256. Boom For Real; movie review
Cert 15
78 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong language, drug references
I have to confess I had never heard of Jean-Michel Basquiat and yet I have just learned that last year a painting of his sold for $110.5 million - a record for any American artist.
Sadly, Basquiat was not around to appreciate this success - he died in 1988, aged just 27.
Sara Driver's documentary, Boom For Real examines the rise to prominence of an artist who flitted around the Bohemian scene in New York in the late 70s and early 80s.
Driver uses never-before-seen works, writings and photographs alongside contributions from other artists who emerged from that period, including Jim Jarmusch, James Nares, Fab Five Freddy, Glenn O’Brien, Kenny Scharf, Lee Quinones, Patricia Field and Luc Sante.
Boom For Real's soundtrack also helps to re-recreate the era as it draws a portrait of Basquiat and downtown New York City - a run-down frightening place in the 1970s where art grew out of adversity.
There is no doubt that Driver, who was also part of the New York art scene, evokes a time and place to which I have become familiar thanks to other documentaries about The Big Apple (New York must feature in more movies, factual or fictional).
But she does not explain to outsider such as me why Basquiat is so important as an artist.
Ok, she reflects on his early beginnings as a graffiti artist at a time when those who could not afford conventional canvasses took to the streets.
And his friends tell of how they recognised his supreme talent above their own.
But let's be honest, to philistines like me his art looks pretty basic - indeed, to me, it seems to be made up of mere doodles.
What makes him one of the most important American artists of the 20th century? It beats me and I feel as if I am none the wiser after watching Boom For Real.
Nevertheless, I am pleased that I am now aware of Basquiat.
But she does not explain to outsider such as me why Basquiat is so important as an artist.
Ok, she reflects on his early beginnings as a graffiti artist at a time when those who could not afford conventional canvasses took to the streets.
And his friends tell of how they recognised his supreme talent above their own.
But let's be honest, to philistines like me his art looks pretty basic - indeed, to me, it seems to be made up of mere doodles.
What makes him one of the most important American artists of the 20th century? It beats me and I feel as if I am none the wiser after watching Boom For Real.
Nevertheless, I am pleased that I am now aware of Basquiat.
Reasons to avoid: It presumes knowledge
Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 6.5/10
Director quote - Sara Driver: "I want people to understand that Jean-Michel wasn't some mythological figure. He was just a kid. He was finding his way."
The big question - Why are our brains wired to perceive art differently?
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