Portrait of the Artist

1 June: Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol

Chuck Workman, USA, 1991, 87 minutes. Hands down the best and most entertaining documentary on the great American Pop artist, this film collects testimonials from Warhol’s oddball relatives, his associates in the Factory demimonde, and even a Campbell’s Soup spokesman, in an attempt to unravel the mystery behind Warhol’s sphinx-like visage.

8 June: Basquiat

Julian Schnabel, USA, 1996, 108 minutes. Painter Julian Schnabel rounded up many of his friends (among them David Bowie, Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken and Willem Dafoe) to make this choppy but bracingly vital cinematic portrait of the '80s New York graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (played by Jeffrey Wright). Knowing the ground so well himself, Schnabel's vision of the '80s New York art scene is surprisingly engrossing.

15 June: Nobody’s here but me (Cindy Sherman)

Mark Stokes, Arts Council of England, 1994, 55 minutes. New York-based artist Cindy Sherman has produced hundreds of pictures of herself in a bewildering variety of roles, from B-movie starlet to Old Master model, presented without titles and often without comment. This film candidly reveals her sources, interests and enthusiasms in unexpected and often humorous ways, including much of her own footage and commentary.

22 June:  Chuck Close: Portrait in Progress

Marion Cajori, USA, 1998, 57 mins. Dubbed the "mayor of Soho" artist Chuck Close specializes in portraits of fellow artists, such as Jasper Johns (who also appears in this film) that are dramatic, confrontational and compelling. Despite an illness that left him paralysed in a wheelchair, the affable artist has persevered in his meticulous work and won worldwide acclaim for his huge, close-up portraits. 

29 June: A Bigger Splash (David Hockney)

Jack Hazan, UK, 1985, 102 minutes. This film’s innovative blend of fact and fiction reflects the world of renowned British artist David Hockney. Constructed in the studios, swimming pools, bedrooms and bathrooms of Hockney and his friends in England and California, A Bigger Splash is (according to Newsday)  “moving, gossipy and just a little bit shocking.”