Urban Montage by Charlene Weisler

Beautiful Losers

Beautiful Losers is the name of one of Leonard Cohen's novels but it is also the title of a great street art based film and accompanying book. The film Beautiful Losers and the street art book Beautiful Losers

 

Beautiful Losers celebrates the spirit behind one of the most influential cultural moments of a generation. In the early 1990's a loose-knit group of likeminded outsiders found common ground at a little NYC storefront gallery. Rooted in the DIY (do-it-yourself) subcultures of skateboarding, surf, punk, hip-hop & graffiti, they made art that reflected the lifestyles they led. Developing their craft with almost no influence from the "establishment" art world, this group, and the subcultures they sprang from, has now become a movement that has been transforming pop culture. Starring Ed Templeton who skated pro for New Skateboards winning awards all over the world, Harmony Korine who wrote the cult favorite Kids and then went on to direct Gummo and most recently Mister Lonely and Mike Mills who designed album covers for The Beastie Boys, Beck, Sonic Youth and directed the movie Thumbsucker. Also starring Barry McGee, Chris Johanson, Geoff McFetridge, Jo Jackson, Margaret Kilgallen, Stephen Powers, Thomas Campbell and Shepard Fairey who has experienced recent success with the now famous 'Hope' poster featuring Barack Obama.

If you are a lover of street art as I am, you will enjoy this film. Here is the trailer:

 

Best Movie Tattoos

Flavorpill has posted an interesting list of the best cinematic tattoos. Think Jack Straw in Pirates, the knuckle tattoos of Harry Powell’s Love and Hate, Night of the Hunter and the fantastic Dragon tattoo from the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Here is the intro. Click on the link above for them all.

When presenting a character in a film, directors and costume designers think very carefully about every last detail: what color shirt, what brand of shoes, how mussed the hair. Maybe this is why some of the coolest and most apt tattoos we’ve ever seen have popped up in movies, from the original knuckle tattoos to this year’s hottest movie sensation (hint: dragons). From the silly to the terrifying, the ominous to the controversial, click through to see our ten favorite tattoos on film, and since we know there are hundreds of great ones out there, be sure to let us know if we’ve missed any of your own favorites in the comments.

Wasteland The Movie

I just saw a great documentary movie about the artist Vik Muniz who creates work out of garbage. It is called Waste Land and it is about a major project he undertook in Rio with the catadores who pick through garbage looking for recyclable materials.

Here is all the information you need. Now go out and rent the film:

Filmed over nearly three years, Waste Land follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world's largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho, located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. There he photographs an eclectic band of “catadores”—self-designated pickers of recyclable materials. Muniz’s initial objective was to “paint” the catadores with garbage. However, his collaboration with these inspiring characters as they recreate photographic images of themselves out of garbage reveals both the dignity and despair of the catadores as they begin to re-imagine their lives. Director Lucy Walker (DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND, BLINDSIGHT and COUNTDOWN TO ZERO) and co-directors João Jardim and Karen Harley have great access to the entire process and, in the end, offer stirring evidence of the transformative power of art and the alchemy of the human spirit.

Vik Muniz was born into a working-class family in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1961. As a young man he was shot in the leg whilst trying to break up a fight. He received compensation for his injuries and used this money to fund a trip to New York City, where he has lived and worked since the late 1980s. He began his career as a sculptor but gradually became more interested in photographic reproductions of his work, eventually turning his attention exclusively to photography. He incorporates a multiplicity of unlikely materials into this photographic process. Often working in series, Vik has used dirt, diamonds, sugar, string, chocolate syrup and garbage to create bold, witty and often deceiving images drawn from the pages of photojournalism and art history. His work has been met with both commercial success and critical acclaim, and has been exhibited worldwide. His solo show at MAM in Rio de Janeiro was second only to Picasso in attendance records; it was here that Vik first exhibited his “Pictures of Garbage Series” in Brazil.

Banksy Will Not Be Allowed At The Oscars

Even if his movie Exit Through the Gift Shop wins an Oscar, the elusive street artist Bansky will not be allowed to receive it onstage according to the Oscars in charge.

It is an outrage!

According to The National Post in Canada, one of the film's producers will accept on behalf of Banksy. In this way, the Oscar's can maintain decorum (if you can believe that they have decorum). According to the National Post, hope springs eternal for fans of Banksy that he will indeed make an appearance. Let's hope so!

Jean-Michel Basquiat : The Radiant Child

Arthouse Films has just released a new 93 minute documentary on Jean-Michel Basquiat which will be available on November 9, 2010.

Full disclosure - I was offered a review copy of the film. Another full disclosure - I love Basquiat's art work. So needless to say I was happy to receive my DVD in the mail yesterday and was anxious to view it. And I was prepared to be a stern critic of it should it be less than spectacular. Happily, I can honestly say that the film is excellent and I expect to watch it again and again.

For those who do not know much about Basquiat, the film offers a rich and intensive look at his work not only through the eyes of friends, lovers, curators, collectors and gallary owners but also from Basquiat himself. For those who know the legend that was J-M B, the film will give you a rare glimpse of him in his own words and also gives you a psychological back-drop to his ultimately destructive behavior. Who knows? You may even learn something totally new about the artist in the process. I for one did not know that Jean-Michel sold his first painting to Debbie Harry for $200. I also did not quite recall the juggernaut time line of his art world ascent. Only two years! I feel like a schlepper in comparison.

Film creator and director Tamra Davis includes her raw footage of personal interviews with Basquiat from the 1980s when they were friends. In the bonus feature on the DVD there is an uncut interview with Davis where she spoke about her internal struggle with these interview tapes. She did not want to exploit the memory of Jean-Michel but after 20 years, was convinced that this was a good time to open up her archives and share these precious never-before-seen interviews publicly.

As someone who experienced NYC in the 1970s and 1980s I loved the historical footage of the East Village and the Lower East Side of that time that helped to imform Basquait's street art cred. And I also loved seeing the interviews with Julian Schnabel and photos of Keith Haring who was a one degree of separation acquaintence of mine as well as the very first street artist I saw "in action" at the 14th St uptown F train stop in the early 80s one weekday morning.

The title of the film is from the title of the first major art review article about Basquiat's work. He was the Radiant Child whose prolific work (over 100 paintings) helped transcend the concept of street art into high art.

For more information, check out these related sites:

The Radiant Child and Arthouse FIlms and New Video