Ethan H. Minsker
Self Medicated: A Film About Art
Whether you are a successful artist, an unproven entity, or struggling to create while working a 9-5, there is a common thread amongst most creative types: a depression that is kept at bay by producing new works. Art can serve an artist much in the same way any drug might. “Self Medicated” is a new film about art, artists, and their struggles to stay happy. The Antagonist Movement was formed by a group of unknown artists in 2000. Begun in bars and clubs of the Lower East Side, the movement promoted lesser-known works by up-and-coming talent. Over the last thirteen years the Antagonist Movement has grown and expanded from its base in New York to show in cities around the world, including Berlin, Lisbon, and Quito. This film documents the entire history of the Antagonist Movement and the artists involved, employing animation, stop-motion film techniques, interviews, and a killer soundtrack that spans the globe. From the street to the gallery and back again, “Self Medicated” reveals a new wave in art from the last American art movement.
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The Dolls of Lisbon
The Dolls of Lisbon project, and subsequent film, was based on the Zapatista movement. The Zapatista rebellion in Chiapas, Mexico used art, music, and poetry to attract the eyes of the world and the dolls have been an important part in spreading the word about an otherwise unknown rebellion. The Antagonist Movement, Inc., a consortium of artists, writers and musicians based in New York's East Village, handmade 100 blank canvas dolls and shipped them around the world for other artists to fashion as they saw fit. The various dolls were then displayed at an annual art fair in Lisbon, Portugal in June 2010. Underlying the premise of the Dolls of Lisbon project is a larger story, the story almost every artist knows well, the struggle to create art while surviving in a monetarily based world. Through interviews and live art interventions, the viewer experiences the frustration of artists to maintain their creative inspiration and passion while keeping a roof over their head and food on their plate. In a world of art commercialization and monetary greed, these artists literally bleed their art to do what they love. The film employs stop-motion animation and a vital alternative soundtrack. It was the official selection of the Royal Flush Festival, G40 Art Summit, DC independent film festival and the Hong Kong Underground Film Festival. The film features the artwork of rock n roll royalties such as Fabrizio Moroni of the Strokes, Arturo Vega from the Ramones and Ted Riederer of Never Records fame.
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