Customer Reviews
Captures the essence 
2007-06-15
This is a refreshing documentary. The camera dwells at great length on the sheer beauty of the paints as the artist applies them, while the artist, his wife, and various colleagues discuss the ideas underlying his work. The rest of the narrative is well nourished with interesting imagery from the artist's life and the work of the other artists whose portraits he has painted. The editing was excellent -- the amount of information was satisfying but not overwhelming. The film provides an excellent overview of an intriguing artist who has overcome astonishing obstacles in the pursuit of his vision.
Watch a master at work 
2007-05-21
We get to know the artist as he moves through the process of creating one of his amazing paintings. If you don't know Chuck Close, I'd say it's time you did.
A Good Intro to HS Portraiture 2006-01-07
I'm an artist and art teacher, and each year I read the book, "Chuck Close Up Close" to my high school Art I students and follow up by showing this movie. As another teacher pointed out, some parts simply move too slowly, and I've gotten around this by doing some fast-forwarding. (This also allows time for discussion in our 50-minute class periods.)
Still, I consider "A Portrait in Progress" a good introduction to the whole artistic process, and the kids have a window into the life of a contemporary artist and better understand how they'll be approaching their own self-portrait work.
a bit slow-paced for my high school students 
2004-05-13
I bought this video because I wanted my high school students to gain some inspiration and motivation before we embarked on our own self-portraits using the grid method. I read other reviews that claimed the video had students engaged from start to finish. Well, something must be wrong with my students because I showed it in two different periods and in both classes I had more than half the students falling asleep or putting their heads down!! Those that paid attention stayed awake by doodling or doing homework. Maybe it was my fault by not assigning notes or a worksheet on the video but I wanted my students to just relax and watch some good art in the process. They relaxed, alright!
I enjoyed watching the video but I found the sound to be distracting because you hear so much of the background that I had to strain to listen to the dialogue. The video is also a bit slow-paced but that may be due to how we are conditioned by today's media that uses snippets of video and audio in a fast-paced editing format (and our decreasing attention-span).
fantastic 2004-03-16
amazing to see chuck's work in progress. anyone would be facinated watching this man's dedication to his medium. Until you see it, ya can't believe it.
A Rare View into the Life of a Modern Artist 2001-05-13
As a high school art teacher, I really appreciate a well-made, engaging art video. This is one that kept my students' attention from beginning to end. One of the best things about this video is that the viewer gets to see Chuck Close in his studio painting and talking about art-making. He is shown working on one of his huge self-portraits from its beginning, when he chooses the large-scale photo reference and lays out a grid on a canvas, through the painting's completion. What a great opportunity to see inside the life of one of our most talented and admired modern artists! I highly recommend this video.
excellent 2001-01-21
this is a fantastic video. I use it regularly for teaching. It gives a wonderful & sophisticated view of Chuck Close as an individual and an artist, as well as a glimpse of the other artist's work who are interviewed in the video. It is filmed in a very immediate and personal style. There is nothing stiff, boring, or disconnected about it, common faults of many art videos. Anyone who has experienced something similar in their family will find the discussion of Chuck's "event" very moving, and not at all sappy.
excellent and very moving 2001-01-21
this is a fantastic video. I use it regularly for teaching. It gives a wonderful & sophisticated view of chuck close as an individual and an artist, as well as a glimpse of the other artist's work who are interviewed in the video. It is filmed in a very immediate and personal style. There is nothing stiff, boring, or disconnected about it, common faults of many art videos. Anyone who has experienced a similar tragedy in their family will find the discussion of chuck's "event" very moving, and not at all sappy.
A must have for any Chuck Close fan. 1999-08-16
You get to watch him paint, hear him talk about his work, and listen to what other arist think about his heads. This video is a wonderful retrospective of Chuck Close's grand body of work. You see him work on his mosy recent self-potrait from start to finish. Interviews with Alex Katz, Philip Glass, and Chuck Close's wife Leslie take you deep into Close's art. It does get a little sappy when talking about his "event" and also his father's death, but that's just a personal thing. A great addition to any artist's bookshelf.
