DISQUS

OutOfContext · 1 year ago

I guess I'll have to see this movie since the subject is one I find fascinating,.
"Abstract art essentially becomes decorative, its meanings left up to the subjective appraisal of the viewer"--I tend towards this opinion. Authorship, context and meaning are extremely relative concepts to me. I don't mean that it(some human creation) doesn't exist because I think about it, but it's importance is my own construct.
A couple of other points:
F for Fake, Welles picture about Clifford Irving and Elmyr d'Hory is a great examination of money and art, authorship and reality.
Your 'aura' quote from Benjamin reminds me of an interview I heard with Duchamp in which he asserts that no art should outlive it's creator, in fact, that it is 'dead' within a decade or two of it's creation.
Also, to kind of echo your Eliot point,I was upset to find that Hart Crane, one of my favorites, lifted wholesale from a tubercular young poet, Samuel Greenburg, in his poem, "Emblems of Conduct". What upset me is that Crane made no acknowledgement of his line-lifting, not that he mashed-up the original. Greenberg's work is a mess, while "Emblems" is a fine poem.

Chuck Tryon · 1 year ago

I should have mentioned F for Fake. My review of Kid was almost entirely shaped by my appreciation of Welles' more reflective take on these issues.

I'm not sure that I've heard the Duchamp quote, but I like your connection between his critique of the museum and Benjamin's observation that the mechanical reproducibility of art serves as a direct threat to the museum.

I do think there are some insightful readers (and readings) of abstract art, but it's clear from the film that the people who purchase Marla's art are projecting their own readings (and desires) into the art, that people's fantasies about art, genius, and childhood innocence are being sold back to them.

OutOfContext · 1 year ago

I didn't mean to give the idea that interpretation of abstract art is without value, just that attempts at objective judgment doesn't interest me. I am absolutely enriched by the interpretations of (certain) others and it sometimes helps me triangulate my experience. It's a perspective thing.
The Duchamp paraphrase comes from an album of interviews and readings called "The Creative Act" on the Sub-Rosa label. I downloaded it off emusic and recommend it, if you like that kind of thing.

Chuck Tryon · 1 year ago

I should check out the Duchamp interviews. I have a couple of long drives coming up over the holidays and a new iPod with plenty of memory.

The film is definitely worth tracking down. My initial review conveyed a lot of frustration with the film, but I think that's actually a sign of the ways in which it was tapping into these issues in fairly subtle ways.

Kathleen Maher · 1 year ago

A number of questions bother me about this, but the value of abstract art and how it's hyped or not isn't my first concern. Hype-away! Rake in all you can, but let your genius child live out his or her childhood without celebrity discussions and documentaries questioning his or her legitimacy.

If this little girl is hailed as today's Picasso, she'll earn huge sums when money means little to her. Quite likely, and much worse in the long run, she may need to live a long life as a brilliant artist who peaked at age four! Will her work at five warrant another documentary and attendant exhibition?

Chuck Tryon · 1 year ago

There are a few moments where the filmmaker questions whether he should be exploiting the controversy, but merely by telling this story, the filmmaker is clearly making a decision.

The mother is somewhat ambivalent about her role in placing her daughter in the public, asking whether Marla will want to have had these experiences (appearing on the Today show, having all of these art openings, etc) when she's 18.

But these ethical issues are important (and they are addressed in the film), and I probably shouldn't have underplayed them.

wall art · 11 months ago

I don't see why it couldn't be Maria as Abstract art especially abstract expressionism doesn't demand precise technique, so a child could do it and if the father was an artist its more than likely that he would teach her how to paint.

Resume Builder · 1 month ago

Abstract art had been famous for a long time, well we can't hide t his fact for t here are so many talented artist way back
in the history

Free diapers · 2 weeks ago

For what it’s worth, I saw no specific evidence that led me to believe, with any certainty, that Marla’s parents are guilty of the charges levied against them, although I’m not terribly interested in resolving that question. But I think it’s worth addressing the basics of the controversy in order to address some of the larger questions the film glosses

jogging double stroller · 10 hours ago

Experts have its own way of checking authenticity. But for me, what's important is the dedication of the child painter for her craft. She deserves our applause and not the other way around.