D.I.Y. or Die: How to Survive as an Independent Artist

• Director: Michael W. Dean
• AMG Rating:
• Genre: Visual Arts
• Movie Type: Graphic & Applied Arts, Performance Art
• Themes: Life in the Arts, Underdogs
• Release Year: 2002
• Run Time: 55 minutes

Plot

In the minds of many people, the obvious goal of a person working within creative media -- music, filmmaking, performance, writing, or visual art -- is to align yourself with a major commercial entity who will bring your work to the public through the marketplace. But for a growing number of artists, though working outside the framework of the major entertainment corporations may present greater challenges, it also provides far greater freedom, as well as presenting fascinating opportunities and permitting a total creative control you can't always get working for a Fortune 500 firm. Michael W. Dean's documentary D.I.Y. or Die: How to Survive as an Independent Artist is a fast-paced and idiosyncratic look at artists who have embraced the "D.I.Y." ("Do It Yourself") philosophy, ranging from musicians Mike Watt, Ian McKaye, and J.G. Thirlwell, filmmaker and photographer Richard Kern, cartoonist Keith Knight, author and performance artist Lydia Lunch, and transgressive circus artist Jim Rose to a number of little known sculptors, painters, and dancers who stubbornly hold on to their independence as a key to pure and honest expression. For its release on home video, director Michael W. Dean took the unusual tack of demanding that D.I.Y. or Die: How to Survive as an Independent Artist be duplicated without any copy-protection codes, so that viewers can freely duplicate and pass his film (and its message) along to others, as long as they don't charge for the privilege. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Review

D.I.Y. or Die is one of the most important documentaries for artists of all ages, no matter their race or gender. Filmmaker Michael W. Dean has gathered an amazing array of voices in the independent music and art world to relay their stories about what it means to be a true artist in this day and age. With the corporations looming over too many talented people's work today, it's these voices that stand tall and refuse to live any other credo but their own. At 55 minutes, the pace is quick, but the message heavy -- be yourself, do it yourself, and don't let anyone tell you different. For these folk, there isn't anything more important than their art; some starve, while others find chances to benefit from it (which surely is a nice plus). Either way, they work hard and couldn't see themselves doing anything else other than the path they've chosen. Together, these clips are a tribute to the D.I.Y. frame of mind and is an inspiration and guide to everyone out there with something to say in their own little way. D.I.Y. or Die: How to Survive as an Independent Artist toured many towns through special screenings and festivals through much of 2002, but should reach its core audience with either the new DVD or the fully supported bootlegs flying around. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Cast

Jim Rose; Ian MacKaye; Dave Brockie

Credit

Michael W. Dean - Director

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