Pop Art Artist Kenny Scharf’s Colorful Life Revealed in New Documentary
3 years
Artist Kenny Scharf, 62, has spent most of his professional life creating abstract cartoon pop art, but agreed to be the focus of a documentary about his life and work, after being persuaded to do so by his daughter, Malia, who is a filmmaker.
“Kenny Scharf: When Worlds Collide,” is currently screening online courtesy of the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival. The documentary follows Scharf and his multi-decade career navigating New York’s East Village in the early 1980s, his friendship with pop artist Keith Haring and neo-expressionist artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, and his work that brought him back to his studio in Culver City.
Malia, who directed the film with her partner Max Basch, told SoCal Jewish News, “I hope [the documentary] inspires people, teaches people a bit more about Kenny and leaves people wanting more than ever to be themselves and express themselves in whatever way feels most true.”
The documentary depicts Kenny working in his studio, together with home videos and rare archival footage with Scharf and Andy Warhol. There also are interviews with Ed Ruscha, the late Dennis Hopper and Yoko Ono, among others.
Scharf’s work has recently been exhibited at the Hammer Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles (MOCA) and the Pasadena Art Museum among others.
Scharf said he often finds inspiration to create art by the ocean. While he doesn’t “feel involved in one [art] scene” he said, “what makes [California] a great place to create is how easy it is to isolate [oneself] and paint.”
