New Jersey Stage 2017 - Issue 1 | Page 10

water , the air , the earth so much that even the fish will need better homes . So I created better homes for fish as a satirical comedy and it became a commercially viable success story ! It was in the Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog and in Life Magazine . I ’ ve had gallery museum shows and been on television around the world with these things and it was a satirical commentary . That ’ s just one example of how satire can also pay some bills .

Did you ever make any money from the Cathouse for Dogs ? Well , I would never take money . The thing about what I do is I don ’ t exploit people for money . I had tons of calls , which I recorded , but I never took a dime from anyone . It was just a set up for the media . I don ’ t take money , that would be a scam and criminal . I ’ m very conscientious about what I do . My work is very conscious about consequences . The message is to show how thoughtless we are and how we suspend critical analysis for wishful thinking . My work is dependent on not only coming up with a concept that pleases me , but one that fools the media and consequently fools the public . This kind of creative dissent is being threatened by the whole current climate of our new president and fake news and all of it . These are important issues and I think Art of The Prank really touches on these important issues .

How did the film come about ? It was quite coincidental . I was in Italy , speaking at a university and someone in the audience ( who it turns out was the producer ) was laughing very loudly . After the presentation I was tak-

NJ STAGE 2017 - Vol . 4 No . 1

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