Who Gets to Call It Art? (2005)

73% of critics liked it
(15 reviews)
73% of users liked it
(551 ratings)

Henry Geldzahler was one of the most important figures in 20th Century American art, even though he was not an artist himself. Geldzahler was a collector and historian who helped establish the role of artists such as Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg, George Segal, and Roy Lichtenstein within the canon… More Henry Geldzahler was one of the most important figures in 20th Century American art, even though he was not an artist himself. Geldzahler was a collector and historian who helped establish the role of artists such as Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg, George Segal, and Roy Lichtenstein within the canon of contemporary art with "New York Painting and Sculpture: 1940-1970," a groundbreaking show at New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art which made the case for pop art while the gallery establishment was still favoring the more accepted but less accessible abstract expressionists. A passionate man who was a friend, confidante, and collaborator to many of the painters and sculptors he championed, Geldzahler assembled the "New York Painting and Sculpture" show himself, and while it caused no small amount of controversy at the time (especially among his colleagues at the MoMA), it established a consensus that the pop movement and its leading figures were here to stay, and Geldzahler continued to be a mover and shaker in the world of contemporary art until his death in 1994 at the age of 59. Who Gets to Call it Art? is a documentary which celebrates and chronicles Geldzahler's life and career and features interviews with a number of his friends and associates, including Andy Warhol, Frank Stella, Jasper Johns, Jonas Mekas, Larry Poons, John Chamberlain, and many more. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 18 min.
Directed By: Peter Rosen
Written By: Peter Rosen
Genres: Documentary, Drama, Musical & Performing Arts, Special Interest

In Theaters: Feb 1, 2006 Wide
On DVD: May 23, 2006
Studio: Palm Pictures

Critic Reviews

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
Shot with a Peter Greenaway-like austere impudence and edited brilliantly (by Jed Parker), this is an entertaining movie, and a moving one -- even if, like me, you're not especially fond of these paintings or that scene.
V.A. Musetto, New York Post
Peter Rosen's documentary Who Gets to Call It Art? paints an entertaining picture of the cherubic gentleman, who as the first curator of contemporary art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Jack Mathews, New York Daily News
The film's appeal is for the eyes.
Manohla Dargis, New York Times
Clocking in at 80 minutes, this glib, largely uninformative and poorly organized précis of the post-World War II art scene succeeds neither as history nor as art history.
Ed Halter, Village Voice
Surely a figure as crucial as Geldzahler deserves more incisive treatment.
Ronnie Scheib, Variety
Both richly complex and immediately accessible.
Kam Williams, Upstage Magazine
You are likely to enjoy this bio-pic to the extent that you buy into the idea that one effete snob ought to define an aesthetic for the rest of us slobs.
Kam Williams, Upstage Magazine
You are likely to enjoy this bio-pic to the extent that you buy into the idea that one effete snob ought to define an aesthetic for the rest of us slobs.
Maria Garcia, Film Journal International
Can be enjoyed as a quick overview of the contemporary American art scene.
Chris Barsanti, Filmcritic.com
hard for us to take too seriously
Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine
I do! And this isn't it. The interactive menus are pretty though.
Sheila Farr, Seattle Times
With its snappy, even hectic editing and great archival footage, Who Gets to Call It Art? is loads of fun to watch.
Regina Hackett, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
This documentary feels stacked on his subject's side.
Noel Murray, AV Club
Rosen covers a lot of ground in 80 minutes, and he's picked the right subject to focus on.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
The film's flippant style ultimately undermines its material -- and, ironically, makes the American art scene of the '60s appear as shallow and trendy as its detractors always claimed it was.
Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine
Through his use of green screen and montage, Rosen seems to want to position his film as its own work of Pop Art.
Phil Hall, Film Threat
A documentary that is a true work of art.

Read all 17 critic reviews

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