Geeks on Film: Herb and Dorthy get it tomorrow on DVD!

The folks over at Newvideo were kind enough to send us over here at Geekadelphia a copy of Herb and Dorthy; their first DVD to be released under their new Arthouse Flims label to review. Herb and Dorthy is a documentary about Herb and Dorthy Vogel; a librarian and a postal worker who managed to create one of the most substantial collections of Minimalist and Conceptual art under very modest means. The film will be available tomorrow on DVD, December 15^th.

You may be asking yourself what place does a documentary about art collectors have on a site such as Geekadelphia? Simply put the Vogels were probably the greatest art geeks ever.  The documentary starts out showing how the Vogels started from very modest beginnings, met and loved art so they both attended art school to try and become artists.  But what they found was they liked other people’s work much better than their own, and they started to collect work from other artists they liked and or admired.  Since they didn’t have a lot of money they did this very frugally. The used their knowledge from attending art and drawing classes, and focused their collection on disciplines of art that they thought they could afford.

While most of New York was following the Pop Art of Warhol the Vogels focused on the Minimalist and Conceptualist movements, that were not getting the same attention and press; and therefore not commanding so high of a price.  The artists that they began to follow enjoyed not only their patronage but also their insight into their work. This lead to a number of friendships with the artists themselves and as the years went by their collection also continued to grow. This was because Herb and Dorthy didn’t collect art like most collectors, they were hungry for their next piece, like a geek looking for his next mint on card Boba Fett.  They were more like hoarders of art and were well known far and wide for their immense collection.  Eventually due to their knowledge, friendships and collection, they became part of the history of Art. The geeks finally became a part of the world they loved so much.

The true mark of a good documentary is one that makes you care about the subject matter even if it is not truly your cup of tea. I love art, but I have always been more into Pop Art than the whole Conceptual or Minimalist movement, but after this documentary I had a new appreciation for both disciplines. I could also really relate to the passion of Herb and Dorthy and any geek shouldn’t have an issue doing so as well.  I really began to care about them and their journey from fans, to collectors and finally to historians. If you’re into art at all I highly suggest picking this film up and a I feel very comfortable giving it s 4.0 out of 5 stars. You can find out more and pick up a copy here.