Media Arts Trip

BASQUIAT, THE FILM:

1. The editing of the hotline call was interesting with the voice-over and the camera pointing directly at Jean-Michel Basquiat (JMB)-- What was the effect? What did the director have JMB do with his facial expressions?
The effect was that Jean-Michel was on the phone and we could hear the conversation but he wasn't talking. We just saw his facial expressions as to how he was feeling through each point of the conversation.

2. In the beginning of the film, JMB looks up at the buildings and sky to see a surfer on a blue wave-- What does this signify to you? Near the end of the film, he sees the surfer fall-- What might this be symbolizing?
I think that it signfies the beginning of his rise to fame and popularity and when the surfer falls in the end it symbolizes how everything in his life and career went wrong and it all came crashing down.

3. How does Julian Schnabel show the passing of time in JMB's relationship with Gina (the bed scene)?

4. List a couple of 'perspective shots' that you found interesting in the film.
Any shots with Jean-Michel Basquiat and where he would be on drugs I found to be interesting because it shows the craziness that those drugs did to him.

5. How does the music in the film lend itself to the story?
The music in the movie is very unique and has it's own distinct sound just like Jean-Michel does with his paintings and his lifestyle.

6. How does the film critique 'fame'?
The film shows that a lot of the time when people become famous they lose sight of what matters and get carried away with the money and power they have and it eventually leads to their downfall.

7. How do the film segments from vintage videos and TV shows add to the story- refer to a specific example.

THE "PERSPECTIVES" WORKSHOP AT THE NFB, WITH THE DOCUMENTARY RIP: A REMIX MANIFESTO:

1. It was the film and filmmaker's intention to keep art open sourced and accessable to all people and now that RIP: A Remix Manifesto is uploaded to its official site, viewers are encouraged to remix it. How effective is this documentary and its production in getting this intention across?
I feel that this documentary is extremely effective in getting this intention across because the entire film itself talks about remixing and the modification of forms of art, whether it be music, film, photography, etc.

2. Brett states, “… a media literate culture emerged, able to download the world’s culture and transform it into something different.” What do you think it means to be “media literate”?
I think it means that the people know how to properly interpret and understand the media when they portray something and know how to use forms of social media as well.

3. Do you think sampling can be considered an instrument akin to guitars, drums etc?
I don't think it can be considered an instrument at all but I think it can be considered more as an art form rather than an instrument.

4. How would you describe the style of editing in this film? What techniques were used to attract your attention?
I think that the editing in this film first and foremost is very modern-style and fast. The jumps from clip to clip are all very unique and different and have some cool element to them. For me personally, the techniques that caught my eye would be the ones where for example, the director would be talking about a fact and it would cut to a still image of something relating to the fact. I found that to be really cool and effective.

5. The film is presented as a four part “remix manifesto”. Did this succeed as a storytelling technique? Why or why not?
I think it did because it showed four different areas in which this topic is an issue and a problem and gave different perspectives, which helped the viewer understand everything better.

6. Brett Gaylor uses a lot of music samples and clips from popular TV shows and movies. Do you believe the film would succeed in using “fair use” as a defence if it was sued for using images or music illegally?
I think that if the big corporations were fair people it would but they are so blood-thirsty and greedy that they would find a way to get around fair-use one way or another.

JULIAN SCHNABEL'S PAINTING EXHIBIT AT THE AGO:

1. Julian Schnabel’s Painting for Malik Joyeux and Bernardo Bertolucci (V) is reminiscent of the scene in his film Basquiat where Jean-Michel Basquiat looks upward and sees surfers streaming across the sky in Technicolor. Like film, surfing has been a visual thread throughout Schnabel’s artistic practice. How can the ideas of 'water' and 'surfing' act as a metaphor for freedom of the imagination?

I think that when people think of water they imagine being free and forgeting about all their worries being out in the open water and when you are surfing you feel like you're on top of the world because it is such a rush and it is associated with water as well.

2. Who are Malik Joyeux and Bernardo Bertolucci and why would he dedicate a painting to them?
Malik Joyeux is a professional surfer and Bernardo Bertolucci is renowned Italian film-maker. With this title, Schnabel links the artistry and risk-taking of filmmaking to surfing, which was another one of his passions.

3. American art superstar Julian Schnabel has spent his life pushing the limits of painting and crossing artistic boundaries as an award-winning filmmaker-- How do you feel he was pushing the limits of painting with what you saw in his show at the AGO?
I think that he was trying to get people to find very deep meanings behind very simple paintings like the surfer for example. On the exterior it might seem like nothing special but if you really think about it there are so many different meanings behind it just waiting to be unfolded.