Exit
LEASE TO MEET a new
term: fartist, a portmanteau of “famous
person” and “artist.”
James Franco, our civilization’s
leading fartist, believes everything
he touches turns to art. Shia LeBeouf, who has been balancing art
making with plagiarism of late, is
an up-and-comer in the field.
In an open letter published in
The New York Times, Franco explains the rules. The system actors volunteer themselves into is
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HUFFINGTON
03.09.14
CULTURE
a confining one. Every so often,
it’s good to shake off those selfimposed shackles by behaving
crazily enough to provoke a reaction from the unsuspecting public. This is art.
All is not tolerated though.
A colleague should not, Franco
warns, “use up all the good will he
has gained as an actor in order to
show us that he is an artist.”
Well then — which of our greatest fartists are using up too
much good will?
1. JAMES FRANCO
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Took a
goofy part in General Hospital,
while simultaneously — as he
makes clear in the NYT — courting
Oscars; made a great parody
of an even greater music video.
LOWLIGHTS: Missing a ton
of classes-others-wanted-totake during his whirlwind tour of
America’s higher institutions all
while keeping on loudly making
art no one seems to want.
Billing himself as a “modern
day ‘Renaissance Man’” on his
Artspace profile.
RECEPTION: Even Thought Catalog
has grown weary.
GOODWILL-OMETER: The best
case scenario for James Franco is that
he’s doing a great performance art
piece on how to use up all the goodwill.