Film Review: ART & KRIMES BY KRIMES (2022) DIR. ALYSA NAHMIAS
Still from the feature documentary Art & Krimes by Krimes directed by Alysa Nahmias. An AJNA Films production. Courtesy of MTV Documentary Films.
Written by BelleMcIntyre
This is a very well-made documentary which speaks to the redemptive power of art for the creators as well as viewers in especially challenging environments. In this case the focus is on the poor and the incarcerated, a typically marginalized population. It is a vivid indictment of the cruelty in general, and the racial inequities, in particular, of our criminal justice system. The sensitive treatment of the director toward the characters whom she has filmed and their determination to find a pathway to normalcy, hope and freedom in a situation designed to keep them down.
The subject, Jesse Krimes, is a compelling presence as he speaks directly to the camera about his formative early years, which are decidedly unpromising. Born to a 16-year old unwed mother, he never knew his birth father. However, he was lucky, initially, having an extremely loving stepfather, until he sunk into self-destructive drug abuse and died of an overdose. The young Jesse realized that art was a resonant force for him and managed to get a scholarship to art school which he managed to screw up in a fashion predictable among young people who have challenging upbringings and continue the cycle of self-defeating bad decisions. He ends up behind bars at 23-years for 6 years, the first year in solitary confinement.
Still from the feature documentary Art & Krimes by Krimes directed by Alysa Nahmias. An AJNA Films production. Courtesy of MTV Documentary Films.
As we follow his progress through the prison system and the ingenious ways he turns to his artistic skills to maintain sanity and, ultimately to keep him out of the usual pitfalls of surviving prison life. In the process he hones his skills, studies art and philosophy and forms a few lifelong and mutually supportive friendships with fellow incarcerated artists. It becomes abundantly clear how fortunate he is as a white man, compared to the treatment of the black and brown population. During his confinement he produces a prodigious amount of art using the most minimal materials in ways that redefine inventive. He also manages to get the work smuggled out of prison in all manner of clever plans and scams.
His major work is a 40 foot mural entitled Apokaluptein: 16389067 made in sections of prison bedsheets using hair gel and newspaper, is gotten out in dozens of pieces. He only sees it after his release when he begins to get attention from the art world astounded by the power and intensity of the work. It is a monumental achievement given the circumstances. His struggles do not end with freedom. He is released into a world hostile and skeptical to former prisoners and not prone to second chances. He is also challenged by the discovery of a son born while he was in prison. Determined to make up for his own negative experience, he does the best that he can to be there for the boy. I suspect that he will continue to be the success story that he is so far.
The cinematography is wonderfully unobtrusive and greatly enhanced by inventive animation by Molly Schwartz on which Jesse collaborated. Let me not fail to mention that Jesse’s post prison work continues in a seemingly uninterrupted flow and morphs in fascinating directions as his liberation opens up endless possibilities. I would not be surprised to see his work in some major museums eventually.
Artists Jesse Krimes and Russell Craig in a still from the feature documentary Art & Krimes by Krimes directed by Alysa Nahmias. An AJNA Films production. Courtesy of MTV Documentary Films.
