conformity and censorship of America. Called the Beat Hotel, it soon became an epicenter of the Beat generation. Alan Govenar's feature documentary delves deep into this amazing place and time.
Fleeing the obscenity trials surrounding the publication of Howl, Allen Ginsberg, along with Peter Orlovsky and Gregory Corso, happened upon the hotel on rue Git le Coeur and were soon joined by William Burroughs, Ian Somerville, and Brion Gysin. Run by Madame Rachou, the Beat Hotel was a hot bed of creativity and permissiveness, where Burroughs finished Naked Lunch; Ginsberg began his poem Kaddish; Somerville and Gysin invented the Dream Machine; Corso wrote some of his greatest poems; and Harold Norse wrote a novella, aptly called The Beat Hotel.
British photograher Harold Chapman's iconic photos and Scottish artist Elliot Rudie's drawings, interwoven with firsthand accounts, capture the Beats just as they were beginning to establish themselves, and bring The Beat Hotel to life.
Filmed over three years, this documentary is an unprecedented record of a major artist at work. It captures David Hockney's return from California to paint his native Yorkshire, outside, through the seasons and in all weathers. It tells the story of a homecoming and gives a revealing portrait of what inspires and motivates today's greatest living British-born artist.
This box set features the following 5 documentaries about the art of filmmaking:
Tales From the Script
Screenwriters ranging from newcomers to living legends share their triumphs and hardships in this probing, insightful, and often hilarious odyssey through the world of movie storytelling. By analyzing their triumphs and recalling their failures, the participants explain how successful writers develop the skills necessary for toughing out careers in Hollywood.
FEATURING: Shane Black (Lethal Weapon), John Carpenter (Halloween), Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption), William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), David Hayter (X-Men), Bruce Joel Rubin (Ghost), Paul Schrader (Raging Bull & Taxi Driver), Ron Shelton (Bull Durham), David S. Ward (The Sting) and many more.
Directors: Life Behind the Camera
Made in cooperation with the American Film Institute, this 4 hour interactive film features thirty-three legendary directors who reveal intimate and in-depth knowledge about the art of filmmaking and, as well, their own career in the movies.
FEATURING: Robert Altman, Robert Benton, Tim Burton, James Cameron, Chris Columbus, Wes Craven, Cameron Crowe, Frank Darabont, Jonathan Demme, Richard Donner, Clint Eastwood, Nora Ephron, William Friedkin, Terry Gilliam, Ron Howard, Lawrence Kasdan, Spike Lee, Barry Levinson, George Lucas, David Lynch, Adrian Lyne, Garry Marshall, Penny Marshall, Sydney Pollack, Rob Reiner, Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, Bryan Singer, Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone, Robert Zemeckis & David Zucker.
Capturing Reality: The Art of Documentary
From cinema-verite pioneer Albert Maysles to mavericks like Errol Morris and Werner Herzog, the world's best documentarians reflect upon the unique power of their genre in this comprehensive film. Including interviews with 38 directors and film clips from classics such as Grey Gardens and The Thin Blue Line, this one-of-a-kind film explores the complex creative process that goes into making non-fiction films.
FEATURING: Nick Broomfield, Joan Churchill, Patricio Guzman, Werner Herzog, Scott Hicks, Heddy Honigmann, Kim Longinotto, Kevin Macdonald, Albert Maysles, Errol Morris, Laura Poitras, and many more.
Light Keeps Me Company
Twice an Oscar Winner and considered one of the foremost cinematographers of all time, Sven Nykvist shot some of the most important films in the history of cinema. Lovingly directed by his son, included are clips from his work, rare home movies, family photographs, behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with the legends who worked with him.
FEATURING: Woody Allen, Richard Attenborough, Ingmar Bergman, Roman Polanski, Gena Rowlands, Susan Sarandon, Stellan Skarsgard, Vittorio Storaro, Liv Ullmann, Vilmos Zsigmond, and others.
Lavender Limelight: Lesbians in Film
From Go Fish to Paris is Burning, this festival favorite goes behind the scenes to reveal seven successful lesbian directors. These talented movie-makers enlighten and entertain as they discuss topics including how they got their start, inspirations, filmmaking techniques, Hollywood vs. Indie, and breaking out of the "gay ghetto."
FEATURING: Cheryl Dunye, Su Friedrich, Jennie Livingston, Heather MacDonald, Maria Maggenti, Monika Treut, and Rose Troche.
Born deaf in 1899 in rural Idaho - only nine years after that frontier territory was admitted to the Union - James Castle mined the local landscape of his family's homesteads and his own deeply private world to produce an astonishing body of drawings, collages, and constructions which eventually gained worldwide recognition.
Jeffrey Wolf's acclaimed film reveals Castle's life and creative process, as told by family members, art historians, curators, artists, collectors, and members of the deaf community. This inspirational story of a true Outsider Artist is a remarkable example of the triumph of the spirit - and the imagination.
A warm and richly painted portrait of the little known and tender relationship between one of the twentieth century's greatest artists, Henri Matisse, and the woman who inspired him to create what Matisse proclaimed the masterpiece of his life's work: The Chapel of the Rosary in the French Mediterranean village of Vence.
This lovely film documents the story's personal and historic aspects, presenting Matisse's never-before filmed hand-painted gouaches and fabrics as well as a rich collection of photographs and archival footage of the aged Matisse working on the Chapel's ceramics.
DVD (English and French, Color, With English Subtitles) / 2003 / () / 67 minutes
Here she comes, right from the pages of the best-selling book! The charming tale of a little girl's love affair with Impressionist Claude Monet's paintings is now brought to life in full animation. Join Linnea and her friend Mr. Bloom as they set off to Paris, and then to Monet's garden in Giverny. Watch with delight as they discover the real places which serve as inspiration for their favorite paintings. And marvel as the paintings and the garden come to "life" in live action.
Linnea in Monet's Garden is a unique blend of imagination and education, teaching children about the art and life of one of the most important painters of the 20th century, while entertaining them with the mystery and beauty of art and nature.
John Junkerman's documentary film Hellfire: A Journey from Hiroshima captures the artists Iri and Toshi Maruki in their decades-long collaboration to create a testament to the effects of the atomic bomb- the Hiroshima Murals, which have been viewed by over 100 million people around the world. Haunted by the memories of Hiroshima after the atomic blast, the Marukis began a series of monumental paintings depicting what they had seen. With engaging interviews and extended sequences of the Marukis at work, Hellfire reveals a message of hope in our nuclear age, and is a reminder of the power of art to render visible and meaningful what still seems unimaginable.
DVD (Japanese with English Subtitles) / 1986 / () / 58 minutes
In Search of Cezanne is an exploration of the life and legacy of 19th century French painter Paul Cezanne, as seen through the eyes of a young female documentary filmmaker who is just discovering his work. Traveling from New York to Paris and Cezanne's hometown in the south of France, meeting scholars and family of Cezanne at each stop, her journey is a satisfying inquiry into artistic expression and its appreciation.
America's finest music documentarian, Allan Miller has produced films involving some of the most important musical events of the last two decades. He has made 35 documentaries about music, two of which have won Academy Awards - The Bolero, and From Mao To Mozart: Isaac Stern in China - plus an Emmy-winning documentary about classical violinist Itzhak Perlman. He also directed Small Wonders, which received an Academy Award nomination and was subsequently made into the feature length movie Music of the Heart, starring Meryl Streep.