Customer Reviews

Roy Lichtenstein

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3 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

This video is one of the best art films I have viewed in a long time, awesome! This film shows Roy at work and the viewer is introduced to the complexity behind the art of Roy Lichtenstein. This is a must have for any artist or art teacher who is interested in modern art and one of the greatest American artists ever!!

This is an outstanding look at one of the most celebrated american artists ever. The video takes you into the beginnings of this great man's career thru today. There is some very interesting & informative conversations with Lichtenstein on his reason, technique, and perseptions on and about his art. He is an artist who is serious about his work but seems to take a humerous and lightened approach to the content and source for his art. RFL is truly a pioneer for modern American art and this video is sure to please those avid RFL and Pop art fans.

I have a personal interest in art history and viewed this documentary twice, once alone and once with my elementary and middle grade homeschooled children as an art history lesson. Anyone interested in the works of Roy Lichtenstein and the Pop Art movement would love this documentary, certainly art students and artists will also love it. This documentary makes art history accessible to the layperson as well, due to the fine job of the interviewer and the director.

In this documentary Roy Lichtenstein is interviewed and discusses his life and art work, what influenced him, where his ideas came from, how his art adapted and how and why it changed over time. He discusses the Pop Art movement, a bit, mostly how he was one of a number of artists making art that was then called Pop Art. Also interesting is Lichtenstein tells what different art critics have said about different phases of his art and he shares his personal reactions to their statements. Additionally some footage of people criticizing and discussing his artwork is included, almost in a "he said, she said" manner which makes the viewer think about how sometimes what others say about an artist's work may be a bit off or just wrong. Contrary to what non-artists may think, artists do usually have a reason or an inspiration behind what they create. Lucky for us this documentary allows us into the brilliant mind of Roy Lichtenstein.

My children and I were both thrilled that this documentary also showed the artistic process with Lichtenstein narrating his process and demonstrating for the viewer, the stages of how and why he produces his famous Benday dot comic book type large artworks. It is different and better to hear these things right from the artist's mouth than to only hear it said by people who never knew or met an artist.

What struck me most was how clearly Lichtenstein explained his ideas behind an art process or behind individual works of art he has produced. I appreciated and enjoyed hearing the real reason that he started using Benday dots and his exact reason for the meaning behind taking one frame from a comic book, enlarging it and adapting it a bit makes a personal statement (even if art viewers or art critics didn't get it).

I felt privileged to hear directly from the artist what he has done in his artwork over time and why. This was an excellent resource to round out, clarify, and amplify what our family has read in biographical books or books with retrospective reproductions of his work. I feel we are blessed to have had the technology to capture interview footage on video of this artist for us to learn from. If only we could have such resources available from other famous artists, who knows how our currently accepted ideas of their inspiration, artworks and their artistic processes may differ from the artist's reality.

Note to parents, teachers and homeschooling families:
This documentary was produced for adults yet there is nothing in the documentary that would be problematic to show to children even as young as elementary grade aged. This makes an excellent learning resource accompanied by reading one or two short biographies written for children about the artist and his work. My 8 and 11 year old boys were interested enough to sit and watch the entire documentary in one sitting. The children of today seem open to educational information presented in video format underscoring the fact that this video along with a book or two and a visit to an art museum to see Lichtenstein's work would be all that is needed for an in-depth art history lesson on this famous artist and makes for an excellent lesson as part of learning about the Pop Art Movement.

This dvd program lasts nearly an hour and features footage of Roy Lichtentein at work in his studio and answering questions in a one on one interview format. The viewer gains a deeper understanding about how he selects his subject matter and how he goes about transfering ideas to canvas. RL explains and demonstrates his use of an opaque projector
in order to enlarge images and there are shots of his work throughout the program. There are also numerous interview snippets with dealers, critics and fellow artists about his career and influence. I'm certain I will re-watch this several more times.

I bought this DVD in the hopes of using it as a resource while we studied Pop Art. While it does give the viewer insight into Lichtenstein's process, it is boring. I hate to say that, as I am an artist and art teacher and I love learning more about artists and their work, but it is dry. I was also quite disappointed in how little information was given about Lichtenstein as a person and how his life has influenced his art. If you are an art teacher looking for something to stir the passion and creativity of your students, look elsewhere.

THIS VIDEO WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE, HEAR, and UNDERSTAND. THERE WERE EXTRANEOUS NOISES THROUGHOUT AND THE VIDEO WAS soooo FLAWED THAT I SUFFERED AN EXTREME HEADACHE WHILE ATTEMPTING TO WATCH IT. This product was advertised to be in good condition. Who had the nerve to so identify such a product? In the past, I have always been more than satisfied with items purchased from Amazon Books. WHAT HAPPENED THIS TIME?
Ruth W. Miller