Eva Hesse (2016)

Eva Hesse is a documentary film which premiered in 2016. It is about the life and work of the German-born American artist Eva Hesse who was only 34 years old in 1970 when she died from a brain tumor. Here is some basic information about this film:

** Writer and director: Marcie Begleiter

** Available on DVD and via Amazon Prime Video

** Run time: 108 minutes

There are interviews with people who knew her and worked with her (including her sister and her ex-husband). I will not mention all names, because the complete list is too long. Here are some of the names (in alphabetical order):

** Carl Andre (born 1935) - artist

** Tom Doyle (1928-2016) – Irish sculptor, Eva’s ex-husband

** Dan Graham (born 1942) - artist

** Helen Hesse Charash (born 1934) – Eva’s older sister

** Nancy Holt (1938-2014) - artist

** Lucy Lippard (born 1937) – art critic and curator, author of a book about Eva (published in 1976)

** Robert and Sylvia Mangold - artists

** Werner Nekes (1944-2017) – German film director

** Nicholas Serota (born 1946) – art historian, director of Tate Museums and Galleries 1988-2017

** Richard Serra (born 1938) – artist

** Elisabeth Sussman (born 1939) – curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art

The film also presents some writings by Eva, by her father William Hesse and by her close friend Sol LeWitt. Here are the details:

** Selma Blair = the voice of Eva Hesse (1936-1970)

** Bob Balaban = the voice of Eva’s father William Hesse (died 1966)

** Patrick Kennedy = the voice of Eva’s friend Sol LeWitt (1928-2007)

As an artist, Eva was a minimalist who experimented with the materials she used for her work. During her short life she was not so famous, but since her death in 1970 she has become better known and today she is regarded by many observers as a ground-breaking artist. In this film, many of her works are presented and discussed.

What do reviewers say about this film? Here are the results of three review aggregators:

69 per cent = Meta

70 per cent = IMDb

64 per cent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)

79 per cent = Rotten Tomatoes (the critics)

On the US version of Amazon there are at the moment thirty reviews of this product. The average rating is 4.8 stars.

As you can see, the ratings are quite good, but (except for Amazon) not really great. When you look at Rotten Tomatoes, you can see that there is a significant gap between the general audience and the professional critics. The critics like this film much more than the audience, although both groups are positive.

In this case I have to side with the critics. In fact, I want to go higher than the critics. I think this film deserves a rating of five stars.

PS. The following articles are available online:

** Frank Sheck, “Eva Hesse: Film Review,” The Hollywood Reporter, 27 April 2016

** Carolina A. Miranda, “Groundbreaking sculptor Eva Hesse finally gets a documentary film that tells the story of her life and work,” Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2016

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Eva Hesse (1936-1970)

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