If Anything Happens I Love You

For once, I find myself in agreement with the masses – this is incredible, and incredibly moving. The accolades are more than deserved. Bravo to Netflix for picking up a short film, something they don’t do very often. Absolutely heart wrenching, and now, as a parent, absolutely terrifying. I want to watch it again, but it’s almost too sad for that…

Made You Look: A True Story about Fake Art

Another cautionary tale about the value of art. And while the story is not about the forger, he is the unsung hero. He really should’ve gotten a cut of the proceeds from Knoedler & Company.

And so I ask you once again: Is it Art?

Art and Craft

There was more than one person who suggested that, given his talents, Mark Landis should paint original works, and sign them with his own name. Which sort of misses the point.

What he does, and why he’s become famous, is copy works by famous painters. Or copy their style, at least. And then pass off the works to museums and galleries as originals. One key point though, is that he doesn’t try to sell the works, and therefore he is not committing any crime.

He may know that what he does is forgery, but he calls it “philanthropy.” For Landis, it is the act – the entire act, of painting and presenting a work, complete with paper and wood and frames and canvases all made to look age-appropriate, and then presenting it to a gallery as authentic – that is important.

Yes, his work is undeniably good. But if he had toiled for these same years producing originals, would he be a famous painter? Probably not. As someone in the film said, his schtick is as much performance art as it is painting. And what a performance.

Dante’s Inferno

Well I liked this a good deal more than The Last Dancer in the World. Familiarity with the subject matter, maybe? I’ve always been a fan of the Pre-Raphaelites. However, it’s mostly the paintings that I am familiar with, not the story of their lives. This is an opportunity to learn a bit about that.

Russell’s style lends itself to these period piece films, and the cast all seem to be of the era, with just the right facial features and hair, perfect costumes…

Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present

Yes, this woman’s mother should have held her and paid her more attention when she was a child.

Still, I did find the Artist is Present show to be extremely moving. So simple, and yet so profound. The power of art?

Catfish

On the Internet, no-one knows you’re a dog. Wow. Can you say “awkward”? Another guy learns the hard way that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. But he certainly took it well, and his brother got a movie out of it. Good stuff.

Drew: The Man Behind the Poster

Right place right time, sure, but there’s also a whole lot of talent on display here. Drew Struzan is the real deal. I wish I had a small fraction of his abilities. And a nice guy, to boot…

Free Radicals: History of Experimental Film

A reminder to watch more of this kind of stuff. It took me back to my days in school, in the art studio, being creative, and making a lot of stuff, with whatever was at hand, by any means available. Try things out, don’t worry too much about doing it “the right way,” iterate. Cool work can result…

Picasso and Braque go to the Movies

I’m not alone in thinking that much of the work of Picasso and Braque in their Cubist period is basically indistinguishable. This film only reinforces that sense, and makes one wonder if maybe they didn’t finish one another’s paintings. It would’ve been a great laugh for them, I’m sure, and as symbiotic as their relationship seems to have been, what’s the difference?

None of which tells you anything about the relationship of their work to the cinema. But the present film endeavours to do just that. It describes how the two were great fans of early film, and shows the ways in which their work was influenced. In particular, how movement and the passage of time, which film was able to capture for the first time, made its way into their painting. Well done.

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Two hotels in a row. Oh, and there’s Tom Wilkinson again…

I wanted not to like this film. Wes Anderson is one of the most overrated directors currently making movies, in my opinion. Or one of the most inconsistently good directors. Or maybe it’s just that I hate Jason Schwartzman. Which may explain why I liked Grand Budapest quite a bit.

Plus, the fantastic color palette. I’m thinking most especially of the purple uniforms inside the red elevator. And the attention to graphic design detail, down to the logos on the cake boxes, the signage throughout, the uniform insignias…