The postminimalist sculptor Eva Hesse produced strange and beautiful work in unusual materials — rope, latex, discarded metal parts — and died young, in 1970, of a brain tumor, as her career was only starting to peak.

Hesse is now considered an important 20th-century artist, and Marcie Begleiter’s documentary gives a loving account of her life and work, supplemented with extensive photos of Hesse and narrated via excerpts from Hesse’s diaries and letters.

Unfortunately, the extensive reading of those excerpts, by actress Selma Blair, diminishes the film’s appeal. Blair has a colorless, weirdly teenage delivery that doesn’t convey Hesse’s vivid, brilliant personality. It is odd to watch a documentary where the subject becomes more interesting when she is discussed by other people.