Educational Media Reviews Online

Sixteen years after donating their entire collection of minimalist and conceptual art to the National Gallery of Art, Herb and Dorothy Vogel dropped another bombshell on the art world – 2,500 of the works in their collection would become part of a large gift project to benefit museums across the United States. In each of the 50 states, one museum would receive 50 works (40 on paper, along with 10 paintings or objects), enabling the general public to see 50 mini-Vogel collections across the country for free. Herb & Dorothy 50x50 tells the story of this project, picking up where Megumi Sasaki’s award-winning 2008 film Herb & Dorothy left off.

Viewers who did not see Sasaki’s original film need not worry they will be left behind, as Herb & Dorothy 50x50 revisits enough of the 2008 film to ensure abbreviated biographies are presented and the Vogels’ collecting philosophy is clear. (The art had to be affordable and had to fit in their one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan.) As interesting as those elements are in shaping the film, it’s the artwork and people’s responses to the public displays of the mini-collections that are at the heart of Herb & Dorothy 50x50 and that allow it to shine. For the Vogels, knowing the artist has always been as important (if not more important) than having the works themselves, and Sasaki puts the artists front and center throughout the film.

A very good choice for academic and school libraries to support courses in arts education, art history, and museum studies, this film would also be an excellent addition for public libraries.

Bonus features include 8 deleted scenes.