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Art Basel: Baz Luhrmann channels his inner child at ABMB

 

Buhrman
Credit: Shayne Benowitz

Swiss-based Galerie Gmurzynska is at Art Basel Miami Beach showcasing “A Kid Could Do That!” in collaboration with famed film director and producer Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin. The great works curated by Nelle Hooper include artists Francis Bacon, Pablo Picasso, Cy Twombly, Joan Miro, Wifredo Lam, and others.

Miro’s “Jeux d’infants” painting is paired with an exclusive reinterpretation of a film featuring the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo for which Miro designed the set in the 1930s. 

We caught up with the visual genius who brought us Romeo + Juliet, which he wrote here in Miami Beach nearly two decades ago, Moulin Rouge!, and The Great Gatsby at booth B02 inside the Miami Beach Convention Center to chat about his creative input, and of course, Shakespeare.

Joan Miro, "Painting for the ballet 'Jeux d'Enfants'", 1932, Oil on cardboard. Galerie Gmurzynska at Art Basel Miami Beach
Joan Miro, "Painting for the ballet 'Jeux d'Enfants'", 1932, Oil on cardboard. Galerie Gmurzynska at Art Basel Miami Beach, www.gmurzynska.com.


 
Tell me about the making of this exhibition.

BL: All children are innately artists so I helped contextualize this by setting it in a schoolroom. I also made this movie inspired by Balanchine.

How do you nurture your inner child?

BL: I could easily lose the inner joy that it takes to be creative. As a kid, you express because you’re angry or sad, but after receiving recognition, you lose confidence. That’s why it’s important to walk away and take risks. But always keep doing what you love.

List a few of your maxims for success.

BL: Well, all work and no play makes Baz a boring boy.

1. I have to enjoy the people I work with much like kids seek out kids they want to play with.

2. I always find adventure in the journey, meaning I need to do it, whatever it is, for myself.

3. Nothing I’ve ever made is what I imagined in the beginning. There’s a line to go from “not working” to “working” and you must always believe that the line is right around the corner.

What's next?

BL: I've always wanted to affect culture, but this gets harder as you get older. I hope to do the canon on Shakespeare. These primary texts influenced me so much as child and every decision I make for a film is based on them. Maybe Henry IV or King Lear...

-- Galena Mosovich

Photo credits: Shayne Benowitz; Galerie Gmurzynska- Joan Miro, "Painting for the ballet 'Jeux d'Enfants'", 1932, Oil on cardboard. Galerie Gmurzynska at Art Basel Miami Beach, www.gmurzynska.com.
 

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