Michael visited the art fairs in Miami in December and writes about one artist he found whose work resonated loudly and who, now in her 50s, is beginning to break into the national art scene.
Read MoreIntrigued by the work of photographer Rosamond Purcell, Michael sees a documentary about the 75-year-old artist, and he is moved and by the images of odd bits of nature and human-made detritus that are her mainstay. He calls Purcell the Diane Arbus of the natural world. The film comes to Lightbox Film Center in March, 2018.
Read More“Philadelphia: Finding the Hidden City” is a dense and fact-filled rumination on the character of the city of Philadelphia as reticent, wallflowerish, and modest — a hidden city. Written by self-titled urban observers Nathaniel Popkin and Peter Woodall, and including over one hundred stunning photographs by Joseph E.B. Elliott, of iconic architectural spaces and places in the city, the book has many charms (including the photos and the beautiful hardback cover). Michael says it’s a difficult read, however, as the narrative about the city’s character, written in densely-packed paragraphs with history references galore, is at times overwhelming.
Read MoreThe new biopic about Tom of Finland tells the story of a gay man in post-WWII Finland, who escaped his country’s and family’s rejection of his homosexuality by celebrating gay love in his erotic art. Censored for years, the art of the stylized and beefy gay men nonetheless circulated and “…played an important part in the movement towards gay liberation,” says Michael in his review. This movie, with brilliant acting, was produced in Finland, an appropriate reparation. It brings the important and under-known artist and his struggle and triumph to a new audience. Opening in Philadelphia at the Ritz Bourse, Nov. 24.
Read More“Faces Places” is a road trip movie and a buddy movie made by French artist and activist, JR, and Belgian-born filmmaker, Agnes Varda. The ebullient, energetic 30-something (JR) and introverted 80-something (Varda) make an odd couple, traveling around rural France in JR’s photo studio on wheels, says Michael, in his review of the new documentary. But he also says the movie is beautifully executed, moving and inspirational. The easy camaraderie between the two intense artists is unexpected, and the country people and their stories, as they get photographed and their faces become part of JR’s public oeuvre, are totally heartwarming. Faces Places opens at the Ritz East on November 2.
Read MoreMichael spent time talking with Colette Fu about her massive pop-up book, now under construction at Philadelphia Photo Art Center. There’s a lot of history in the book, including Fu’s travels in China and and a lovely Chinese folktale, which is the take off point for the artist’s installation. Michael chronicles in detail.
Read MoreMichael gives us a glowing review of the 12th annual HUMP! film festival, which was composed of twenty-two amateur and DIY pornographic films. Featuring a diverse group of body types, races, genders, sexualities, and ages (all over 18), the group of films challenge commercial pornography. Michael says, “Many of the films are filled with tenderness, sincerity, vulnerability, even humor.”
Read MoreMichael gives a glowing review of “To My Unborn Child,” an imaginary elegy from visionary Black Panther Fred Hampton to his son. Premiering at the 2017 Fringe Festival, the play Michael says, “makes no attempt directly to connect Fred Hampton’s story to issues that beset the African American community today, but the connection is as obvious as it is heartbreaking and disturbing.”
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