| The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins May 30, 31 & June 3, 4, Cinematheque
C+
| With impeccable technical specs that somehow enhance the conceptual accomplishments of its subject, performance artist Vanessa Beecroft, The Art Star ruminates on a moral quandary that's become well-publicized thanks to the new trend led by Madonna and Angelina Jolie: adoption in third-world countries.
Director Pietra Brettkelly charts the progression of the adoption process as Beecroft falls in love with two Sudanese infants after staging a photo for the art event VB61: Darfur - Still Death, Still Deaf?
Faster than you can say exploitation, we see Beecroft enter a Darfur village, find two suitable babies, and in the interest of art, take them away from their father and have them suckle at her own breasts. Soon after, she decides to raise the two Stateside.
Whether Beecroft genuinely concerned or is merely commenting haphazardly on the constant stream of celebrity adoption is up for debate, and Brettkelly never takes a stance one way or the other. The doc does suggest that the lifestyle of Beecroft's own two children, who are largely being brought up by a nanny, is cause for alarm. Even further disconcerting is the fact that Beecroft fails to enlighten her husband that she plans to take two more children back with her after this present artistic excursion.
Beecroft, who specializes in living tableaus featuring nude models as they reach the point of exhaustion, is frustratingly naïve, caring and stunningly egotistical. Her actions are never concerned with long-term ramifications, and she clearly lives on a moment-to-moment plane of existence defined by how others in the art world perceive her.
Adding perspective, Brettkelly interviews Beecroft's father and mother, who are now divorced. Her mother smuggled Beecroft away from her British dad when she was just an infant, though father and daughter have since reconciled. Speaking from his quaint study, Beecroft's father lets his disapproval of her adoptive new sons be known.
Beecroft's husband, shown to be dismissive of the adoption when he finally does learn of it, is also on hand to discuss Beecroft's considerable creative achievements.
While Brettkelly strays from truly biting the hand that allows there to be a film, a sense of encroaching ambiguity is felt. At times, it's unbelievable how stubborn and immature Beecroft really can be, but the larger issue of the impact such adoptions have on both family and the country is never really addressed.
— Aaron Graham |
Uptown
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