Make Me Famous
Directed by Brian Vincent
Written by Heather Spore, Brian Vincent
Starring David McDermott, Marguerite Van Cook, James Romberger
Runtime: 1 hour 33 minutes
In theaters

by Heidi Krull, Staff Writer

CW: Themes of alcoholism/addiction

The New York City art scene has always been a staple in American art history and culture, producing some of the most well known talents out there such as Keith Haring and Jean Michel Basquiat. Despite the apparent abundance of opportunity in the city, not everyone makes their mark. In Make Me Famous, director Brian Vincent explores the life of Edward Brezinski, a quirky painter from the East Village desperate to get his name in the conversation. The film explores Edward’s unique art style, his home life, and the many mysteries surrounding his eventual disappearance. Additionally, Make Me Famous digs deep into the lives of East Village artists, poverty, and the tight-knit community they formed.

Much like his life, Brezinski’s paintings were full of hardship and profound emotion. The people around him describe his style as fluid, natural, and unlike anything they’d seen before. Edward turned his studio apartment (across from a men’s homeless shelter) into an art gallery, adding new pieces anytime inspiration came to him (which was quite often). However, although Brezinski was constantly producing new art, his bizarre personality frequently pushed people away. Those who interacted with him said he was angry that he hadn’t “made it” yet, and would take it out on anyone who wouldn’t purchase his work.

Something I really enjoyed about this documentary was how it showed every side of Brezinski, good and bad. He had real, intimate relationships, but he would also scare those same people into eventually cutting him out of their lives. He would sometimes offer to paint portraits of people, and would then destroy the canvas he was working on and kick them out. Vincent was stellar at depicting the complexity that was Edward Brezinski, and how he was so loved by so many, but also deeply troubled.

Brezinski was not an unusual case for this time. He was the most active in the 80s, a particularly tough time for residents of the East Village. Poverty ran rampant in the area, leaving many on the streets or in shelters. East Village artists found a tender, caring community in each other, and inspired each other to make art they were proud of. The work coming out of this period was described as expressionist and sometimes abstract, and captured the sadness of their lives but also an abundance of hope for the future. Clubbing culture was huge during this time, which went hand-in-hand with heavy drug and alcohol usage. Many of these artists were also part of the LGBTQIA+ community, and HIV and AIDS left many of them sick or dead. Through all of these struggles, they continued to make incredible art and support each other. I loved the inclusion of video clips from this time, honing in on the fact that these people were real, and not just part of an exhibit.

Director Brian Vincent also does an excellent job tying in these general themes with Brezinski’s experience specifically. According to many people who knew him at the time, he had a serious drinking problem, and would go into alcohol induced bouts of rage and depression. Later on in his career, opportunities became more abundant for others in the area, but he still was not getting the attention he thought he deserved, causing a vicious cycle of painting, not selling, and drinking. A funny, yet sad, anecdote included in the film showed Brezinski eating a donut out of an art display at an exhibit, which later sent him to the hospital due to the toxic substances that coated it. This, sadly, was what he was most known for at the time.

Something I did not expect from this film was the air of mystery that surrounded Brezinski’s later years. He grew tired of the lack of attention in the East Village, and moved to San Francisco, then Berlin, and then France. During this period, those in his life would occasionally run across him, but would then go years without seeing him. In the early 2000s, Brezinski hadn’t been seen in a long while, and some began to forget about him. A couple people who knew him went on a wild goose chase to track him down, whether he was still alive or not, eventually leading them to Cannes.

Brezinski’s legacy, though riddled with doubt and extreme conflict, did not end there. In 2017, some of Edward’s paintings actually ended up in the Museum of Modern art in New York after curators came to see his work and were immediately drawn to it. There is a sad irony to Edward’s work being on such a public display after all this time, but in the end, he did genuinely make it. This documentary took me on a hilarious, tragic, and special journey that highlighted the trials Brezinski experienced as an artist in poverty. Any art enjoyer would find this film charming, any person who has ever struggled would feel comradery with Brezinski.