Bad Attitude: the Art of Spain Rodriguez

Bad Attitude: The Art of Spain Rodriguez

'Bad Attitude: The Art of Spain Rodriguez' debuted in 2021 and now is available for rental, for $2, at amazon ($10 to purchase).

Directed by Spain's wife, Susan Stern, the 1 hr., 11 minute documentary covers Spain's life and art, from his growing up in Buffalo; his move to New York City in 1966, and his involvement with the counterculture through his employment at the East Village Other; his move to San Francisco later in the 1960s; and his role as a chronicler of places and people in the Mission District.

The documentary features interviews with Spain's sister Cynthia, his daughter Nora, and comix artists Robert Crumb, Art Spiegelman, Trina Robbins, and Robert Williams, among others. 

Spain, as were his fellow comix artists, was an iconoclast and unapologetic about his material which, in this Woke day and age, is at the very 'transgressive'. 

The documentary does some mental gymnastics in terms of addressing the transgressive aspects of Spain's art, while at the same time not celebrating it with sufficient enthusiasm to give offense to liberal sensibilities. Spain's girlfriends and wife offer some interesting discourses on reconciling the contradictions of a man who admired, and enjoyed the company of, strong women, but was perfectly comfortable with presenting women in an exploitative manner in his art. 

Analyses of the uncompromising nature of Spain's 'bad attitude'  become awkward when dissecting his tale of gay-bashing, 'Dessert', which appeared in 1977 in Young Lust No. 5.

While the narrative adopts a 'this is Spain.......being real' ideology towards the subject matter, it carefully avoids mentioning the subversive last panel of the comic.

The documentary gives justifiable attention to Trashman, Spain's first 'star' character, modeled on himself and (arguably) comic's first genuine 'alternative' action hero.

Also of interest is the documentary's examination of Spain's work, starting in the 1980s, to paint murals in the Mission District. Spain was conscious of the value of 'people's art', not only as a creator of such art but also as a mentor to a younger generation of Mission artists seeking to represent themselves and their culture through art.

The documentary's coverage of Spain's final months, when he continued to work despite ill health due to prostate cancer, is affecting. 

To me, the documentary fell short in one area: how Spain actually did his art. There is footage of Spain working on pencil roughs, and other glimpses of him hunched over his drawing board, but unfortunately, there is no in-depth coverage about how he approached composing and drafting his comics, posters, studio pieces, and other graphic works. When I finished watching the documentary, I felt that it would have benefitted from a greater focus on the nuts and bolts of Spain's art, as opposed to the political and ideological stances represented by his endeavors.

Summing up. if you are a fan of underground comix, the counterculture era, and 'lowbrow' graphic art, then 'Bad Attitude' well is worth viewing.