The Cinecultist's Weekly Movie Pick: Cute Prodigies Edition

My Kid Could Paint That
(directed by Amir Bar-Levi)

Documentarian Amir Bar-Levi spent a year following the Olmstead family as their daughter Marla became a darling of the contemporary art world. The only odd thing about Marla meteoric rise to fame? Her age. She was 4 years old at the time and painting elaborate abstract canvases selling for thousands of dollars each. Following a large profile of Marla on 60 Minutes that brought into doubt the real creator of the paintings, the nature of Bar-Levi's project began to change. His excellent documentary My Kid Could Paint That about the Olmstead family, Marla's fame and his complicated experience filming them comes out this weekend.

Front and center in this documentary is many people's distrustful feelings towards abstract art's merits. If you always felt that Jackson Pollack was tricking you with his drips and splatters, would you be more likely to think a 4-year-old could paint museum worthy art or not? Also at stake in the story is the media machine which happily touts a cute little girl as a prodigy and then rips her family a new one for potentially hoodwinking the public. An entertaining and thoughtful film, My Kid Could Paint That ends without any easy answers to the mystery of Marla, so you'll be sure to have something to argue about with your friends over drinks afterwards.

Other new movies coming out this weekend include Ben Stiller's remake of The Heartbreak Kid, George Clooney's thriller Michael Clayton, the mockumentary Finishing the Game about the fallout on the set of Bruce Lee's last movie, Gwyneth Paltrow's brother Jake's first feature film which stars Penelope Cruz The Good Night, the teen hip hop musical Feel the Noise and the children's fantasy The Seeker: The Dark is Rising.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Karen Wilson in Arts and Events on October 4, 2007 1:21 PM

Comments [rss]

guest

Contemporary art is a farce.

guest

"Jackson Pollock" please...

guest

this girl's success has nothing to do with the artworld - if you were to go to chelsea today and ask 100 gallerists if they'd ever heard of her i bet none would have, unless it was in relation to this documentary. the galleries that sell this kind of work are the same that sell leroy neiman prints and that sort of dreck.

guest

I hate stories like these. This kid just likes to paint, and these parents are setting a bad example. They're shaping a child's personality to believe that getting that much attention is okay. We already have all these reality shows on TV and YouTube, with people trying to make themselves more important than they really are. They're not. I wish people would just get over their big inflated heads and move on.

guest

was anyone else upset at the dark is rising movie? i loved that book as a kid, and this remake sounds pathetic: set in america instead of england, full of powers he never had in the book, and instead of a loving family, he has one that plots against him? anyway, i'm just ranting.

guest

I used that painting to cover up the broken window in my station wagon and I was discovered at a red light.

cwbuecheler

We can just admit that the 'art world' is just hoping you get lucky enough to be noticed by some well heeled person that will give you status.

Well ... that's the art world. That's always been the art world. Many artists, both talented and hacks, have languished in obscurity. Talent alone is not always enough, in any art. Luck and making an effort to be noticed also play huge roles... sometimes larger roles than talent, as many modern art detractors will insist.

guest

Just let the kid paint in peace, whether she's a prodigy or not. Too bad she got stuck with fame seeking parents.

matty

All this shows is that most art these days could be made by 4 year olds.

guest

I have no problem finding some of this kid's stuff beautiful, but I DO have a problem thinking that there's anything interesting about it. She's four years old! Does she have a point of view? Does she have anything profound within her to express? Has she lived? No. So this is purely decorative art. It's nothing more. At least she can pay for her college education with what she earns selling the paintings. Maybe when she's actually experienced the world a little, she'll become an exceptional artist instead of a little prodigy showing what flukes God is capable of.