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Film Reviews | Regular Feature nisced about Zelda, I began to feel more sympathy toward her artistic struggles than for her husband's. The film later mentions Zelda's own writing and how Fitzgerald essentially forbade her to tread upon his territory. Atthis point, webeginto seethe darker side ofFitzgerald's life, from his ill treatment of Zelda to his drinking problems. What disturbs me most about this documentary concerns the continual reverence the interviewees hold toward Fitzgerald. Aside from Hemingway's criticism, Fitzgerald receives nothing but praise for his "genius" as a writer. Many of the scholars interviewed excuse his behavior, as though his talent as an artist allowed for certain discretions and self-involved behavior. While I am not a proponent of the "tell-all" biography, I do feel if this darker side of Fitzgerald is going to be covered, maybe the material should be handled with more care. At the halfway point of the documentary, I was eager to begin reading more Fitzgerald. After Zelda's hospitalization for schizophrenia, however, this desire left me. But as I write this review, I still find Fitzgerald's battle to comprehend his early success compelling, and I believe I will read The Last Tycoon (1941) and The Crack-Up (1945). And since these two posthumously published works reflect Fitzgerald's later life, I suppose the documentary was successful, despite my criticisms. Todd Fisher University of Kentucky The Shock of the New: Art 21 Takes the Art Documentary into the Twenty-First Century Avant-garde art tends to inspire a curious mix of public reverence and skepticism even in the best of times. As art critic Robert Hughes pointed out some twenty odd years ago in his groundbreaking PBS series The Shock ofthe New, many of the twentieth century's most challenging artworks were designed to shock viewers out of the realm of bourgeois complacency. But in times of fiscal and political uncertainty such as the country now faces, even the least confrontational artworks run the risk of appearing unconcerned with "real" or immediate socioeconomic conditions. It is significant, therefore, that the four-part PBS seriesAri 21: Art in the Twenty First Century scheduled to air in late September was preempted by a fundraiser for the victims and survivors of September 11th. Hoping to demonstrate "the direct relevance of contemporary art to everyday life," producers Susan Sollins, Susan Dowling and their advisory council of curators and hisKerry James Marshall, Our torians faced an uphill battle from the outset. If convincing an already skeptical American public of a graffitied subway car's aesthetic merit posed a challenge during the program's planning stages, it was a Herculean task by the time the series aired. Without diminishing the gravity of the attacks that precipitated this fundraiser, it is fair to say that the events of September 1 1th necessarily raised the stakes for any program attempting to corral "the creative spirit of the United States" in a moment of national crisis. Yet Art 21 succeeds in doing just that despite such difficulties . Engaging, enlightening and accessible, this documentary series offers a revealing glimpse into the lives and work of some of the country's most compelling and diverse artists. Four hour-long episodes titled "place," "identity," "spirituality," and "consumption," are organized around loosely defined themes that attempt to facilitate rather than over-determine our understanding of each artist's work. Comprised almost entirely of interviews with the artists and their families, each episode features a brief introduction by artworld all-stars like multi-media artist Laurie Anderson, comedian and playwright Steve Martin, tennis star-cum-art-dealer John McEnroe and textile artist/actor S. Epatha Merkerson. Designed by artists Anderson, Beryl Korot, William Wegman and Barbara Kruger respectively, these effective (if somewhat kitschy) introductions precede interviews with four or five contemporary artists whose work relates either directly or indirectly to the designated theme. Episode One is introduced by Anderson who invites viewers to consider the influence of "place" in the photographs of Sally Mann, sculptures of Richard Serra, graffiti art of Barry McGee and Margaret Kilgallen and mixed-media installations ofPepón Osorio. Reflecting this theme, Mann's interview takes place in and around herVirginia...

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