I got to see the Beautiful Losers film last night and it was AWESOME! Aaron Rose was there to answer questions and respond to criticisms which made it that much sweeter. First off, let me tell you that I have been looking forward to this since the windy San Francisco day in April that I came upon it while perusing the the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts website. I don’t have to tell you that I am a die hard fan of these talented artists and can only dream of having attended the Beautiful Losers exhibition off of which the movie was loosely based. The Beautiful Losers traveling exhibition took place at San Francisco’s very own Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and it was refreshing to have seen the screening at the same place some years later. Artists featured include Shepard Fairey, Ed Templeton, Barry McGee, Chris Johanson, and Harmony Korine to name a few. With the staple 12 artists featured in the film, many others who greatly contributed to this movement had to be left out. We can look forward to interviews by these artists and additional footage on the DVD release said to be in late December. Is August too early to start a Christmas List?

The film was beautifully done and truly captured the spirit and pure motivation of these artists. For them, creating was something they couldn’t live without doing and it just so happened that were able to attain some sort of “success” by doing it. I do feel that without all of the press and attention received, that these artists would still be creating. This film really communicated that and flowed nicely without feeling contrived or pushing opinions like so many documentary films where you either love or hate the characters based on the light in which they were presented. Aaron Rose allows the viewer choose which I respect and admire, and even solicited advice from fellow artists/film makers Mike Mills and Harmony Korine in order to make the film more cohesive and presentable. The artists were as is, no make-up or props and I enjoyed the old gritty footage and nostalgic feel of this group of friends who really came together to create something bigger than themselves.

To share the love and celebrate the screening of this film which has been 5 years in the making, art workshops for children are being held in San Francisco and other big cities where the film is being shown. Sketchypad has a complete list of workshops happening at VASF which started yesterday and will continue through the 21st of the month. What are you waiting for?! Get out there and make something out of nothing!

Tags: Aaron Rose, Barry McGee, Beautiful Losers, Documentary, Ed Templeton, Lowbrow, pop surrealism

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