"The Mystery of Picasso", a Movie

Above, Pablo Picasso

Join film critic Robert Denerstein and me for the last movie in our 2011 spring series, "Art Goes To The Movies", at the Art Student League of Denver, 200 Grant St., Denver CO, 6:30 PM, Thursday, March 31. Watch a 1955 must see movie, "The Mystery of Picasso". All are welcome. $12 ASLD members, $15 non- members, includes introduction, discussion and popcorn.

Those of you who came to the first session of this series in February know that we were unable to show this movie due to technical difficulties. For you this will be a make-up class.

For the rest of you, a rare opportunity to see Picasso working through his painting issues as we watch. Creatively filmed using a translucent material as canvas, only Picasso's brush strokes mysteriously appear, seemingly detached from the painter's hand.

"Seraphine" A Movie

Above, A Painting by Seraphine de Senlis
Above, photo of the real Seraphine Louis

Join film critic Robert Denerstein and me tonight, 6:30, at the Art Students League of Denver, 200 Grant St., Denver, to view and discuss the movie "Seraphine". Popcorn provided. $12 members, $15 non-members.

In the second to last episode of "Art Goes To The Movies", we watch a 2008 film by Martin Provost about the life and career of a French maid called to paint. She often even concocted her own paints. Remarkably before her time and self taught, Seraphine was also known as "Seraphine de Senlis". An art bio-pic not to be missed.

"Basquiat", A Movie By Julian Schnabel

Above: The real Jean-Michel Basquiat

Join Film Critic Robert Denerstein and me, Thursday, March 17, at 6:30 PM at the Art Students League of Denver, 200 Grant Street, at "Art Goes To The Movies". This week's movie offering is "Basquiat", the first film by painter and film-maker Julian Schnabel, starring Jeffrey Wright. Jean Michel Basquiat was a Haitian-American neo-expressionist painter in late 1970's to 1980's New York. Discussion and popcorn follow. All are welcome. $12 members of the League, $15 non-members.

Camille Claudel Movie

Above Photo of Camille Claudel at 19 years old.

Join Film Critic Robert Denerstein and me, Thursday, March 10, at 6:30 PM at the Art Students League of Denver, 200 Grant Street, at "Art Goes To The Movies". This week's movie offering is "Camille Claudel", the neglected 19-20th century artist whose affair with Rodin may have left her emotionally destroyed. Discussion and popcorn follow. All are welcome. $12 members of the League, $15 non-members.

March Schedule for "Art Goes To The Movies"

image above from "Chihwaseon (Painted Fire)", 2002

Art Goes To the Movies, Part II

A class taught by film critic Robert Denerstein and artist Sandra Kaplan at the Art Students League of Denver, 200 Grant Street, Denver, on Thursday nights from 6:30 to 9:30.

Part 1 of "Art Goes To the Movies" focused on the artistic process as captured in a series of fascinating documentaries. Part II switches to the lives of artists as interpreted by a variety of directors.

1. March 3. Chihwaseon (Painted Fire). (2002). Korean master Im Kwon-Taek examines the life of 19^th century artist Jang Seung-up. Im’s stirring and evocative drama takes place against a backdrop of political turmoil, but it’s Im’s cinematic artistry and Jang’s vivid paintings that make for a potent exploration of the ways in which artists learn to speak with original voices.

2. March 10. Camille Claudel (1988). French director Bruno Nuytten chronicles the life of 19^th Century sculptor Camille Claudel (Isabelle Adjani), a woman who worked in the shadow of Auguste Rodin (Gerard Depardieu), the famed sculptor who initially took Claudel on as a student. Building his movie around the stormy relationship between Claudel and Rodin, Nuytten takes a fascinating look at the passion and obsession that can drive an artist to greatness or possibly to madness.

3. March 17. Basquiat (1996). Artist Julian Schnabel began what has been a remarkable second career as a film director with this look at the rise of young Jean Michel Basquiat, a painter who began his career as a New York street artist and became an art star of the 1980s. The movie features an extraordinary performance by Jeffrey Wright as Basquait. Schnabel – no stranger to fame – examines the intoxicating (and perhaps fatal) mix of art and celebrity.

4. March 24. Serpahine. (2008) The amazing story of a maid who was recognized as a profoundly gifted artist. Director Martin Provost obtains a brilliant performance from Yolande Moreau as Seraphine de Senlis, an artist whose work was discovered by art critic Willhelm Uhde (Ulrich Tucker). Provost illuminates much about the impact of recognition on a woman who may not have regarded herself as an artist in any conventional sense.

5. March 31. Mystery of Picasso. Make-up class.

"Art Goes To The Movies"

Click here to register, find out dates and pricing for Robert Denerstein and my art and film class, "Art Goes To The Movies". This class is open to artists and non-artists, members of the Art Students League, and non-members. CLICK

"Art Goes To The Movies"

For the first time, my husband, film critic Robert Denerstein, and I will be teaching a class together combining both of our areas of expertise. The Art Students League of Denver has offered a venue for our class, Art Goes To The Movies, on Thursday evenings in February and March, 2011.

Art Goes to the Movies will be presented in four-week blocks that revolve around films concerned with art and artists. The first segment will be devoted to the enticements of the artistic process. Thanks to documentaries, we now have the ability to examine the working methods of important artists, a study that can provide inspiration for those who make art and deepen the appreciation of non-artists who regard art as an essential part of their lives.

1. February 3, 2011. The Mystery of Picasso (1958). For this crucially important documentary, French director Henri Clouzot persuaded Picasso to paint on camera, providing us with a unique opportunity to watch Picasso's mind in the midst of creation.

Topics for discussion: What is the role of "showmanship" in an artist's career? When is a work finished? Can there be art without risk? Where does craft end and art begin? How do we define an artistic genius?

2. February 10, 2011. Vincent. Director Paul Cox's 1987 documentary blends the artist's letters to his brother Theo with views of Van Gogh's work and the landscapes and faces that inspired it. Cox's approach allows Van Gogh's psyche to emerge more vividly than it has in many of the works that have attempted to dramatize the artist's tumultuous life.

Topics for discussion: The role of the spiritual in art? The artist as outcast, and the quest for transcendence in and through art. Can madness play a role in the creation of great art?

3. February 17, 2011. David Hockney: A Bigger Picture. This stirring 2009 documentary chronicles Hockney's transition from the sun-splashed climes of California to the more muted world of his native Yorkshire in Great Britain. Director Bruno Wollheim captures Hockney making work that may prove to be the capstone of an amazingly prolific career.

Topics for discussion: The artist's role in transforming landscape. Where does observation cease and vision begin? Why does so much art have the capacity to awaken us to life?

4. February 24, 2011. Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy, Working With Time. This 2001 documentary by director Thomas Riedelsheimer not only captures the transient beauty of Andy Goldsworthy's scupture, but becomes a work of art in itself. Goldsworthy uses natural materials and most often works in natural settings where pieces are subject to the vagaries of weather.

Topics for discussion: If art was made in a forest and no one was there to see it, would it still be art? Can there be a truly lasting nature to any art object? Should the artist be quiet and faceless, never an intruder on nature? Does the fact that Goldsworthy photographed (and then sold photos of) his ephemeral works make us wonder about the purity of his intentions?