
Freeze: But is it Art?
1994-02-22 · 52 min · Not rated
In 1988, art student Damien Hirst and a group of like-minded associates mounted an exhibition in a building in the East End of London. Entitled Freeze, it was a huge critical and commercial success, propelling Hirst and the group into the spotlight of the avant-garde. More than five years later, Hirst exhibits to international acclaim and is regularly derided in the tabloid press. This portrait of Hirst, which resumes the Omnibus season, is presented as a drug-induced nightmare after Hirst has been put to sleep by a sinister dentist, played by Donald Pleasence. In between interviews with fellow Freeze artists including Angus Fairhurst , Sarah Lucas and Tracey Emin , Hirst is seen preparing Mother and Child Divided, his work for last year's Venice Blennale. The piece consists of a cow and a calf, each sawn in half, pickled in formaldehyde and exhibited in four tanks.
Trailers are previews, not full movies.
No authorized playback source configured. Use the legal watch options below.
Production details
- Directors
- Mark James
- Production companies
- Unavailable
- Countries
- Unavailable
- Status
- Released
Top Cast
Damien HirstSelf
Tracey EminSelf
Donald PleasenceSinister DentistTitle information and images are supplied by TMDb. Explore our discovery guide for advice on comparing metadata and legal viewing options.
Where to watch
Availability provided by JustWatch via TMDb. Offers can change. Provider links are listed on TMDb; full playback requires a separately authorized source.
Availability not listed for this country.
Seasons & episodes
Recommendations

In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.

Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.

Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."

Artists in LA discover the work of forgotten Polish sculptor Stanislav Szukalski, a mad genius whose true story unfolds chapter by astounding chapter.

A gripping tale of intrigue and mystery in the art world, this film traces the history of a collection of Post-Impressionist paintings - worth billions - which became the subject of a power struggle after the death of its owner. Dr. Albert Barnes.

An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.

A documentary on legendary movie-poster artist Drew Struzan.

A documentary about the making of season five of the acclaimed AMC series Breaking Bad.

A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.

A comedic, brutally honest documentary following self-destructive TV writer Dan Harmon as he takes his live podcast on a national tour.

The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.

The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.

A documentary special that explores the power of identity behind the iconic superheroes we know and love today. These legendary Marvel creations and stories have not only reflected the world outside our window – they have become a reflection of our own identities and who we truly are.

A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.

A tribute to Chadwick Boseman, celebrating his life and legacy.

The life and career of one of comedy's most inimitable modern voices, Mr. Gilbert Gottfried.

A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.

Musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother and her beloved dog.

Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.

Brilliant, long in-the-works story of the life and art of the world's greatest comedian and the cinema's first genius, Charlie Chaplin. Produced, written and directed by renowned film critic Richard Schickel.
Similar titles

A portrait of the day-to-day operations of the National Gallery of London, that reveals the role of the employees and the experiences of the Gallery's visitors. The film portrays the role of the curators and conservators; the education, scientific, and conservation departments; and the audience of all kinds of people who come to experience it.

‘de waanzin van het detail’ paints a portrait of the contemporary painter sam dillemans. To dillemans, who lives in borgerhout, van gogh, picasso, rubens or goya are not painters of yesterday but of today. They inspire him on a daily basis and at the same time their crushing genius also depresses him. In addition to being a very talented artist sam dillemans is so a gifted storyteller. While working on a self-portrait in his studio, he talks about his life and his work, how it relates to cultural history, the sacrifices painting demands and how people can learn to interpret paintings.

This fascinating exploration of the creative process follows one of Australia's leading contemporary artists Ben Quilty, as he completes one of his most challenging art works.

Celebrating Billy Connolly's 75th birthday and 50 years in the business, three Scottish artists - John Byrne, Jack Vettriano and Rachel MacLean - each create a new portrait of the Big Yin. As he sits with each artist, Billy talks about his remarkable life and career which has taken him from musician and pioneering stand-up to Hollywood star and national treasure.

94-year old Esther, a pensioner with bad sight, is in search of her artist daugther’s public decoration. Endless phone conversations takes her through municipal bureaucracy and lost culture secretaries. Will she ever get an answer to the eternal question: Where does the art really go?

Cleto Rojas, a peasant painter in Venezuela, discusses his artwork. From movies and Roman mythology to his own dreams and scenes of rural life, Rojas takes inspiration from all sources and transforms the world around him into fantastic visions. He teaches village children his technique of using house-paint on canvas, as his wife goes about her own housework, singing slowly. The painter is bemused by the attention of anthropologists and art critics, and he talks about the pitfalls of attention. He remembers traveling to Caracas as a young man to meet famous painters and being disappointed in them. His ambitions are more focused on the content of his work - Rojas wishes he could envision and paint one of Venezuela's heroes, Simon Boilvar, as he really was, as no accurate representations exist now. Without looking for fame, he continues painting all kinds of images as he sees them.

Tell Them We Were Here is an inspirational feature-length documentary about eight artists who show us why art is vital to a healthy society and reminds us that we are stronger together.

A study of artist Andy Goldsworthy’s work in Scotland and Japan.

This movie chronicles the life and times of R. Crumb. Robert Crumb is the cartoonist/artist who drew Keep On Truckin', Fritz the Cat, and played a major pioneering role in the genesis of underground comix. Through interviews with his mother, two brothers, wife, ex-wife and ex-girlfriends, as well as selections from his vast quantity of graphic art, we are treated to a darkly comic ride through one man's subconscious mind.

Plastic artist Aparicio Arthola talks with his student about the catarsis in his creative process, the loss, death and uncertainty of art life in Nicaragua
A short film with shots of sculptures by Anneke Walvoort. The materiality of film plays an important role: visible grain, flashes of colour, unexpected camera movements.

Ulrike Ottinger weaves her personal memories of Parisian bohemianism and the serious social, political and cultural upheavals of the time into a cinematic “figure poem.”

Short documentary about artist Keith Haring, detailing his involvement in the New York City graffiti subculture, his opening of the Pop Shop, and the social commentary present in his paintings and drawings.

In Pablo Picasso's career, a blue and pink period gets the attention they deserve. It is between 1901 and 1907 that the seeds of all his future work lie, for it is then that Picasso turned his back on his father's teachings and broke free from academic constraints and himself at the beginning with everything that crossed his path. This documentary takes a look at Picasso's various metamorphoses, shaped by a struggle between zest for life and dark thoughts. A world shared by his friend Jaime Sabartés, who wrote it in a collection of memoirs. Art documentary (2018) by Gaëlle Royer.

Tells the history of skateboard art and its evolution through the decades, as iconic and rebellious skateboarders and artists give firsthand experiences and stories about their art that challenged the establishment.

Documentary celebrating the LGBTQ contribution to the arts in Britain in the 50 years since decriminalisation. It features interviews with leading figures from right across the arts in Britain, including Stephen Fry, David Hockney, Sir Antony Sher, Alan Cumming, Sandi Toksvig, Jeanette Winterson, Will Young and Alan Hollinghurst, and it explores the distinctive perspectives and voices that LGBT artists have brought to British cultural life.
A visual essay about Walerian Borowczyk's works on paper.


Étienne Dinet (إتيان دينيه), born March 28, 1861 in Paris, where he died on December 24, 1929, was a French painter and lithographer. He was one of the leading representatives of Orientalist painting at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Obtaining a scholarship in 1884, Dinet undertook his first trip to southern Algeria in the region of Bou-Saâda, the Naili culture having a profound impact on him, as he would return there many times until he settled in his first Algerian studio in Biskra in 1900. In 1905, he bought a house in Bou-Saâda to spend three-quarters of the year there. In 1907, on his advice, the Villa Abd-el-Tif was created in Algiers, modeled on the Villa Medici in Rome. Having lived much of his life in Algeria, he called himself Nasreddine Dinet (نصر الدين ديني) after converting to Islam. On January 12, 1930, he was buried in the Bou-Saâda cemetery, where a museum that houses many of his works bears his name.

Étienne Dinet, born March 28, 1861 in Paris, where he died on December 24, 1929, was a French painter and lithographer. Having lived much of his life in Algeria and recognized during his lifetime, he called himself Nasreddine Dinet after converting to Islam.