James Franco and Alex Israel: Why Their Obsession With Celebrity Doesn't Pay Off

By Carol Cheh Tue., May 22 2012 at 2:47 PM

Stefanie Keenan/WireImage

Melanie Griffiths gets grilled by Alex Israel.

See also: James Franco's MOCA Show Opening Night: 'There's Just a Lot of Dicks in There'

In the span of a week, MOCA has subjected us to not one but two art installations that are heavily dependent on celebrity for their content. James Franco's "Rebel" opened the weekend before last at the JF Chen showroom, and this past Saturday night Alex Israel had a video screening and performance of his most recent project, As It Lays, at the Henson Soundstage. Both shows were conspicuously located not at MOCA itself but at pop-up locations in Hollywood.

Franco, a famous actor, and Israel, the son of a well-known art collector, are probably sincere aficionados of culture who believe that they are following a vision. Just like other artists who are less blessed with connections and resources, they work with what they've got, and their lives/backgrounds provide the fodder for their work. It just so happens that Hollywood is that fodder. Franco takes the myth of James Dean and all of its attendant psychosocial issues and "blows it up" through a multilayered re-examination of the film Rebel Without a Cause, while Israel makes odd artistic confections out of a series of short interviews with high-level celebrities. But both projects fall significantly short of gelling into cogent, persuasive works of art.

Franco buoys "Rebel" with a wealth of interesting ideas and observations on acting and the James Dean legacy, as sketched out in his exhibition essay, entitled "Some James Dean Shit." He also enlists a team of impressive, credible artists to join him in his explosive exploration.

But the result is just a loud, immature assault on the senses that is offputting in its many shameless excesses. Naked women with machetes reinterpret the film's famous knife fight scene, cartoon cats give each other blow jobs, and dead celebrities like Natalie Wood and Brad Renfro are the subject of garish odes. All of this is nestled within a gratuitous re-creation of the Chateau Marmont hotel that feels like a truly misguided Disney theme park.

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James Franco poses in front of his handiwork.

Glaringly noticeable as you walk through "Rebel" is the amount of money that must have been sunk into this project, and the ease of access that Franco has to said money, not to mention the attentive ear of A-list artists, curators and gallerists. The material world is his oyster, and so apparently is the intellectual world, as his insatiable mind loves to pile layers and layers of references, influences and inquiries into his practice. But quantity -- when it is this lacking in focus and a leaner sense of criticality -- does not equal quality. You could see this in Franco's own four-channel film work, Death of Natalie Wood, which utilized an interesting mix of monitors and projection, but in the end just felt like an endless vomiting up of indistinct YouTube footage.

As for Israel, I recently discussed his practice with a couple of artists whose work I really respect. They said something that stuck with me: "Andy Warhol was a great artist, the real deal. But his work paved the way for a lot of bad art and total bullshit." I wouldn't say that Israel's work is outright bad per se; I actually liked it when he rented Hollywood studio props to create a sculptural installation at the 2010 California Biennial. The father of Pop Art is a tough act to follow, however, and Israel's current project definitely has him swimming in the shallowest end of the Warhol pool.

Stefanie Keenan/WireImage

Molly Ringwald just wants to be remembered as a great mom.

As It Lays, which takes its title from the iconic Joan Didion novel Play It As It Lays, which deals with Hollywood malaise, is a YouTube series that has Israel conducting incredibly deadpan interviews with people like the late Vidal Sassoon, Kato Kaelin, Rosanna Arquette, Paul Anka, Marilyn Manson, Angelyne and Phyllis Diller, among many others. Not tied to any context like a recent scandal or new movie to promote, Israel's interviews, which are filled with random and abstract questions, seem to float in the atmosphere like pop culture cotton candy.

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Jim Henson Studios

1416 N. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles, CA

Category: General

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Alex Israel, Andy Warhol, As It Lays, Henson Studio, James Dean, James Franco, Jeffrey Deitch, Laird Hamilton, Melanie Griffiths, Molly Ringwald

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Kyrie

Rather than conveying what he wanted to audiences through a "show but don't tell" approach, Franco succeeded more in shocking them. Personally, I did not expect the exhibit to be as explicit as it was, despite having already been warned about it before I went to check it out. But it still caught me off-guard. On my way there, I already had in mind to relate "Rebel Without a Cause" to the art pieces displayed in the exhibit. However, once I started watching the clip about the father and his daughter hinting at incest of some sort, I lost all train of thought. I am certain that everyone has their own opinion as to whether Franco was successful with this exhibit or not. but I felt it was a distraction from the actual message he was trying to tell.

Guest

I saw James Franco's "Rebel" I neither liked it nor hated it. I saw and understood the idea behind it. I must say that he did take it to the next level with psychological issues laying beneath the movie "A Rebel without A Cause" However I did find it that it was rich kid's exhibition. I and other peers of mine felt as though any student at could have done this. Too much money spent for such exhibition. OTher peers if mine where expecting him to push it even more, including more gore. They felt as though it was something they can watch at any moment on TV.

David Campbell

I didn't see the James Franco show, but I did see the Alex Israel performance and loved it. By placing L.A. celebrities on stage as subjects before his Flats--the same sculptures that stood behind theater props in his last show--Israel is treating celebrity in way that is new and interesting. The author is aware of that show, so it is surprising that she misses the point and claims that the celebrities have made Israel their "Bitch."

Unfortunately, the author seems to have rushed and oversimplified the critique on Israel to make a point about Deitch. And to make matters worse, she shows a bias against the artist for his means. I do not see what the artist's family has to do with the work.

maxiguess

@Marcel, The funding slowed down after the initial burst during the crisis phase under Charles Young, but has still continued under Deitch. The Rickels collection is incredible, and was donated last year along with several significant individual works from other donors. If anything the focus seems to have switched from Young's sole pursuit of endowment growing to quality acquisitions.

Sim Jackson

Well fucking done, indeed.

Severine7

agreed. this is puerile shit done by richy-rich boys. next?

Somanyart

"Museums are supposed to educate and enlighten in matters of culture. " LOL

maxiguess

Is the author employing sound logic here? Regarding the last thought in the piece, while it may be unlikely that someone drawn to MoCA because they are fans of James Franco will go explore the rest of the collection, it is more likely than in if they hadn't been drawn at all.

Severine7

True. And next time Deitch can use Kim Kardashian or Justin Beiber to lure in other people too. Sky's the limit!

maxiguess

If they were working with some of the biggest names in contemporary art? Sure. What you guys fail to realize is that the greatest bellwether of the direction a museum like MoCA is heading in is the collection. Efforts like this to broaden the base are exactly the sort of thing that lead to better donations of art and funds to acquire art. Look at the acquisitions of the past year. They're very impressive, and represent the best artists emerging out of top schools and galleries and consist predominantly of work made in the past 20 years. They notably do not include Art in the Streets and James Franco.

Marcel

What acquisitions are you referring to? It's on the record that MOCA has had less money donated since Deitch took over and as he erodes the museums credibility no major collectors are going to be interested in leaving their collections to the museum.