The much anticipated Beautiful Losers US theatrical premier opens tonight at IFC. There are shows through out the day starting at 12:45pm but the 8:20pm (which is sold out for tonight) and the 10:20pm viewing will have the director and artists in attendance (that is for tonight and tomorrow night only) Get your tickets here. If you aren’t in NY, hopefully you can catch the flick in LA or SF in the coming months:
9/05/08 - 9/12/08 Landmark Lumiere, San Francisco, CA Buy Tickets
8/29/08 - 9/08/08 Landmark Nuart, Los Angeles, CA Buy Tickets
Beautiful Losers is a film about a group of semi-unrecognized, yet ridiculously influential collective group of artists. The sort of losers who cherished their outsider status. The sort of creatures who’ve held tight to their respective Crayolas & paintbrushes, their skateboards & video cameras, their spray cans & Sharpies, the very badges of their inner nerd, and are now recognized and celebrated. It’s the classic story. That weird punk skateboarder, the one they’d gun for in PE, now being paid millions for his bad-ass drawings to grace Pepsi campaigns. They came together in the old Alleged Gallery in the Lower East Side, started by the film’s director Aaron Rose over ten years ago and now their work can be seen worldwide, and has been described as a “movement”. The artists in the collective include: Barry McGee, Chris Johansen, Ed Templeton, Geoff McFetridge, Jo Jackson, Stephen Powers, Harmony Korine, Shepard Fairey, Mike Mills, Thomas Campbell and Margaret Kilgallen. These artists are self-taught, employing the unrestrained Do-It-Yourself technique, their work not limited to one medium, but many. It’s not about the money or even so much the message as just creating. Being creative and inspiring those around you to do the same. This quote by Geoff McFetridge summed it up for me: “The sun doesn’t know its a star.”
