Independent Lens Celebrates Artists Month

A special interactive section on marginalized art now available on the IL website.

From street art to pre-punk beat literature; from Soviet censorship to the Third Reich’s condemnation of “degenerate art”; art from the underrepresented always seems to nudge culture to the edge of its comfort zone. Check out our galleries, quizzes, and video goodies on the special Independent Lens Artists Month page for a multimedia safari into marginalized art. Features include:

• The Eye of the Beholder Challenge — Why does one work of art sell for millions while another lands in the Museum of Bad Art?

• The Savitsky Collection — An interactive gallery of artwork from the Nukus Museum in Uzbekistan.

• The Ultimate William S. Burroughs Quiz — How much do you really know about the man and his work? You have 15 seconds to answer each question!

• The Curiosity Cabinet of Vik Muniz — Artist Vik Muniz creates the “worst possible illusion” using soil, thread, chocolate, sugar, air — whatever strikes his creative spirit.

• Off the Map: Build your Own Backyard Paradise — Choose one of our virtual “backyards.” Then scavenge through some “junk drawers” to find “objects of delight” that you can use to create your own visionary world.

Join Independent Lens to celebrate creativity and art throughout the month of April:

• The Desert of Forbidden Art by filmmakers Tchavdar Georgiev and Amanda Pope  (Tuesday, April 5)

• Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child by filmmaker Tamra Davis (Tuesday, April 12)

• Waste Land by filmmaker Lucy Walker (Tuesday, April 19)

• Marwencol by filmmaker Jeff Malmberg(Tuesday, April 26)