59. Make Me Famous; movie review

 

 

MAKE ME FAMOUS

Cert TBA

93 mins

BBFC advice: TBA

I have watched a lot of documentaries about the art/pop culture in New York City in the 1980s.

Indeed, I had even mused over when filmmakers would run out of subjects.

Surely, the last hurrah must be this dedication to a painter who wanted to be famous but wasn't.

It is true that two of Edward Brezinski's works were included in MOMA's East Side retrospective in 2017 but, while the art of his peers is sold for tens of millions, his can be bought for $150.

So why make a movie about him?

Apparently, as a platform to remember other aspects of the East Side art scene.

Brezinski was an artist and salesman, desperately trying to bring his work to the attention of people who mattered.

Thus, Brian Vincent's film tells how he had exhibitions in his own rundown apartment and even handed out cards promoting his events at the shows of others.

He was almost ever-present despite having no money and little prospect of making meaningful sales.

During Make Me Famous, peers who are well-known in the art world talk about Brezinski, affectionately and, in some cases, mockingly, while also giving anecdotes about each other.

And then there is the question of whether he is still alive (an obituary was written in 2007 but his death has not been recorded with any authority).

So, the movie turns into an intriguing search which takes the filmmakers across to Berlin where he lived in a squat and Southern France where he was last seen.

Has he faked his own disappearance because he was so disenchanted and unable to sell his work or did he simply fade into an alcoholic haze?

This picture  provides an answer but the saddest question was "who really cared?" His family and friends had long given up on the Edward Brezinski enigma.

His story is interesting but not as fascinating as many from the era but at least he is semi-famous now.

Reasons to watch: An insight into the New York City 80s art scene

Reasons to avoid: Difficult to understand why Brezinski is worth a film

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: On photos and paintings

Overall rating: 6/10

Did you know? A painting by one of Brezinski's contemporaries, Jean-Michel Basquiat sold for $110m more than three decades after his death.

The final word.  Brian Vincent: "The Punk movement of the UK spurred massive changes in the US, especially in the art scene in NYC. Artists were inspired to make their own rules and not wait for the elites to choose them, they made their art and their own worlds until they got famous or died trying.”

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