Do you often see art pieces in the auction market breaking the hundred million mark but don’t understand them? In fact, appreciating art not only relies on subjective intuition, but sometimes also requires professional art training. However, instead of learning professional painting techniques, it might be better to start from the artist’s own life. Almost every artist’s work is influenced by their experiences, with each line and color choice containing the creator’s emotions. Why does Frida always hide tears in her self-portraits? Why did Marina’s performance art touch millions of people back then? Below are 5 films or documentaries about artists to introduce you to the legendary lives of these artists!
1. “The Mystery of Picasso” (畢家索的秘密, 1956)
“The Secret of Picasso” documents the painting process of Spanish painter Picasso in the form of a documentary. In the hot summer of 1956, in a painting studio in the seaside city of Nice in southern France, under the intense heat and spotlight, Picasso enthusiastically painted with a brush. Through the combination of still and time-lapse photography, Picasso’s Cubist works come to life on the screen. We can see vivid lines quickly moving and changing shape on the paper, a flower turning into a fish, then into a beauty, then into a rooster, and finally into a shepherd. It is said that Picasso later destroyed all these paintings, so this documentary is the only evidence of this artwork’s existence.
2. “Frida, 2002”
Mexican female painter Frida Kahlo’s life is more tragic than her works, and the movie delicately interprets her legendary life. Before the age of 18, Kahlo lived like an ordinary girl. However, after the accident at the age of 18, her physical functions were damaged, causing her to suffer from illness for the rest of her life. During the year and a half she spent in bed, painting was her constant companion, and her works were filled with incredible vitality and passion.
After recovering, she learned painting from the local famous muralist Diego Rivera. Later, the two got married, but unfortunately, the philandering Rivera often had affairs after marriage, even with Kahlo’s sister, which left her in deep sorrow. Kahlo once said that she had two great mistakes in her life, one was the accident she suffered, and the other was meeting Diego Rivera. Her later life did not improve, instead, she experienced the pain of three miscarriages and an amputation. However, later on, she and her husband reconciled and grew old together in their later years.
“Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child, 2010”
Basquiat In his brief career, the art he created had a profound impact on future generations, making him one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. In the late 1970s, he became known for his graffiti art on the Lower East Side stage, selling his first painting to Deborah Harry for $200 and becoming best friends with Andy Warhol. Due to the praise of art critics and the public, Basquiat quickly became an international star.
This authoritative documentary chronicles the early art life of the artist, delving into how his rebellion shaped his artistic creations. However, as a successful black artist, Basquiat often faced racial discrimination. The documentary gathers a lot of information from internal interviews and archival footage, allowing viewers to explore Basquiat’s mystery and charm through the artist’s words and works.
“Staring at Marina”
(Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present, 2012)
The mother of performance art, Marina Abramovic’s work always challenges the body, mind, and pain. The most well-known is her collaboration with former partner Ulay, where they loved, fought, and stayed together for over 20 years before parting ways, leaving behind works and a love story that have become classics in modern art history.
“Artist is Present” is Marina’s work in 2012, held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The artist will sit on a chair, and the audience can take turns sitting across from the artist, with no verbal or physical communication allowed. They will look directly at each other, silently accepting the emotions given by the other. The highlight of this work is when Marina’s former lover, Ulay, also appears. The two reunite after a long separation, both with tears in their eyes, reminiscent of their passionate past love. They sit at the same table, no longer looking young. This scene touched countless people and marked their deep feelings for each other.
5. “Loving Vincent” (2017)
“Loving Vincent” is the world’s first fully painted animated film, exploring the complex life and controversial death of the famous artist Vincent van Gogh. With the help of 125 specially trained painters, this work took over 6 years to create, consisting of 65,000 oil paintings. It is an animated film that mimics van Gogh’s painting style, aiming to bring his art to life and recreate his life experiences. Drawing inspiration from various studies and records about the artist, as well as from van Gogh’s paintings and 800 personal letters, this film captures van Gogh’s world in a unique cinematic experience.
(The image is from the internet)
