The Film Movement January 2, 2018 DVD release of the 2017 documentary "shadowman" about titular avant-garde artist Richard Hambleton is a good follow-up to the (reviewed) Movement December 2017 DVD release of the documentary "Maurizio Cattelan: I'll Be Right Back" about that titular avant-garde artist. Both films achieve the genre ideal of equally informing and entertaining.
One claim to fame of Hambleton is being a founder of the street-art movement in the '80s. The nickname that provides the film its title relates to his painting scarily realistic shadow figures on the outside walls of high-crime areas on the Lower East Side of New York. Other early work includes painting accurate murder-scene body outlines (complete with paint that closely resembles blood) in cities across the country.
A combination of celebrity status (including a close association with Andy Warhol) and talent earns Hambleton high regard and large sums of money at the height of his career. An already borderline personality and seemingly insatiable appetite for drugs leads to poverty, homelessness, and rampant death rumors.
The primary impetus for "shadowman" is a pair of art dealers being the latest in a long string of supporters who undertake the seemingly futile task of getting Hambleton to get his life on track. His literally self-destructive behavior that includes destroying new paintings as quickly as he creates them is one of many reasons that most people give up on him. The most amusing exchange in the film has an art dealer tell Hambleton that holding an art show requires that Hambleton provide art.
The spoiler is that virtually every time that Hamnbleton is on a good path, he crashes and burns in a completely avoidable manner. This occurs even when doing so literally puts him back out in the street.
The bigger picture is the related art scene and drug-fueled edge of '80s-era New York. Director Oren Jacoby shows the ease with which one can get his or her drug of choice. We also get copious reminders of the gritty look of the city before Disney and developers like Trump take over. This provides nostalgia for Gen Xers and a history lesson for younger. It also shows how ignoring the Nancy Reagan "Just Say No" advice and not believing that a brain can fry like an egg can lead to millions that come in going out to dealers just as quickly.
The DVD extra consists of 30 minutes of bonus footage that a time constraint precluded watching.
Anyone with questions or comments regarding "shadowman" is strongly encouraged to email me; you alternatively can connect on Twitter via @tvdvdguy.
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