BREAKING THE CODE (2023)

Breaking the Code, directed by Michael Flanagan, is a documentary film that tracks the life and career of the important Texan artist Vernon Fisher (1943-2023), who passed away last year. It follows the painter from his origins in a small, religious north Texas town through the meteoric rise of his career in the late 1970s into the 1980s, followed by a downturn in the later ’80s and ’90s, and culminating in the more recent resurgence of interest in his work thanks to committed collectors, gallerists, curators, and critics. The film tells this story using compelling archival material and engaging interviews with Fisher as well as art world luminaries, who give life to the narrative, as does the documentation of Fisher at work making his signature densely populated canvases. Breaking the Code positions Fisher alongside better known peers like Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, while also emphatically arguing for the singularity of his practice. Indeed, in the 1980s Fisher had the rare honor of having work on display simultaneously in exhibitions at the Guggenheim, Whitney, and MoMA, while being represented by the famed gallerist Barbara Gladstone.

Directed by Michael Flanagan.

2023.

USA.

English.

47 mins.

Discussion and Q&A with the director to follow the film.

Doors open at 7pm. Program begins at 8pm.

$5 at the door. All ages are welcome.

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ACCESSIBILITY

ENTRE Film Center is located at 415 W. Jackson Ave., Harlingen, TX. Our building is fully accessible to wheelchair users and other visitors who need to avoid stairs. Parking is located on the street and there is a sidewalk ramp located to the right of our building. Our micro-cinema contains modular seating that can be arranged to accommodate our visitors' needs. There is also an all-gender bathroom located in the back of the building.

If you have any questions regarding access, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected]

Host or Publisher ENTRE Film Center & Regional Archive