Contemporary art and street culture collide to create this influential and inspiration group of Beautiful Losers. Playing before the documentary is Cheryl Dunn’s Back Worlds for Words (1999).

Stemming from the DIY culture of the early 1990s (punk, skateboarding, graffiti), the works created by artists like Barry McGee, Harmony Korine, and Margaret Kilgallen changed the landscape of contemporary art. As a documentary, Beautiful Losers profiles these influential artists who have taken their own subcultural inspirations to bridge the gap between public and private, general and art audiences, painting to film, east and west coasts. At the core of this story, like Ferus Gallery in The Cool School, is Aaron Rose’s Alleged Gallery and the home that it became to foster life-long friendships between these connected yet individual artists.

Artist Film Club: Playing before Beautiful Losers is Cheryl Dunn‘s Back Worlds for Words, a 1999 documentation of a skateboard ballet, choreographed and performed by artist and skateboard legend Mark Gonzales at the Stadtisches Museum in Monchengladbach, Germany.

Part of Nitehawk’s Art Seen signature series.