Beautiful Losers

Anyone interested in contemporary American pop art will be fascinated by Aaron Rose's documentary about the disparate group of artists who congregated around his Alleged Gallery in New York in the 1990s espousing a “do-it-yourself” aesthetic, and have since become modern taste-makers with a major impact on advertising and consumerism. Compiled from home movies, archival footage, and excerpts from newly shot interviews, Beautiful Losers features a dozen subjects—including Thomas Campbell, Chris Johanson, Margaret Kilgallen, Harmony Korine, Barry McGee, Mike Mills, Ed Templeton, and Rose himself—who discuss their work in various media (film, painting, posters), as well as the influence of such youth subcultures as surfing, skateboarding, punk rock, hip-hop, and urban graffiti on their lives and art. Despite an overall lack of depth, the film has moments of introspection and insight, along with humor (Korine, standing in an old haunt that has been converted into a playground, offers remembrances of things past to some local kids) and the sudden death of one of the artists adds a touch of sadness to the narrative. Beautiful Losers notes that many of the “outsiders” are now active in advertising—a fact that leads to some disagreement about whether such a move amounts to selling out. Recommended. (F. Swietek)