2019
From atypical figures to trailblazers, how did the artists of the last century transform the meaning and form of viewing? Following the destruction of order by world wars, the human desire to reshape new values manifested in Dadaism's anti-mainstream stance, student movements' anti-authoritarianism, hippies' anti-war sentiments, and the civil rights movement. Diverse social trends nourished artistic thought, and an anti-traditional fervor spread globally. These artists challenged established social norms, extending existing art forms to the very boundaries of perception and vision. This film list draws inspiration from Fluxus artist and "Rainbow Artist" Ay-O.
Banksy, the graffiti artist who refuses to reveal his true face. Duchamp, who placed a urinal in an art museum. Dalí, the surrealist master with flamboyant mustaches. Beuys, the madman who waved the banner of “art as revolution.” They lived in different times and places, but all wielded rebellion as their brush, creating masterpieces that transcended their era. Giloo presents 5 artist documentaries spotlighting these rule-breaking legends — Artists who didn’t just make art, but became art.
I long to see the consciousness behind the work—where bold expression stands in contrast with vulnerability, and the extraordinary quietly harbors an everyday kind of ordinariness. Suddenly, that once-sacred figure takes on depth again. We’re given a chance to glimpse what they’ve left behind, their uncertainties—those very elements that make them human—slowly surfacing from behind the art.
"Through synchronicity, the subjective and objective worlds intertwine, allowing the psyche and the material to resonate." When we imagine the contours of things, the camera begins to speak. It casts light and sound, strikes chords of language, and imprints memory upon the screen. Five films. Five creators. Five echoes of synchronicity from the depths of their souls. Let us rise from the seats of spectatorship and, with the heart of art as our vessel, journey toward the distant shore—where beauty and the numinous await.