Michael Holman (filmmaker) facts for kids

Michael Thomas Holman is a talented artist, writer, filmmaker, and musician from New York. He was a big part of the downtown art scene in the early 1980s. Michael created the famous hip hop TV show Graffiti Rock. He also helped start the experimental band Gray with artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.

In 2016, important collections of Holman's work were added to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Some of his items from the 1980s were also acquired by the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Holman has performed his spoken word and video art at famous places like Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art. He has also directed big events, including galas for the We Are Family Foundation.

Michael Holman's Career

Michael Holman earned a degree in Economics from the University of San Francisco in 1978. Later, he studied film at New York University.

While dancing in California, he was asked to join a theatrical rock band called The Tubes. In May 1978, Holman moved to New York City. He started working on Wall Street but soon discovered the exciting world of graffiti art. He became friends with the famous artist Fab 5 Freddy.

Starting the Gray Band

In April 1979, Holman helped organize a party called Canal Zone. This event showed off the new Hip Hop culture to an art audience. There, Holman met a young Jean-Michel Basquiat, who was known as the mysterious artist SAMO. They decided to form an experimental music group called Gray.

Gray performed at many well-known venues like Hurrah, Mudd Club, CBGB, and The ICA in London. Their music was featured in films such as Downtown 81, Basquiat, and Boom, For Real, The Late Teenaged Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat.

In the 1990s, Holman and Nicholas Taylor, another original Gray member, continued to create music. They performed at clubs like Club USA and Nuyorican Poets Cafe. Gray released their first album, Shades Of..., in 2011. A new version with remixes came out in 2019. Since 2010, Holman and Taylor have brought Gray back to perform at places like the New Museum and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Film and Television Work

Holman made short art films that were shown at clubs like The Mudd Club and Tier 3.

In 1984, he produced and hosted Graffiti Rock. This was a short-lived but important hip hop television show.

Holman also helped with the story for the 1996 film Basquiat. This movie was about his friend and bandmate Jean-Michel Basquiat. Holman even appeared in the film. He also wrote, produced, and directed children's TV shows for Nickelodeon. These included Blue's Clues and Eureeka’s Castle.

Hip Hop Pioneer

Michael Holman was one of the first people to use the term Hip Hop in print. He wrote about it in the East Village Eye in January 1982. Around 1982, he also had hip hop TV shows that featured graffiti artists, DJs, rappers, and B-boys and B-girls.

Holman introduced music producer Malcolm McLaren to the music of Afrika Bambaataa and the Zulu Nation band. He also opened for McLaren's group Bow Wow Wow in 1981.

Holman created and managed the famous B-boy dance crew, the New York City Breakers. He also started the first company called Hip Hop International Inc in 1983. This group toured the world and performed for important people like President Ronald Reagan and the UK's Prince Andrew.

Holman helped produce the 1984 film Beat Street. He also created, hosted, and produced Graffiti Rock, the first hip hop TV show. Later, he wrote a book about Hip Hop Culture called Breaking.

His voice has even been used in a sample on the Beastie Boys song Alright Hear This. In 2000, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Brooklyn Museum featured many of Holman's hip hop items and writings in an exhibit called Roots, Rhymes + Rage: The Hip Hop Story.

Writing and Teaching

As a writer, Holman has written for magazines like the East Village Eye, Artforum, and Art Monthly.

Holman has taught courses at places like Howard University and The New School For Social Research. Since 2011, he has taught screenwriting at the School of Visual Arts and media courses at the City College of New York.

He also gives talks about modern urban culture and art. He has spoken at many institutions, including The Whitney Museum, the Royal College of Art in London, and Yale University.

Fine Arts Creations

Holman created art installations at the Mudd Club, including The Soul Party in 1980.

As a fine artist, Holman creates paintings that explore social and political ideas. His paintings have been shown at galleries like Massey/Klein Gallery and at Art Basel in Miami.

Holman's important collections were acquired by the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in 2016. In the same year, some of his items from the 1980s were acquired by the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Awards and Achievements

• In 1987, Holman received the Paulette Goddard Award for Best Film from NYU for his film Head's, You Win.
• He won Best Video Of The Year from Rolling Stone Magazine in 1987 for the Run DMC music video Christmas In Hollis.
• His children's show Eureeka's Castle won the Cable Industry Ace Award in 1990.

Filmography

• Graffiti Rock (1984)
• New York Beat Movie (1981)