PinnedFact and poetry in Kiarostami’s Close UpAbbas Kiarostami’s Close Up (1990) opens with a reporter in a Tehran taxicab, on the way to the residence of a middle-class family. He tells the driver — and us — about the big story he’s about to break. A con man with a passing resemblance to the Iranian film…Documentary Film3 min readDocumentary Film3 min read
PinnedA pop quiz on Cindy ShermanAs a student I missed a test question about one of my favorite artists, and it led me on a weird journey. When I was a student at Portland State University, I took a course in the history of photography. It…Art History11 min readArt History11 min read
Jun 4, 2019Member-onlyGrey Gardens, genre influences, and the American NightmareDavid and Albert Maysles’ documentary film Grey Gardens (1975), a portrait of “Big Edie” and “Little Edie” Beale — a mother and daughter with high-society connections living in a squalid mansion in the Hamptons — is recognized as a crowning achievement of the direct cinema movement. Rather than deal in…Film13 min readFilm13 min read
