Having already shown earlier this year at the Cinematheque, Guest of Cindy Sherman, Paul H-O's documentary about his obsession with the artist, comes to the Cleveland Museum of Art Lecture Hall tonight at 7. Here's our capsule review of the movie.
Guest of Cindy Sherman (US, 2008) As the host of a mid-’90s public access show called GalleryBeat, Paul H-O spent his free time hitting gallery openings in New York asking dumb questions (“What do you eat for breakfast?” is one of his favorites). After finding that photographer Cindy Sherman wasn’t put off by his in-your-face approach, he becomes friends with her and eventually gets to interview her during a work in progress. He ends up hanging out with her in her studio loft and telling her, “You’re the best-dressed person I know” and “You look really swell.” Sherman eventually falls for him, and the two end up in love and living together. As much about the New York art scene (the film includes interviews with artists such as Robert Longo, Julian Schnabel and Sean Landers), Guest of Cindy Sherman is an interesting self-portrait as Paul, who also directed the movie, doesn’t shy from depicting his battles with depression and his feelings of inadequacy. You can’t help feel for the guy, even as exploration of his relationship with Sherman comes off as a bit exploitative. *** (Jeff Niesel)
