6 Best Art Documentaries on YouTube

If you don’t have a subscription to one of the major streaming platforms, but would like to see a good documentary about art, then check out our list of the 6 best art documentaries on YouTube.

Since humans began walking the Earth, there has been art. Even in the prehistoric period, humans used art to express themselves, and that need for expression using art hasn’t changed. The thing that has changed is our perception of art. From cave paintings to photography, people always found a way to create art using the world around them. The great thing about art is that anyone can make it, and understanding of art is individual. It doesn’t mean art you make will be any good, or that other people will think of it as art at all, but something that you created and think of as art and that stands as an expression of your ideas and feelings, has to be art. I have already discussed my views on art in our list of the 11 Best Art Documentaries on Amazon Prime, where you will find some awesome art documentaries that you can stream if you have an Amazon Prime subscription.

It is hard to determine what makes a good art documentary. My opinion is that true art documentaries have to be also art unto themselves in a way. If you are talking about art, and creating something that explores the art, it isn’t just enough to be genuine or true to the facts. To move me, an art documentary has to make me care about the art/artists and show me the world that art has given birth to. Biography details can be read on Wikipedia, pictures and paintings can be “Googled”; give me something that I can’t find elsewhere. I don’t know, maybe that is just me.

Let’s get back to the topic of the 6 best art documentaries on YouTube. To get our list, first we took recommendations from Artnet, Complex and Huffington Post, among others. Then we looked to see if they were available on YouTube to be streamed in full, for free (the best part). How does Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL)‘s YouTube let millions of people watch videos for free? Through advertising revenue of course. YouTube pulled in $5.6 billion in revenue last year, which, while a relatively small amount in the grand scheme of Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (which pulled in $73.5 billion in revenue when all was said and done), it’s an impressive figure nonetheless. However, Alphabet is currently embroiled in a controversy that has seen several major brands pull ads from the service, over concerns that they are being shown alongside repulsive content.

Back to the topic a hand, art documentaries on YouTube are relatively hard to come by, but we did manage to find around 15 titles that were recommended and available. The last piece of the puzzle was to rank the documentaries based on their IMDb rating to formulate the full list of best art documentaries on YouTube. Let’s take a look at it then, starting on the next page.

6. Infamy

IMDb rating: 7.5

I have great admiration for graffiti artists (unless they are ruining historical buildings) and anyone who feels the same should watch this documentary that ranks 6th in our list of best art documentaries on YouTube. It follows six graffiti artists from the United States who will take you on a journey through the graffiti culture, revealing that the lives of graffiti artists is more dangerous than one would think.

5. Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

IMDb rating: 7.6

Each art piece or an art performance has a message, and as history has shown us, often that message can be a powerful one. Ai Weiwei is a Chinese artist who isn’t afraid to speak against the Chinese government and human rights violations, which caused him lots of trouble. He isn’t just speaking out, his artwork and performances speak out as well. This documentary explores the life and works of Ai Weiwei, but also investigates the connection between art and activism.

4. The Art of the Steal

IMDb rating: 7.6

Don’t make a mistake and confuse this entry on our list of the 6 best art documentaries on YouTube with that awful movie Kurt Russell did (and yes, he did some good ones). This is really an engaging and entertaining documentary. It revolves around arguably the best art collection dating from the period of Post-Impressionism, valued at $25 billion. The man who was responsible for putting the collection together, Dr. Albert C. Barnes, has clearly stated in his will that the collection should not be moved from its primary location. But that location wasn’t attractive enough for Philadelphia authorities, so the legal battle to move the collection started.

3. Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present

IMDb rating: 7.9

This documentary ranks 3rd in our list of best art documentaries on YouTube. It follows performance artist Marina Abramovic through the process of making a retrospective of her past work at The Museum of Modern Art in New York. At the same time, this is the biggest art performance of that kind in the history of the museum.

2. Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child

IMDb rating: 7.9

Although he died at the young age of 27, Jean-Michel Basquiat left behind a huge legacy and his works proved to be influential to the generations that followed. This documentar that rankw second in our list of best art documentaries on YouTube is not only a great intro to his art but also a way to get to know more about his life and the previously mentioned legacy, told through interviews with people who were close to him.

1. Exit Through the Gift Shop

IMDb rating: 8.0

We have come to the last entry on our list of the 6 best art documentaries on YouTube. This documentary is directed by Banksy, who has become one of the most famous street artists in the world, although his identity was never revealed. The documentary follows Thierry Guetta, amateur photographer and videographer, as he examines his obsession with street art. It also tells the story of Guetta’s encounter with Banksy and his decision to become a street artist himself.

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