by Michael Cohen

Hollywood's dream factory has always seduced visual artists, and in the postindustrial art world, the deflection of our cultural gaze from traditional objects and paintings toward the more recession-proof thrills of celluloid and video screens reflects a

compelling vision of the future. (At least until the art market finishes recovering.) By sitting in the director's chair, Larry Clark, Matthew Barney, Robert Longo, and David Salle have re-established the high-profile attention for their projects which artists in the 1980s took for granted.

"Hall of Mirrors" (the exhibit continuing at MOCA's TC until July 28) proposes that the Hollywood film/art transference projects in both directions. Larry Clark's photos have influenced filmmakers from Francis Ford Coppola to Gus Van Sant, in "Kids" he cites no cinematic godfathers, though he asserts, "I've always been a storyteller, so making film is just a natural extension of what I've been doing the whole time..." Conversely Matthew Barney, who originally took direction from art videos, now takes his cellular cheerleaders' cues from Busby Berkley's 1930s musicals. Longo and Salle had to give up final cuts to their studios, Clark endured a bruising battle to keep "Kids" from getting an adults-only rating, and Damien Hirst's video for England's "100% Weird" featuring eye-hooks and decaying cow carcasses, remains unseen.

Why bother? Christine Vachon, co-producer of "Kids" and producer of Cindy Sherman's upcoming movie explains: "Even for the most successful artist, the number and types of people who see your work are extremely limited.... When you make a movie you can cross over into potentially millions of lives all over the world."

Introduction | Larry Clark Interview | Robert Longo Interview | Kerry Brougher