As a student at Boston University in the late 80s, I used to hang out in the photography section of the library, going through the stacks of mono-types of various famous photographers. Today I’d probably be viewing the great documentaries available on Kanopy.
Kanopy is an on-demand streaming video platform for public libraries and universities that offers films and documentaries.
Kanopy is a streaming service available through some colleges, universities and some local public libraries. If you are a student, teacher or have a library card to your local public library, you might have access to seven movies or documentaries a month coursey of your public library’s budget.
“Kanopy is the best video streaming service for quality, thoughtful entertainment. Find movies, documentaries, foreign films, classic cinema, independent films and educational videos that inspire, enrich and entertain. We partner with public libraries and universities to bring you an ad-free experience that can be enjoyed on your TV, mobile phone, tablets and online.”
I’ve been exploring many of the great art and photography documentaries on Kanopy including:
- Gregory Crewdson: The Aesthetics of Repression
- Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters
- Don’t Blink: Robert Frank
- Duane Michals | The Man Who Invented Himself
- Mapplethorpe: Look At The Pictures
- Aaron Siskind: Making Pictures
- Helmut Newton: The Bad and the Beautiful
- Ralph Gibson
- Garry Winogrand: All Things Are Photographable
- What Remains – The Life and Work of Photographer Sally Mann
- Jan Groover: Tilting Space
Besides great documentaries on art photographers, there are also resources for amateur photographers such as:
- National Geographics Fundamentals of Photography II Series
- The Great Courses – Fundamentals of Photography Series
- The Fundamentals of Travel Photography
You can also find dramatic movies based on the lives of photographers and artists such as:
Kanopy is “free” to you but ultimately is paid for by your university or local library. If you start a movie for 30 seconds it counts as a watch and if the film is watched by three people in your system, it is billed to the organization. Something to keep in mind. Choose your entertainment with care.
For all its benefits, though, Kanopy is not free. Some news articles state more precisely that library users watch films for free, but of course the library pays for the service. A fee for the service is not in itself a surprise or a problem: Kanopy has a lot of good content and their offerings include foreign films, older films, independent features, documentaries, and experimental work that other widely available streaming platforms have historically lacked. However, Kanopy is not just like Netflix, or any other subscription video on demand service (SVOD), even if its innovation is applying a Netflix-style user-friendly platform to the library market.
https://filmquarterly.org/2019/05/03/kanopy-not-just-like-netflix-and-not-free/
[…] documentary “Duane Michals: The Man Who Invented Himself” available on Kanopy, does a great job capturing the playful nature of the artist. In the film, Michals is reaching 80 […]