Some great, free, online documentaries about artists have got me thinking about museums in these Corona times. They are a pretty low-tech way (remember television?) to experience some of what we love about museums while we continue, on the whole, to #museumfromhome. Some online museum resources are fun, while others are not much to get excited about. These documentaries seem to me a great quasi-substitute for not only museum visits themselves, but an array of cultural offerings that are lacking right now: things like film screenings, lectures, and art galleries. One in particular really revved me up – I think you’ll like it too!
Salvador Dali: A Master of the Modern Era (MIKOS ARTS)
This is an absolutely delightful look at an artist that I, for one, had fully underestimated. Everyone knows the melting clocks, but what this documentary made clear to me for the first time is the impact that Dali’s art had before it became a cliche. Its connection to his own life – the rocky landscape where he lived, his own dreams and nightmares – was also new to me. And Dali’s breakthrough in Hollywood! Other artists began to reject him as he started to embrace pop culture. Indeed, he helped make pop culture what it is today. This is all told by the bright and charming Alastair Sooke on site at some of the locations in Dali’s personal history, as well as in museums in front of Dali’s paintings. I can’t wait to watch the Picasso episode of the same series!
This is of course great motivation to finally visit the Dali museum in Berlin. Stay tuned…
One mind-expanding artist documentary was I, Claude Monet by Exhibition on Screen (a company to keep an eye on – they make great stuff), which you can buy or rent over the website. I don’t know about you, but I had the wrong impression about this guy. I turns out that those happy sailboats and seaside scenes now used on feel-good products like calendars and greeting cards came out of very dark circumstances. Poor Monet was desperately poor for most of his life, and suffered greatly at the loss of his wife – from hunger and lack of medical care due to extreme poverty – and multiple children. In addition, he was not much appreciated during his lifetime; in a letter to his galerist, Monet once wrote that at least when his art was being excoriated, it was being talked about! – better than being ignored, as it was for a long time. This documentary is narrated purely from Monet’s own letters, voiced with heart-rending emotion by a great voice actor. You’ll never look at a Monet the same way, I promise.
Another free online documentary on my list is El Greco: An Artist’s Odyssey. Narrated by Adrien Brody, what’s not to love? It’s one of many videos in the National Gallery of Art’s Vimeo channel – check it out!
Have you found a good artist documentary too? Let us know in the comments section below or through the Contact page!