Turn to Netflix for your art fix
Art documentaries on demand make art more accessible and help lift overall interest in the subject, especially among non-art-lovers.
Danish-icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson looks into the camera and speaks directly to the viewer.
“I would like to design an experiment with you,” he says, his eyes, framed by green-rimmed glasses, look straight at you. “This means that you and I are going to collaborate ...”
He encourages the viewer to leave the screen on, but turn off every other light in the room. He then proceeds to put coloured pieces of paper in front of the camera lens, making the entire screen a single colour. Viewers are asked to notice how the room they are in changes.
“Every colour has a different sort of way of influencing us,” he says. “This is what art is about, you are a co-author with me... What you see, is quite up to you.”
This is the opening sequence of season two of Netflix series Abstract: The Art Of Design.
The latest series, released in September, features artists, designers and creators ranging from world-renowned names such as Eliasson, to influential but perhaps less recognisable individuals such as award-winning costume designer Ruth Carter, who was behind the futuristic African-inspired looks in the Marvel movie Black Panther (2018).
Art documentaries such as this give viewers a glimpse into the world of an artist. They not only provide background on their work and lives, but also show their creative process and struggles.
And having such films readily available on streaming services such as Netflix has made the works of artists more accessible – augmenting an artist’s audience.
Previously, individuals might have had to buy a DVD or book tickets to a special screening of an art documentary.
But now, one can switch on the television and acquaint oneself with the life of Chinese artist Cai Guo-qiang, known for his work with gunpowder and fireworks; or Wendy Whelan, former principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, on demand.
And if viewers hate the show, they can simply move on to the next item in their viewing queue.
Because this is a far less intimidating proposition than heading to the cinema, even those with just a mild interest in art might give it a go.
Netflix and other streaming services, with their deep pockets and hunger for original content, also provide an alternative revenue model for artists who may not have been able to monetise their works.
Take, for example, Cai’s Sky Ladder. He took around two decades to accomplish his dream of creating a blazing ladder climbing towards the clouds.
On his fourth try, he succeeded and the documentary, Sky Ladder: The Art Of Cai Guo-qiang (2016), gives an account of his life from budding artist to the point where he achieves this epic feat.
In the film, his wife comments that making the artwork Sky Ladder was “just like burning money” and, furthermore, few people were invited to witness the event as the project had to be conducted in secret (the legal issues were not explained clearly in the show).
A documentary on Netflix certainly tackles the issue of not many people having seen the work as now, it is available to millions around the world.
It also means the artist was probably able to make some money off a piece of work that was neither a commission nor marketable at the time, to the public. While it is likely that only fairly famous artists would get a chance to sell their stories to the highest bidder, more stories about art and artists in mainstream media would help lift the overall interest in art, especially among non-art-lovers.
So from an industry perspective, all artists stand to gain.
Some might argue, too, that if people have seen an artist’s work on their TV screens, they might no longer be willing to pay again to see the works in person.
It is possible, but the opposite effect is more likely.
Viewers can gain greater appreciation of an artist’s work after watching a documentary and – if they like what they have seen – would have a greater desire to catch an exhibition after.
This is similar to how fans listen to albums on the radio or on their music-streaming services, but, ultimately, pay a premium to watch their favourite singers on stage.
Eliasson’s artwork Room For One Colour was part of the Minimalism exhibition at National Gallery Singapore, which ended earlier this year.
Many might remember it as the yellow room with nothing in it. The mono-frequency lamps that suppress all colours except yellow and black caused visitors to see in shades of grey.
In the episode of Abstract featuring Eliasson, he not only explains his intentions for the work and the science behind it, but also tells an anecdote about a curator who had pleaded with him to add a red rose to the room instead of leaving it empty.
He refused as he wanted the piece to be about people experiencing a different situation, not about a red rose.
He said the piece was “for people to look at their hands and go, like, the colour is gone. The absence of colour makes you more attentive to everything else”.
The artist explaining his work on camera is infinitely more effective than the most detailed plaque in a museum.
And him explaining it on the small screen as you sit in the comfort of your home is certainly more accessible than being in any movie theatre.
If viewer and artist are, as Eliasson says, co-authors of a work of art, then Netflix and other streaming services are doing a decent job of introducing these co-authors to one another.