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BAD ATTITUDE: THE ART OF SPAIN RODRIGUEZ

MIND THE GAP / ¡VIVA EL CINE! / LAUGH / DOCS

US 2021, 71 min Director Susan Stern

Described by R. Crumb as a “working-class Latino crossed with left-wing radical crossed with crazy artist,” Zap Comix mainstay Spain Rodriguez was among those who revolutionized a hitherto disrespected, even demonized art form in the underground comics wave of the late 1960s. Their work was transgressive, provocative, sometimes offensive—and in real life, this swaggering Buffalo, NY, biker-gang member turned San Francisco counterculture celebrity didn’t fall so far from the outrageous page. Though famed for the Trashman comix and other cult faves, his beautifully rendered illustrations also encompassed everything from Sherlock Holmes stories to a Che Guevara biography. In this fond yet questioning documentary, Rodriguez’s filmmaker widow Susan Stern interviews ex-girlfriends, colleagues, and buddies to measure a life lived large, as well as an artistic legacy that remains dazzling if often wildly at odds with today’s cultural norms. –Dennis Harvey

THURSDAY, OCT. 14
We will be joined in person by director Susan Stern and associate producer Victoria B. Fender for an onstage conversation.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16
We will be joined in person by associate producer Victoria B. Fender and composer B. Quincy Griffin for an onstage conversation.


Descrito por R. Crumb como un “latino de clase trabajadora cruzado con un radical de izquierda cruzado con un artista loco”, el pilar de Zap Comix, Spain Rodríguez, fue uno de los que revolucionaron una forma de arte hasta ahora irrespetada e incluso demonizada durante la ola de cómics clandestinos de finales de los sesenta. Su trabajo fue transgresor, provocativo, a veces ofensivo, y en la vida real, este fanfarrón de Buffalo, NY, miembro de una pandilla de motociclistas que se convirtió en una celebridad de la contracultura de San Francisco, no cayó tan lejos de sus páginas estrafalarias. Aunque famoso por el cómic Trashman y otros favoritos de culto, sus bellas ilustraciones lo abarcan todo, desde historias de Sherlock Holmes hasta una biografía del Che Guevara. En este afectuoso pero inquisitivo documental, la viuda de Rodríguez, la cineasta Susan Stern, entrevista a ex novias, colegas y amigos para medir una vida vivida a cuerpo de rey, así como un legado artístico que sigue siendo deslumbrante, aunque a menudo totalmente en desacuerdo con las normas culturales actuales. –Dennis Harvey (traducido por Isabel Fondevila)

Nos acompañarán en persona la directora Susan Stern y la productora asociada Victoria B. Fender para una conversación en el escenario.

GET TICKETS

IN-THEATER

Thursday, Oct 14, 7:30pm, CinéArts Sequoia

Saturday, Oct 16, 7:00pm, BAMPFA

$14 Member | $16.50 General | $15 Senior | $8 Students & Youth (12 & Under)

ONLINE
Available in US only

CLOSED CAPTIONING AVAILABLE

$6 Member | $8 General

DIRECTOR

Susan Stern is an Emmy-winning director, writer, and producer whose features include Barbie Nation: An Unauthorized Tour (1998) and The Self-Made Man (2005). Prior to making Bad Attitude: The Art of Spain Rodriguez (2021) about her late husband’s work, she made a short, Trashman: The Art of Spain Rodriguez (2012). 

FILM INFO

COUNTRY:US
YEAR:2021
RUNNING TIME:71 min
LANGUAGE:English
DIRECTOR:Susan Stern
WRITER:Susan Stern
PRODUCER:Susan Stern
CINEMATOGRAPHER:Vicente Franco and Naiti Gámez

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