Who Gets to Call It Art? (2006)

Who Gets to Call it Art? is a wild ride through the fascinating 1960s New York art world, seen through the eyes of first "contemporary art" curator for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Henry Geldzahler. Never-before-seen footage of artists including Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns and Roy Lichtenstein as well as exclusive interviews with artists Frank Stella, David Hockney, and James Rosenquist provide a vibrant and entertaining look at ten amazing years when American artists challenged everything and forever changed the world of art. Amazon.com

you call it

Recommended doc for anyone that enjoys documentaries in general and anyone that is interested in art history and particularly American art and art in the 20th Century -and particularly the pop art scene/movement of the 60s. The focus here is on a central figure in the development of an art scene, Henry Geldzahler. There is lots of fantastic footage, many interviews with various artists and discussions of the major artists. No one person just gets to call it art or everybody and anybody can call something art. But some individuals wind up in positions where they have a bigger say and when they get with others they can have a really big say. I guess. In anycase I myself am not a huge fan of most pop art but find the characters involved entertaining and not boring. September 16, 2008

Observations from an artist

I very much enjoyed the video, especially the interviews with artists that were highlighted in the movie. A glimse of living artists that will live forever in this video. It is too bad we weren't able to capture more of the artists in their studio's creating their work. A wonderful comment on what makes art and how modern contemporary art was brought in to the acceptance of the established art world. I would recommend this dvd to anyone interested in contemporary art. July 4, 2008

Pop art

I've purchased this DVD to find out what's behind pop art who are its main protagonists and indeed who gets to call it art? The feature is made up by a series of interviews with prominent artists from the 50s and 60s who weren't so well known back then. In fact is a film about Henry Geldzahler who went to the art school with Andy Warhol and became curator at Met during the 60s, Henry introduced artists like Larry Poons, Mark Di Suvero, Andy Warhol, etc to the general public thus enlarging and challenging the established view of what's art. The movie also answered my question - pop art social effect is simply to reconcile us to a world of commodities...banalities and vulgarities which is to say in effect indistinguishable from advertising art. April 10, 2007

The life and legend of Henry Geldzahler and the Pop Art movement

Henry Geldzahler came from a well-to-do family and always wanted to be a curator. After interning at the Whitney at 15 he fell in love with modern art. He got a degree from Yale and after a couple of years of doctoral studies at Harvard he accepted a position at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which was hardly known for its support of the latest directions in art.

This movie is about Geldzahler and what he did to support the pop art movement that included artists such as Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Frank Stella, and many others. The story is told with tapes and films of Geldzahler, as well as period and contemporary interviews with the artists concerned (whether supportive or contrary to the movement).

The culmination of the film is the famous and hugely controversial show Geldzahler put on in 1970 at the Metropolitan. "New York Painting 1940-1970". It was a blockbuster and still resonates to this day. I loved the comment about how he selected what to put in the show (because no matter how large an exhibition, so much had to be left out). Geldzahler said that he picked those works that he had seen and than left him wanting to see it again. Whatever you think about the "seriousness" or "worth" of the art, much of it is certainly beautiful and all of it is full of cheer, optimism, fun, and some downright silliness. Isn't that refreshing from being dour all the time?

Henry Geldzahler died far too young at 59 in 1994. We even get to see inside his home and the beautiful objects with which he had surrounded himself. They are stunning.

This is a fine short film to get some background about this interesting and influential patron on modern art and the artists who did all that work. It is quite charmingly done and never gets sidetracked in the side arguments.

Recommended. April 1, 2007

An Important Film

I teach contemporary art. This film utilizes clips and quotes from other films about highly significant artists working from the late 50s forward. It is time for the general public to see Henry Geldzahler as the catalyst and creative coordinator for this diverse group. . .a must have for understanding the evolution of art since the 1960s. December 26, 2006

More reviews at Amazon.com ...