Watch Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis

Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis is a documentary film directed by Mary Jordan that explores the life and work of the controversial artist and filmmaker, Jack Smith. The documentary interviews a number of Smith's friends, colleagues, and critics, including Nayland Blake and Ira Cohen, to provide a nuanced and complex portrait of the man behind some of the most provocative and boundary-pushing art of the 20th century.

Born in Ohio in 1932, Smith began his career as a performance artist and photographer in the 1950s, during a time when the New York underground scene was exploding with creativity and innovation. Along with fellow artists like Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg, Smith was a key figure in the emergence of what would later be called "pop art", but his work was always more confrontational and challenging than that of his contemporaries.

One of Smith's most famous works is his film Flaming Creatures (1963), which was banned in many places for its explicit content and overt sexuality. The film features a cast of gender-bending performers in various states of undress, engaging in a series of surreal and dreamlike scenarios that blur the lines between fantasy and reality. While many critics saw the film as a radical commentary on gender and identity, others accused Smith of being little more than a pornographer.

Despite the controversy surrounding his work, Smith continued to push boundaries throughout his career, often at great personal cost. He struggled with poverty, substance abuse, and legal problems throughout the 1970s and 80s, and by the time he died of AIDS in 1989 at the age of 56, he was largely forgotten by the mainstream art world.

Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis seeks to revive Smith's legacy and celebrate his enduring impact on the art world. Through interviews with those who knew him best, archival footage of his performances and films, and expert analysis of his work, the documentary paints a vivid portrait of a deeply complex and enigmatic artist.

The film is structured around Smith's own self-mythologizing, with Jordan using his own poetry, diaries, and interviews with acquaintances to give an impression of the kind of person he was. It also contextualizes Smith's work historically, showing how his dynamic approach to gender and identity anticipated later movements in the queer arts. The film is therefore both a biography and a critical account of Smith's work, and is likely to appeal to art historians and critics as well as anyone with an interest in the avant-garde.

Throughout the film, Smith is portrayed as a mercurial figure of intense charisma and magnetism, with a deep sense of theatricality and an almost mystical connection to his art. Many of the interviewees describe him as being almost divinely inspired in his approach to filmmaking and performance, with an innate ability to turn even the most mundane objects and situations into something magical and transformative.

Despite the challenges he faced in his life, Smith remained committed to his art until the very end, and his work continues to be influential to this day. Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis effectively captures the spirit of this singular artist, while shedding light on the enduring importance of his legacy.

Overall, Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis is a thoroughly engaging and insightful documentary that sheds new light on one of the most controversial and creative figures of the 20th century. It is a must-watch for anyone with an interest in art, film, or the social and cultural history of the 1960s and 70s.