A documentary about maverick outsider New York artist Richard Hambleton. The epitome of an artist suffering for his art, often sensational, with little or no boundaries. Hambleton used the city streets as his canvas, embracing the mess of 80s NY. A visual reference for the punk scene, melded with high concept. Banksy is merely a stylised Hambleton. His work was, is dangerous, psychologically disturbing and although celebrated, always on the fringe, in the shadows. Increasingly so as he grew and shunned the scene that simply wanted churned out career friendly copies of his previous work. It’s a sad tale of everything pure being tainted by money and ruined by the market. The damning commodification of art and the destruction of the artist behind it... unless like Richard you don’t play the game. A nice guy, an inspired artist, working in an unscrupulous world, with zero care for how to navigate it. No compromise. I love this stuff.
8/10
