FanFare

Explores the life and career of Michael Chow - a Zelig figure who owns restaurants around the world that celebrities and artists flocked to, is the son of a Chinese opera star, and now is asserting himself as an artist.
posted by larrybob on Jan 9, 2024 - 2 comments

On the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro is Jardim Gramacho, the world's largest landfill, where men and women sift through garbage for a living. Artist Vik Muniz produces portraits of the workers and learns about their lives.
posted by johnofjack on Nov 15, 2022 - 1 comment

The infamous, shadowy British graffiti street artist Banksy has literally left his mark on cities throughout the world. He comes in contact with Thierry Guetta, a Los Angeles-based Frenchman who videotapes various underground art escapades, and later is transformed into an art phenomenon dubbed "Mr. Brainwash." Rhys Ifans narrates an overlapping documentary where the line between what is real and what might be fake blurs, as modern art and celebrity are put under the microscope. [more inside]
posted by DirtyOldTown on Aug 28, 2022 - 1 comment

True detective TV brimming with mystery, suspense, and art history. British art dealer and historian Philip Mould pairs with journalist and Antiques Roadshow presenter Fiona Bruce to examine the provenance and attribution of questioned works of art. [more inside]
posted by Thella on Sep 27, 2021 - 2 comments

In 2008, a few of the world's most distinguished Leonardo Da Vinci experts gathered around an easel at the National Gallery in London to examine a mysterious painting: an unassuming Salvator Mundi (Latin for Savior of the World), found in a shady New Orleans auction house, that a select few believed to be a long-forgotten masterwork by Leonardo Da Vinci. That day, Salvator Mundi was authenticated as being the creation of Da Vinci himself, and thus, one of the most beguiling and perplexing stories of the 21st century was set into motion. [more inside]
posted by DevilsAdvocate on Sep 19, 2021 - 0 comments

A woman walks into a New York gallery with a cache of unknown masterworks. Thus begins a story of art world greed, willfulness and a high-stakes con. [more inside]
posted by bcwinters on Mar 6, 2021 - 18 comments

This documentary chronicles the life of Polish-American artist Stanislav Szukalski (1893-1987) from his early years in Chicago, to his time in Poland and Los Angeles, and his artistic and political contributions to the world.
posted by DirtyOldTown on Dec 31, 2018 - 4 comments