SXSWORLD

Th ese SXSW Documentaries Put Artists in Front of the Camera by Eric Kohn A year's SXSW Film Festival includes not one or two but a whopping six docu- mentaries about some kind of visual art. Of those, four focus on photography, another on poster art and a fi nal one on mixed media. In terms of specifi c content and form, they have virtually nothing in common. But all share an enthusiasm for the qualities that make their topic endearing, including the obsessive qualities required to make stuff , and the reasons why people dig it, both of which matter nearly as much as the art in question. Take, for instance, Just Like Being adventurer James Balog, a man devoted to capturing visual evidence of melting glaciers to silence global warming skeptics. Filled with sensational images of the endangered Greenland ice sheets and other spectacular natural visions, Balog's work takes a necessary step beyond the empirical argumentation popularized by Al Gore and the documen- tary, An Inconvenient Truth, that catapulted his environmental platform to international attention. Words can't express the drama of destruction conveyed by Balog's photographs, and like Gore's fi lm, Chasing Ice rep- resents a call to action. On a less alarming level, the same bridge between creativity and pas- sion can be found in Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters, in which country, Shannon fi nds commonalities in the practice of poster art creation that sets it apart--the handmade nature, the open-minded mentality of the people who create it and the way both of those qualities fi t into an increasingly digitized world. In particular, Just Like Being Th ere tracks the impact of MONDO on the treatment of posters as a serious creative pursuit, as well as making the case for bands that owe their fame to the posters that introduced them to the world. Jeff Orlowski's Chasing Ice follows intrepid photographer-turned- Th ere, Scott Shannon's sprawling over- view of culture-driving music posters. Called by one of the interviewees "one of the purest pieces of modern folk art we have," posters are nonetheless discussed as mementos of a greater creative act. By speaking to individuals around the Iggy Pop and Debbie Harry from Rock N Roll Exposed: The Photography of Bob Gruen 42 SXSW ORLD / M ARCH F ILM- I A 2012 tendency. Herein lies the appeal of the art doc, which broadens the focus from the object itself to inextricably tie the creative process to the end result. So it is no great surprise that this rtists are usually seen in terms of their art, rather than vice versa. Anyone familiar with the capricious, tiring and inherently per- sonal nature of the creative process knows the injustice of this Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters director Ben Shapiro follows the noted photographer over the course of a decade-long journey to encapsulate Americana in extraordinarily odd, dreamlike snapshots. It's one thing to see Crewdson's alternately haunting and unspeak- ably beautiful photographs, such as the phenomenal image of a woman in her nightgown literally sinking into the fl oor of suburban living room (a fas- cinating rumination on the alienating qualities of modern society). And yet there is a whole other value to watching the jolly Crewdson go about his work with an air of practicality, as if it all makes sense inside his head. Speaking of his need to happen upon "the perfect moment" in his quest to fi nd "fantas- tical worlds that are seamlessly real," Crewdson demonstrates how a single person can bring clarity to intangible ideas. With a similar combination of mea- delves into its titular subject, peeling back the veil on the creation of marijuana-smoking paraphernalia (and other glass works). Some of these artists are even arrested by the DEA in anticipation of illegal use, proving that while the act of creating art deserves attention, sometimes it helps to work in the underground. ■ Wee's Playhouse co-creator Wayne White, a visual artist driven to com- bine a sense for anarchic comedy with a fi ne art sensibility (the reason why fans of his work include Th e Simpsons creator, Matt Groening). "Art can be a 24-7 lifestyle," White says in the movie. His lively works refl ect that commitment, as does his bubbly personality. Speaking of bubbly: Degenerate Art: Th e Art and Culture of Glass Pipes Find screening information for these documentaries as well as other SXSW showcasing fi lms at schedule.sxsw.com. results from his pursuit of it. As Yoko Ono explains, "the photography shows what his character is." So it goes with Beauty is Embarrassing, Neil Berkeley's profi le of Pee sured strategy and chaotic moments, Don Letts' Rock 'N' Roll Exposed: Th e Photography of Bob Gruen follows the noted rock photographer's ability to permeate the inner circle of musical stardom by simply befriending his sub- jects. (As Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong says, "He doesn't irritate the shit out of you.") But the most compel- ling hook of Rock 'N' Roll Exposed is that while his photographs show musicians doing what they do best, they also reveal Gruen's own taste and the lifestyle that

• Cover