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Art City: Making It in Manhattan is an art tour of New York City, entering galleries and studios and the homes of collectors. Interviewing critics, collectors, and artists--among them Louis Bourgeois, Chuck Close, Elizabeth Murray, and Gary Simmons--director Chris Maybach looks at the contemporary art scene of the 1990s. Although the video bills itself as an exploration of the New York art community, it is really more a survey of the artists--location has little to do with the end product, it seems. Yet, despite the missed opportunity to exploit the city's influence on the creations, this documentary
does succeed in illuminating the artists' struggles and inspirations. Covering collectors, studio visits, the 1980s, finances, daily routines, and success, the film is dynamic, interspersing images of the work with the creators themselves, and avoiding talking heads. For a broad view of a seemingly cloistered artistic community,
Art City provides insight into and explanation of the fascinating and varied lives of artists.
--Jenny Brown
Product Description
Unlike any art movie you've ever seen, Making it in Manhattan is informed 'entertainment’ about the people who make contemporary art. Artists, collectors, and dealers bring to life the art capital of the world, New York, as it plunges into the 21st Century. Presenting a cross-section of artists, the film discusses inspiration, aesthetics, and the meaning of success. With Louise Bourgeois, Brice Marden, Chuck Close, Neil Jenney, Elizabeth Murray, Ashley Bickerton, Gary Simmons, Ursula von Rydingsvard, Rirkrit Tiravanija, St. Clair Cemin, Ivan Karp, Jay Gorney, Matthew Marks, Jerry Saltz, Herb & Dorothy Vogel, and others. From abstraction to figuration, from installation to conceptual art, from the privacy of the doctor's office to the posh gallery opening, Making it in Manhattan captures the reality of a special world. Music by Tom Waits, Don Braden Ryuichi Sakamoto, George van Eps, Piero Umiliani with Chet Baker.
