VERO BEACH — “Exit Through the Gift Shop” and “Waste Land,” which last faced off at the 2011 Academy Award ceremonies, will be featured in the upcoming film course to be offered at the Vero Beach Museum of Art. The course, titled “Art and Artfulness: Tales of Creators, Critics, Collectors – and Con Artists,” focuses on recent feature and documentary films about art and artists.
Classes will be held on Tuesdays, beginning Nov. 8 and continue through Dec. 6. Students may sign up for either the afternoon session at 1:30 p.m. or the evening session at 7 p.m. as part of this five-week film studies offering.
Warren Obluck, the Museum’s film coordinator, says “Exit Through the Gift Shop” was made by the shadowy British graffiti artist, Banksy, about a megalomaniac shopkeeper who wants to break into the art scene by hook or crook.
“On the other hand, ‘Waste Land’ is about a Brooklyn-based Brazilian who teaches garbage dump gleaners how to turn refuse into museum pieces, turning their lives around in the process,” he says.
Also included in the series will be “Jean-Michel Basquiat: Radiant Child,” a touchingly insightful treatment of the pressures of celebrity on a young painter; “The Art of the Steal,” about a no-holds-barred struggle to break the last will of museum founder Albert Barnes; and “(Untitled),” one of the funniest feature films ever made about the art world.
“These films are hugely enjoyable,” says Obluck. “They suggest that art is heaven and that it’s hell, all wrapped up in one grand opening. We’ve done lots of courses about the arts over the years, but nothing has ever been this much fun.”
Films are introduced and discussions are moderated by Obluck, former cultural attaché at the American embassies in Rome, Tokyo, and Manila. He is also a winner of the Indian River County Cultural Council’s Laurel Award for cultural/professional achievement.
Tuition for the five-week course is $60 ($50 for museum members). Students may register in person, by phone or online at www.verobeachmuseum.org.
To register by phone, call (772) 231-0707, ext. 136. The Vero Beach Museum of Art is located at 3001 Riverside Park Drive.
