007 April 07 2021

Art Documentaries

There are a ton of really great art documentaries out there and here are five that really caught my attention. 

Ai Weiwei Never Sorry (2012) Deals with much more than the art of the artist but Ai Weiwei’s activism against the Chinese government. 

Jean-Michel Basquiat The Radiant Child (2010) As a successful black artist, he was constantly confronted by racism and misconceptions. The film showcases he’s struggle as a young mis understood new york artist and the impending rise to stardom. 

Cutie and the Boxer (2013) This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role as her overbearing husband's assistant, Noriko finds an identity of her own.

Beltracchi The Art of Forgery (2014) A mesmerizing, thought-provoking yet surprisingly amusing documentary on the life and times of Wolfgang Beltracchi, who tricked the international art world for nearly 40 years by forging and selling paintings of early 20th-century masters. A larger-than-life personality who was responsible for the biggest art forgery scandal of the postwar era.

Francis Bacon: A Brush with Violence (2017) This follows the life and work of well known British artist Francis Bacon. It’s a very haunting look into a quintessentially tormented artist. 

Jewel Changi Airport - Singapore

"Jewel weaves together an experience of nature and the marketplace, dramatically asserting the idea of the airport as an uplifting and vibrant urban center, engaging travelers, visitors and residents, and echoing Singapore’s reputation as ‘The City in the Garden’." -Moshe Safdie

Located in Singapore, Jewel Changi Airport was completed in 2019 by Safdie Architects. The airport is home to the world's tallest indoor waterfall, the Rain Vortex, which is the located at the heart of the Jewel’s glass roof. During the region’s frequent and powerful thunderstorms, this 40-metre high element can channel more than 10,000 gallons of recirculated, natural rainwater per minute, which helps provide cooling and airflow in the landscape environment, collecting significant rainwater to be re-used in the building. The airport also takes the form of a five story plant-filled garden attraction, surrounded by shops and public spaces, including a netted play park.

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Look at the World’s First 3D-Printed Homes

Bologna- and Milan-based Mario Cucinella Architects’ latest project, which was just unveiled in the Italian city of Ravenna, may not be quite as enormous as the châteaux in France or Venetian Gothic revivals in Florida, but it does bear a memorable name that represents the completely innovative venture: Tecla, a 645-square-foot structure whose shell is made entirely of local clay, is one of the world’s first 3D-printed homes. The name—inspired by Italian writer Italo Calvino’s fictional city of Thekla—evokes ancient architecture’s timelessness with an undeniable 21st-century edge.