Art Film

Usually when I hear someone say "Oh, you should see this, its an ART FILM" I turn and run in the other direction -- I only have so many heartbeats in this life and I really don't like spending any of them confused or frightened, which usually happens to me at things like Sundance showings.

The following are films ABOUT art that I've found really inspiring in the last year or so, and thought you might too.


Herb & Dorothy

This is a documentary about this couple who collects art in New York, and not just any art.  They've found incredibly influential artists like Sol LeWitt, Chuck Close, and Roy Lichtenstein before they were 'discovered' by the mainstream.  Since then they've donated 2,500 of their collected works to museums in all 50 states.  Oh, and they collected all of this work on a postman and librarian's salary.


Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Tonybee Tiles

This is another documentary about these guys who find mysterious tile-like graffiti around their city and decide to investigate its message and author, Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine style.  It's a fun look into how folks can be joyous and rewarded in the midst of their freakish obsessions.


It Might Get Loud

Ok, so this film is also a documentary, and its not exactly about visual art but music (if that concerns you, having navigated here to hear about purely visual art, then go finish re-organizing your dictionary collection and leave the rest of us be).  Jack White, Jimmy Page, and the Edge are all featured and examined in light of their different approaches to the same instrument: the guitar.  The part that sold me was the opening scene where Jack White (rapscallion that he is) makes one out of a coke bottle and nails and stuff.  Upcycling/found art at its best:

(also check out the great film on A Tribe Called Quest if you like this kind of thing)