Genius in art doesn't come around that often,
Maybe once in a generation,
And yet that word, genius,
gets thrown around so casually nowadays,
it has lost all of its meaning,
all of its power,
Today,
everybody is a fucking genius,
To be a genius in painting,
a true genius,
you have to change the medium,
You have to make something that
has never been made before in the history of painting,
Geniuses are the convergence of talent,
and timing,
This is my genius,
Now, you may not like his work,
You may find it derivative and unoriginal,
You may think it lacks depth, or heart, or whimsy,
or focus,
You may hate how he paints,
You may hate his use of color,
And everyone is entitled to their own opinion,
But you,
are wrong,
I should know,
I made him,
When art is hot,
there's nothing hotter,
Nothing on this earth,
It's such a personal, subjective thing,
but maybe,
because it is so elitist,
so unaccessible,
that when the right people
all agree that someone is talented,
they go mad,
they go white blind,
they get a ringing in their ears,
It's as much pain as it is pleasure,
An exhilarating, awful, wonderful feeling,
Like a cold sweat,
Suddenly, everything is racing,
I like to think of it as,,,
- Contemplative, mature,,, - Hey,
There you are!
I'm leaving,
I just wanted to say thank you, really, thank you,
You're not leaving,
Aldis, I'd love to introduce you to
Carlo and Frederica Trevino,
- Two of my favorite people, - Hi!
- Pleasure, - Oh and they have
a fantastic collection at their house in La Jolla,
Aldis painted this piece we were just discussing,
Splendid, the color, the color!
The color,
And the depth,
So many layers,
Oh, thanks, yeah, I was actually just trying to
- make sure that,,, - Yeah,
You know who that reminds me of?
Ryan West,
- No, no, - Yes!
Denser, yes,
Well, you two grew up together, right?
- You and Ryan? - We did, yeah,
Went to grade school together,
and high school,
Ryan West is a douchebag and a total fucking hack,
Randall, my darling,
thank you for this very obnoxious evening,
Aldis and I are going to go get drunk now, come on,
- Good meeting you, - Come on!
It was a good show for both of us,
Yeah,
- Cheers, - Cheers,
- Ryan West! - I know,
Such a shit artist,
Okay, okay, he's a decent painter,
but all he does is paint his celebrity friends,,,
- Oh, not anymore, - And it's so fucking lame,
- Yeah, but it sells like,,, - Gimmicky shit,
Like, I know that my work is dark,
Dark?
Yeah, you know, it's actually physically dark,
lots of grays and blacks,
only grays and blacks, and whatever, you know?
I get it,
People don't want a five foot by four foot graphite drawing
of a black man's asshole with a fucking skull
- falling out of it, - Let alone many skulls,
Let alone many skulls!
But you're incredible, I mean,
those were the most beautifully detailed skulls,
falling out of the most beautifully detailed asshole,
- If I could draw like you,,, - No,
- Okay, - No compliments!
- I know, I forgot, - Oh, fuck that!
Why do you always have me at a gay bar?
Ryan West!
- Oh, shit, - Ryan,
how you doing, my man?
Hey, Ryan?
Mr, West, how's your night going?
Come on,
- Come on, - Looking great,
looks like you guys are having fun,
- All right, - Come on, Ryan,
Come on,
Are you the artist?
Um,,,
Of that one,
Just,,,
Just that one,
Come to me,
Let me shake your hand,
I'm Joanne,
And you are Aldis Browne,
I guess so,
You've come to spend some quality time
with your painting, huh?
Yeah, it's easier to appreciate the art without all the,,,
Commentary,
Not all the art, sweet boy,
Just yours,
I was at the show last night,
and I waited at the doors for
the gallery to open this morning,
just so I could see your painting again,
It's sold,
All those little red dots,
So old-fashioned,
$7500?
Oh,
I only get half of that,
I would have paid double,
Well good morning, Aldis,
Admiring your work?
Gorgeous piece,
Well done,
I told you it would sell,
- Aren't you happy? - It's under-priced,
Good morning, I'm Randall Pike,
I'm the gallery manager here,
- I'm Joanne, - Well, Joanne,
it's a group show of relatively new,
or emerging artists, I should say,
So they're all priced the same,
I understand, but this piece is under-priced,
I'm willing to pay three times what you're asking,
It's already been sold ma'am,
Bullshit,
Get Carree Tole,
She's not,,,
Here,
Randall?
In here, Carree,
I need you to cancel my lunch with Heidi,
I'm having lunch with David Byrne instead, oh,
Oh,
hello?
Carree, this lady would like to buy this painting,
but as I already I told her, it's been sold,
And you know Aldis?
Do I?
Yes, he's in the 30under30 show,
This is his painting,
So what's the problem?
- This lady, Joanne,,, - Joanne Marco,
Ms, Marco would like to buy this painting,
but as I said, it's sold,
I'm willing to pay three times what the buyer paid,
Four,
All right, what is this?
Did you do this?
- Oh, I had,,, - He had nothing to
- do with it, - I love the piece,
It's an exceptional piece,
and I want it,
Okay,
Who's the original buyer?
Marlee Nickelle Bronson,
Ugh!
Marlee!
Sold,
Randall, call Marlee, tell her she can't have it,
Explain the situation to her,
I'm sure Aldis will be happy to sell her another painting,
Right?
Um, yeah, yeah,
Yeah?
Joanne, thank you,
You made my week, well,
my year,
My pleasure, Aldis,
You're an extremely talented artist,
- Thanks, - Hmm,
I'd love to see your studio,
Oh,
Finding everything okay?
I'm mesmerized, Aldis,
There aren't enough hours in the day,
I want that one,
Really?
That was sort of just a one-off,
Absolutely,
Who's the girl, do you know her?
Just a friend,
Lucky girl, to be in that painting,
How much do you want for it?
Oh ,
you can have it,
You've already spent so much on my other work,
No, no, I pay for good work,
Did you grow up in California?
No,
no,
Omaha,
Nebraska,
What about you, did you grow up here?
Chicago,
I would love for you to come to my house,
- Oh, - I have quite the collection,
and I would love to show it to you,
I rarely get a chance to show it,
This Sunday?
Ugh, that would be,,,
Yeah, great, I would love to,
So the address,
is on the check,,,
Are you free for dinner tonight?
Tonight?
Yes,
No, I'm not, sorry,
Bring that painting on Sunday then,
A wonderful afternoon, Aldis,
Thank you,
Artists are malleable creatures,
They need to keep moving,
so they can receive constant stimuli,
That's why they need sex,
For stimuli,
For validation,
But also to get out of their heads,
An artist needs to feel free,
but valued,
The partner is always trivial,
I like your stuff,
Yeah?
Yeah,
It's a good thing too,
'cause I don't think I could have sex with you
if I thought your paintings were shit,
You got a job Guadalupe?
A vocation?
Please tell me you're not an artist,
Nah,
I'm actually in trade school,
You know, I figured there are too few
female electricians in this world,
and I think people would want to hire a female electrician,
You know, I think people will find
a female electrician more trustworthy,
In the meantime I gotta make money and shit, so,
sometimes I work as a clown at children's parties,
That's weird,
Yeah,
Fuck!
- Aldis! - Hi,
Good morning, you made it,
No car, did you walk?
Oh, I took the bus,
Actually my car died,
I got it towed this morning,
but probably a lost cause anyway, who's this?
That's Felipe, don't pay any attention to him,
He's sweet,
Well, he is now, he used to be a barker,
Any noise, and he would bark for 20 minutes,
Finally had to get him a shock collar,
The kind that gives them an electrical shock
whenever they get too loud,
Doesn't say a word now, do you, Felipe?
Whoa,
- Is that my painting? - Oh, yes,
The one from the gallery arrived yesterday,
I've been eagerly waiting their arrival,
Sorry about the wrap job,
- I'm not very crafty, - Oh, nonsense,
are you hungry?
Would you like breakfast?
I made a whole spread,
Oh,
Can't wait to hang yours in there,
How do you?
Come on, let's have the gravlax before they get mealy,
I think I'll take down one of the Sol LeWitts,
and replace it with your beautiful painting,
No, you can't, please do not do that,
You don't really have any say in the matter, Aldis,
Where would you put it, the LeWitt?
- I mean,,, - I have many more paintings
in the cellar, I'll probably throw it down there,
Or I could sell it,
But I hate to sell, I never sell anything,
I hate to share,
My paintings are like my children, you know?
Oh,
Children?
Not anymore,
You went to art school?
Ah, Parsons,
Ah,
How was that for you?
A good excuse to paint every day, but I don't know,
sometimes I think it's good to be around other painters,
other times I think it's very limiting, competitive,
I mean, I still love to paint, when I'm actually painting,
I'm just not good at the other stuff,
you know, the social networking, the,,,
Connections, parties?
I guess I don't really have that gift,
or desire for that matter,
I mean, I wanna be successful,
You already are successful,
She wants to fuck him,
Of course she wants to fuck him,
I don't think that's necessarily true,
This is how it starts,
Every artist has a benefactor, some rich old woman, or man,
who supports them in the beginning,
- And tries to fuck them, - And invariably,
tries to fuck them, yes,
You absolutely have to fuck her,
She's your Sam Wagstaff,
Who is Sam Wagstaff?
You really don't know fucking anything, do you?
Sam Wagstaff single-handedly made Robert Mapplethorpe,
Rich, totally sexy, truly Upper East Side,
Hamptons, closeted,
Fell in love with Mapplethorpe when
Mapplethorpe was like 22,
fell in love with his work,
then rigged shows by buying everything out
before anyone else could get their hands on them,
Oh, God damn it, come on,
What the hell are they doing here?
I told them about the party in passing,
I am too drunk to deal with this right now,
Go,
Carree, Anatole, hi,
I didn't expect to see you both tonight,
We're not staying,
Just a quick stop, business matter,
Aldis?
Oh,
- Last name? - Last name?
Browne,
Right, Aldis Browne,
You know who I am of course,
I don't believe you've met Anatole Ludovic,
my partner at the gallery,
He wanted to see you visually,
Good to meet you, Mr, Ludovic,
He's very interested in seeing your work,
We would like to do a studio visit,
Oh sure, yeah, whenever's good,
Randall, you'll look at my calendar, set it up,
- Sure, - All right,
Do you want to touch it?
Please,
Touch it,
Okay,
We're going to a party at Leisel Umbredge's vineyard,
Glad you could make it,
Of course you are,
- Aldis, we'll be in touch, - Hmm,
You little bitch,
That was awful, someone get me high right now,
Goodbye,
How drunk are you?
LA drunk,
- I can drive, - Come here,
You little bitch!
I'm kidding, I love you,
- you know that, - Of course,
- I'm happy for you, - Thank you,
Randall, you need a ride?
Get in,
What are you doing now?
That's fine,
You want it?
Take it,
Oh you have a,,,
- It's, it's,,, - Just, ow, fuck!
God damn it, just, it's fine, I'll get it,
- It's on your,,, - I got it, I got it,
- Okay, go, fine, - Okay,
Okay,
See you soon,
We've talked about this before,
- Why won't you listen? - It embarrasses me,
When you talk to strangers,
they don't understand what you're saying,
Of course, I don't know what you,
- I don't know what I mean, - Just can't you,,,
Aldis,
Good to see you,
How are you?
- Good, - I've been very much
looking forward to seeing you again,
You've got your car fixed,
Sort of,
By the way, Carree and Anatole said they wanted to
see more of my work, do a studio visit,
Oh, Aldis, that's terrific,
Well, I owe it all to you, thank you,
Oh , nonsense, you are due, you're ripe,
There's no one like you out there today,
Wow, they invite you to everything, huh?
I would kill to be invited to some of these openings,
Well, when you spend the amount of money I have on art,
lots of people want to be your friend,
Did you go to the Ryan West show?
Yes I did,
Unimpressed,
Let's get to it,
This,
This will do,
I don't get it,
Your new studio, my dear,
Here we are,
Oh now, I know what you're going to say,
you're gonna protest,
and say that this is too generous,
and you can't accept it,
- I can't accept it, - Aldis, the fact of
the matter is you need a change,
You need new,
You need somebody to believe in you,
push you,
support you,
you need somebody to shake you from your daily ritual,
because frankly, it's getting you nowhere,
You need space,
All crammed in that tiny garage, it's ridiculous,
Oh yes, you can protest,
but why?
To be affable, to be polite?
Pardon me, Aldis, but to hell with polite,
This is your dream we are talking about, correct?
And I'm here to help you,
I want to help you,
- I can't,,, - We all wait for
a magical moment when someone realizes how special we are,
Someone who will raise us up,
and place us where we deserve to be,
My boy,
I am here,
I am here to facilitate the inevitable rise of you,
So when did Carree and Anatole say
they were visiting your studio?
Hmm, I don't know,
Maybe a month or two?
But,,,
I don't,,,
What?
I don't want them to see what I have,
I want,,,
All new work,
A series of a dozen or so paintings,
that are cohesive, you know, the best work I've ever done,
- Yeah, - It's got to be important,
undeniable, you know, I mean because,
these sort of opportunities,
they only come around once, right?
Who's that?
Just a friend,
A girlfriend?
No,
No, just a friend,
But,,,
I should get going,
Oh,
Oh, don't bother with that, don't be silly,
No, no,
So,
you gonna bring your things?
Here?
Tomorrow?
Like we discussed?
Yeah,
Yes?
Yes,
Thank you, Joanne,
Hmm,
Hey!
Sorry,
No worries,
Just preparing for your arrival,
Good,
- Come in, - Okay,
Where have you been?
All in a good mood?
What?
Nothing,
What am I wearing?
Let me get this shit on the road,
Ah, God damn it!
I'm so sorry, you scared me,
Can I help you?
Did you have fun last night?
Excuse me?
With my son, Aldis?
He's wonderful isn't he?
And a brilliant painter don't you think?
I mean, his work is sublime, no?
Yeah, sure,
I don't want you to see him again,
What?
No need to make a scene, dear,
But I don't want you involved with my son, you understand?
It's nothing personal,
I'm sure you're a lovely girl,
But Aldis needs space and time to work, you see,
He's very important,
I don't know if you can comprehend this,
but Aldis is a very special artist,
one in a million,
He's gonna change the landscape of painting
for years to come,
They'll be talking about him for centuries,
So you see,
he doesn't have time for frivolous diversions like you,
Wait, I,,,
I've been perfectly clear, dear,
Does he know?
Does he know that I'm talking to you?
Course not,
No, no,
And we're gonna keep it that way,
You don't want to jeopardize all he's worked for
his whole life, do you?
You're just a blip, poor girl,
A speed bump,
Better that you just disappear, hmm?
- I don't think you,,, - That's right!
Don't think,
Just go,
Go on,
Go, go on,
It's better this way,
I,,,
Au revoir,
Bye-bye,
To watch the process,
It's a privilege,
And not at all what you think,
Laymen don't understand that making good art is work,
It's not as if the artist is having fun,
It's a pain in the ass to live so deep in your head,
To know so much,
To know you're worthless like the rest of us,
and to fight it,
and make that thing that's been twisting around
inside your head in spite of your worthlessness,
Ignoring the truth,
that this world does not need another artist,
no, sir,
That is a painful brain to have,
It looks good,
- Yeah, we're getting there, - Yeah,
Uh,
- Aldis, honey? - Hmm?
Why don't you move into one of the guest rooms?
No, I'm all right,
Come on, Aldis, get up,
I've got a nice warm bed for you,
Come on,
Ooh!
You just go up the stairs,
Here you go,
No point in going all the way home,
Just go on up, right there, on your right,
- Thank you, Joanne, - Yeah,
Been at it for days, you must be exhausted,
Such beautiful work you're doing, my sweet boy,
Such deep, deep work,
You sleep now,
You sleep,
Sleep for me,
Sweet boy,
Oh,
- Hey! - Oh!
Fuck!
- I'm sorry, - What the hell do you
think you're doing in here?
- I didn't know,,, - My room,
- Okay, I'm sorry, - Get out of here!
I didn't know, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry,
This is my room!
Get out of my room!
Aldis!
Aldis,
What's going on, where are you going?
- It's all right, - What happened?
- Tell me, - It's all right,
nothing happened, I just,,,
Yeah, I've been here a couple of weeks,
overstayed my welcome, I need to go check on my mail,
- check on my apartment,,, - Nonsense,
this is your home,
- Aldis, please, - No, Joanne,
this is not my home, I really,,,
Look, I just bought a whole bunch of delicious goodies,
I was planning to make a wonderful meal,
- Joanne, I,,, - Just a meal, right?
Then you can go and meet whoever you want,
for whatever,
for as long as you need,
Joanne, that's not what
- this is about, I,,, - Please,
Please, Aldis,
Okay,
All right,
I grew up in this quiet, white little suburb,
No blacks except for the maids, you know?
And I wanted to get out of there,
But my parents, who were wealthy and very uptight,
wouldn't let me go to New York,
So,
I started painting,
good enough to get me into the Art Institute of Chicago,
- That's not bad, - Hmm,
I met my husband there, he was a painter,
A good one at the time,
Got married,
And I thought it was my calling to nurture him,
help him succeed in the art world,
Turn him into one of those artists I fantasized about,
I had this,
romantic image of our industrial loft,
making him coffee, preparing him meals,
nurturing his great talent,
And after years of my husband trying and failing,
my father refused to give us any more money
until he got a real job,
My husband became a plumber,
Started drinking,
Stopped painting,
Became very,,,
Resentful of me,
Violent,
Cruel,
We had a son,
Did I forget to say that anywhere?
We did, we had a son,
And he was a terrific painter,
Right off the bat,
Just a fearless painter,
I have no doubt he would have been successful,
But,,,
He passed away several years ago, so,
now I'm all alone,
Except for you,
And the gardener?
What?
The gardener,
The gardener lives here doesn't he?
Oh,
Yes,
yes,
I guess he does,
But that doesn't really count does it?
How did your son die?
He hung himself,
It's awful that an artist needs the gallery owners,
needs the critics,
and the museums, and the press,
and the rich people to legitimize their work,
It's a tragedy that such a beautiful, sacred art,
so private and pure, performed all by yourself,
then has to be judged by all those people,
The necessary evil with their overcomplicated words,
and their philosophical ideas about where art's at,
what's over, what's new, who's in,
What the hell do these people know about art?
They know everything,
Because they make all the rules,
It's quite a collection you have
in the other room, Joanne,
If you ever need any help selling it,
That's quite all right, thank you,
So,
how long have you been working here, Aldis?
About a month or two,
Hmm, interesting,
Okay,
We'll be in touch,
It was bizarre,
Man, that's all I can say,
It's silent,
Anatole Ludovic?
Mute,
God, they're so fucking weird,
Do you think they realize they're parodies of themselves?
Like, did they dress like that as children,
- wearing only black? - Probably!
So, Joanne, what do you think?
Hmm?
How are you enjoying the work?
Yeah, how do you like Yuval's work?
It's incredible, right?
Oh , yes,
Very nice,
Very, very nice work, Yuv,,,
- Yuval, - Yuval, yes right, yes,
They all have a great, um, texture to them,
The precision here is excellent,
You think?
She hates it,
No, she likes it,
Joanne, you like it?
Yeah, I mean, she'll probably buy something,
Oh , yes,
How much is this small one here?
No,
I don't want you to buy out of guilt,
I don't need pity, I want you to buy it
- because you like it, - She likes it,
No, she's here because you dragged her here,
You told her to buy something,
I'm not blind,
I can tell you don't like it,
It's okay, I like it when people come to my studio and
don't like my work,
What does it matter if I like it, Yuval?
What do you care why I buy,
as long as you get paid enough to keep working?
That's what you should be concerned about,
Making more work,
Don't bother worrying why,
That kind of thinking will kill you,
Kill your art,
- Do you understand me? - Yes, Joanne,
I understand you,
I have been doing this for a while, you know?
I know how it all works,
Good,
Now how much do you want for the small one?
Goodbye, Aldis,
Goodbye, Joanne, thanks for coming,
Yuval, it's been a pleasure,
You her driver now?
Fuck you,
She's not your mummy!
Jesus,
Must be difficult for him,
He doesn't hold a candle to you,
You know that, right?
Nobody's work does,
Not his,
Not anyone your age,
not Ryan West,
Yeah?
Why is he so successful then, huh?
Why's he so fuckin' famous?
Explain that to me, Joanne,
Motherfucker,
That fucking guy,
It's like God's playing some sort of sick joke on me,
and it's so obvious, you know,
that's what's makes it so upsetting,
You're talking about Ryan West?
Yes, Joanne, Ryan fuckin' West!
- Aldis, I don't know,,, - It's not
even worth discussing,
Although I will say this,
that if Ryan West died,
I would feel joy,
Yeah,
And I consider myself a pretty sensitive person,
- You are, - But if I woke up
in the morning and opened the paper,
and read that Ryan West had died in
a fiery fuckin' car accident,
that would be the most wonderful day of my life,
Better than being some living legend of the art world,
would be watching that motherfucker, that little fuck,
die,
A painful, slow, torturous death,
I'm smiling, I got,,,
I got fuckin' goosebumps,
God,
I'm sorry, it's,,,
That was,,,
I'm sorry,
All right then,
I grew up in a really rural part of Nebraska,
But when I was in second grade,
my family moved to Omaha,
Something about me made the other boys at the school,,,
Hate me,
I don't know, I was a weird kid, a loner,
Effeminate,
maybe?
And there was one kid in particular,
Ryan West,
Come on out, Aldis!
Get your ass out of there!
Get off of me,
No, you get off of me, please!
So I kept to myself,
Painting,
And I was good,
And I knew it,
Other people agreed,
My parents, teachers, other kids, their parents,
They all told me I was good,
And when I said that I was gonna be
a painter when I grew up, nobody second guessed me,
You know, they'd pat me on the back, and say,
"Go for it,"
It was my salvation,
I was gonna be okay,
because I was gonna be a great fucking painter,
Then it's the last day of school,
I'm in the parking lot, alone,
having a cigarette,
and Ryan West walks up to me,
and he asks me for a ride home,
We both know his house is on the way,
I'm in a fuck it mood,
I'm about to go to New York,
Go to school, become a painter,
never gonna see this motherfucker again,
So I say sure,
We're driving home,
and he tells me he thinks I'm gonna be a great painter,
I try not to feel flattered,
And then we pull in his driveway,
and he looks me dead in the eye,
and he apologizes,
He apologizes for everything,
From the second grade,
until that moment,
He says,
"I'm sorry,"
Utterly sincere,
I say thank you,
he gets out,
and I go on my way,
Next time I see Ryan West,
four years later,
He's being profiled in New York Magazine,
He's got a painting in the Whitney Biennial,
Ryan fucking West,
He beat me to it,
Outdid me,
At the only thing I had,
The only thing I ever loved,
He beat me,
The fact he apologized made it even worse,
Aldis,
Where does this go, baby?
At the,,,
- Shit, - Come on!
- Near the beginning, - Okay,
- Yeah, yeah, - So,
how are you feeling?
I'm freaking out a bit,
You should be,
This is a big deal for you,
First major show,
But the work is good, Aldis,
Mature,
Poignant,
Thank you,
It's condescending, but thank you,
God, I hate me,
I've been in this world for too long, I talk like
- a fucking asshole, - No, you don't,
I do,
Why did I stop painting?
How did I end up in this gallery?
When did I end up on this side of the curtain?
Anyway, the show's gonna sell like crazy,
Anatole is super excited about it,
- Anatole? - Yeah,
he's been your champion this whole time,
Carree was on the fence,
but she's a cunt,
What are you doing, idiot?
That goes at the end,
Aldis said to put it at the beginning, you whore,
Joanne,
Oh, Aldis,
Hi,
We did it,
Aldis, I need to talk to you!
- Go ahead, - I will be right back,
Hi, Joanne,
Hello, Yuval,
What do you think?
Spectacular,
But maybe these paintings are a little too high,
They're all at 57 inches, that's standard,
Well, Aldis is not a standard artist,
And these two paintings you've switched,
They're wrong,
That one goes with the yellow,
You need to move that now,
- Okay, Joanne, - Joanne,
could we have a quick moment outside?
Just,
Carree Tole doesn't want you in there,
What, why?
I don't know, but she made a point of saying,
Awful woman, I just want to watch the installation,
- I know, - This is ours,
We did this, she can't go making demands like that,
not to us, it's absurd,
She wouldn't even have this show if it weren't for me,
She wants control, okay?
She's worried that,,,
She's worried about my image,
- I know how that sounds, - Your image?
She's worried that buyers or critics
might think that I belong to someone,
that I'm like your project,
your boy, your thing, whatever,
And so she's really just lookin' out for my best interest,
- I'm looking out for you,,, - Of course you are,
- I told her that, - I don't like this, Aldis,
I don't trust her,
I don't think she believes in this show,
I would pull this show if I were you,
I'm not pulling the show, don't be insane,
- I'm insane? - No, that's not
- what I said, look, - How dare you?
She's scared you're gonna buy everything, okay?
She's afraid that you will sell the show out,
And I told her that you wouldn't,,,
I am well within my rights to do so,
It should sell out, and if I have to make that happen,
- I will, - Are you,,,
You can't be serious?
What?
Oh, fuck, Joanne!
How can you do this to me?
I don't want you to buy all of my work,
I want other people to buy it,
that's the fuckin' point,
You can't hoard all my work,
- It's our work, our! - No, it's,,,
It's my work!
My fuckin' paintings,
You would be nothing if it weren't for me,
for my help, my generosity,
You wouldn't even be having the show,
You'd be sitting in your little garage,
with that stupid little Mexican girl,
painting for nothing, no one,
No one would care about you if it weren't for me,
Aldis, please,
I'm sorry, I didn't mean that,
Wait, Aldis!
That one, that one, that ones my favorite,
Yeah, I've been meaning to meet you,
thank you so much for coming,
Absolutely,
Hold on one second,
How are you?
Look at you!
You're here,
You sent me an invite,
Yeah, I just wasn't sure,,,
I'm really glad you're here,
The show is beautiful,
I'm shocked,
You're shocked?
That doesn't sound so good,
You are such a big deal,
I mean, it's really like,,,
I don't even want to find the word,
Congratulations,
Thank you,
Where you been?
You stopped returning my texts,
I called you,
Not like on a phone, I dialed your number,
- Yeah, - Left a voicemail!
I know,
Your mother kinda scared me away,
My mother?
Yeah, your mother, she um,,,
She approached me outside of your place actually,
and she was like,
"You know, you gotta leave him alone, he's special,"
That you didn't have time for somebody like me in your life,
Which is fucking crazy, I realize and,,,
I don't know why I listened to your mother
without asking you about it first,
But, if I'm being honest,
she kinda scared the shit outta me,
Is she here?
Who?
Your mom,
No,
No, my mom is certainly not here,
My mom is dead,
- Aldis? - What?
Aldis, darling,
There's someone I'd like you to meet,
- Hi, - Aldis, a pleasure,
Such an honor, amazing showing here,
I'll be right back,
Yeah,
Is that the review of Aldis' show?
Uh-huh,
Not good?
"A colorful collection of abstract rural landscapes,
"that meander,
"amounting to little more than
"your typical graduate student thesis,
"In a time when Ryan West is selling
"the same kind of work at exorbitant prices,
"Aldis Browne seems to be merely a disciple,
"a vague permutation from the same school,
"with half the confidence and testosterone,"
No, no, no, no, no, no,
Well, I'm not surprised,
Your work has twice the balls,
Thank you,
I'm gonna try to get you a show,
How do you think Aldis is taking it?
No,
Oh, fuck!
Fuck!
Oh,
fuck!
Why?
Aldis,
it's Joanne,
Please call me,
We can fix this,
I can fix this,
This man, this art critic,
he doesn't know what he's talking about,
I'll write the editor,
I know you're hurting,
Please call me, my love,
You look awful,
Carree isn't coming?
No,
So,
I have a check for you,
What is this?
Your cut of the show,
You sold everything,
The check is essentially anonymous,
issued by a trust it seems, but,,,
We can safely assume who would do such a thing,
So,
what will you do now?
Um,,,
I don't know, I'm going to get outta here for a while,
Got a friend who's got a little mountain cabin up north,
Bruce Courtney?
Yeah,
How do you,
you know Bruce?
Of course,
We did his first show,
He's a remarkable artist,
No one out there like him today,
Of course he grew out of me and
went up, up, up into art stratosphere,
I hear some disturbing rumors about him,
All alone up in the woods,
I haven't seen him since he moved up there,
Well,
give him my best will you?
Aldis,
for what it's worth,
I love your painting,
I don't think Carree ever understood it,
Robert Rauschenberg said,
"You have to have time to feel sorry for yourself,
"if you want to be an abstract expressionist,"
Fuck Robert Rauschenberg,
Yeah, well,
What do you want?
What is that?
It's mail,
Just leave it,
Here?
Yes, fine,
Leave it, and get out,
Hey!
Bruce!
Hey!
Hey, Aldis, my man!
You made it,
Soup's on,
Hope you like trout gumbo,
Yeah,
Thanks for having me, man,
Of course, man, anytime,
Did you catch this today?
You'd better believe it, brother,
I just can't take the city anymore, man,
I hate it down there, man,
Fuckin' worst city in America,
I agree,
And the scene?
The fuckin' art scene, are you kiddin' me?
All that bougey bullshit,
Had to get outta there,
I mean, I bought this place,
took up fly fishing,
change your fuckin' life,
You gotta try it, man,
And when,
when did you get the tits?
Oh, yeah man, do you like 'em?
It's something I've always wanted to do,
Sure,
Yeah, so after my last show, I made some good money,
and I decided I needed a huge life change,
so you know, I found a great doctor,
and yeah man, I got these C's put in,
That's good,
What happened to you, man?
I mean, your email was distressing,
Ah, it's a long story,
Essentially, I had my first big show,
- Ludovic and Tole, - Hmm,
Cool, cool, man,
It's a good gallery, congrats,
It was a total failure,
I mean, I liked what I did, but the critics trashed it,
They said it was,
an emasculated Ryan West,
Ryan West?
He's a pretty good fuckin' painter, man,
Yeah, I don't,,,
I just feel like I might not ever want to paint again,
You know, and this woman, Joanne,
my benefactor or whatever she is,
we sort of had a falling out,
Fuckin' benefactors, ridiculous, right?
I mean, they think just because they're rich,
that they know good art,
People who've never made art in their life,
Ridiculous,
She did,
She does know good art,
Well,
That's rare,
Don't fuck that up,
Ryan West,
Tell us why you paint,
Painting for me is,,,
Was,
an escape,
And I think you can see that in my work,
Did you paint as a child?
It's amazing how the word pain,
is in the word painting,
I just thought of that,
No, actually, I had no interest in it,
No interest in art at all,
You know, I think I was just a normal kid,
growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, playing sports,
causing mischief,
So what changed?
This is hard to talk about,
My dad was an alcoholic and
as his drinking got worse,
he started hitting my mom a bit,
Then us,
Anyway, to make a long story short,
one morning,
very early in the morning,
my mom got me and my brother out of bed,
you know, and she got us into the car,
which was filled with all our stuff,
And I'm thinking, you know,
"This is strange,"
And by the time my brother was asking why
Dad wasn't coming with us,
we were already on the road,
gone,
Never saw him again,
The counselor my brother and I saw
had us do a lot of art therapy,
drawing our family home or,
our family unit, our mother, father,
and that's what did it,
You know, I just loved expressing myself through
color and shape,
Images not words,
The rest is history,
That was wonderful,
Ryan West,
I'll have one more of those,
Thanks,
Job well done,
You're quite the crowd-pleaser,
You were in the uh, thing, right?
You had all those old biddies eating out of your hand,
Yeah, that's my job,
- Is that your job? - Hmm,
I thought your job was to be a painter,
Yeah, well that's like, half the job,
The other half is doing stupid crap like that,
You know, making people like you,,,
Shit!
Don't worry, let me get you another one,
Ooh!
Thanks,
I'll get the next round,
On me,
I'm Joanne,
Ryan,
Yes,
I'm gonna have a smoke,
Do you want one?
Oh, I don't smoke,
All right,
Watch my drink then,
Yes,
Hi, Joanne,
Oh, it's so wonderful to hear your voice,
It's three in the morning, Joanne,
I miss you,
I want things to be better between us,
I want things to go back to the way they were before,
- Joanne, I'm not,,, - I have a present for you,
- Joanne, - Aldis, please,
I know you are angry with me,
and I know some of my actions have upset you,
but I know we can work this thing out,
this misunderstanding,
You can't run away, not from your problems,
not from your work,
and not from me,
And this gift I have for you, it,,,
I don't,,,
I don't want a gift,
No, this is something you really need,
You're gonna love it, I promise,
Fine,
I'll be home in a couple of days,
Okay, a couple of days,
Well that's all because,
this present,
I don't know how long it'll last,
- It's perishable, - Good night,
good night, Joanne,
Good night, my love,
Welcome home,
It's been difficult keeping everything in order for you,
Quite the learning curve, I'll have to admit,
but I think you'll be so pleased,
Just right in here,
What is this?
He's your present,
I got him for you,
He's yours to do with whatever you like,
He won't scream,
Not anymore,
We had to deal with that little problem very quickly,
That's what I meant by the learning curve,
He was screaming so much when he woke up,
he wouldn't shut up,
How did you get him here?
Well, he was pretty far gone
when I found him at the bar,
I just pushed him down the river a bit,
Bill helped me get him out of the car,
I couldn't carry him by myself,
Bill?
The gardener,
What are you doing with him?
Whatever you want, my love,
Oh, God,
I thought it would please you,
This is reparation for years of abuse,
- Joanne,,, - No, Aldis,
Why should he get to win?
Why should his dreams be realized?
That he should be validated for his disgusting actions?
We were kids,
It's what he deserves,
This is justice,
After my parents were both dead,
I received a very large inheritance,
I took my husband to Tahiti for our 20th anniversary,
The trip was a disaster,
One night, while we ate at some thatched-roof restaurant,
not speaking, him drinking heavily as usual,
this slow rage built up inside me,
I snapped,
Without a thought,
I up and threw my hot soup in his hideous face,
Well, naturally this got him furious,
and in a drunken rage he reaches across the table
and starts choking me,
Luckily, the other patrons came to my rescue,
They pulled him off me, kicking and screaming,
spitting like a feral dog,
Then suddenly, he went into a seizure,
I don't know what caused it,
The seizure ended with him biting off his tongue,
And as I watched him thrashing there on the ground, scared,
helpless, bleeding out of the mouth,
I was still,
I couldn't move,
All I could think to myself was,
"serves you right,"
It's a wonderful feeling when
your oppressor receives his due consequence,
no matter how painful,
Your soul is allowed to run free,
And after that,
I don't feel anger anymore,
It's okay,
If I take that off, will you be quiet?
No screaming?
Do you want some water?
Where are they?
Do you know why you're here?
No,
Ransom, something, I don't know,
I know you, don't I?
You're an artist, right?
Painter?
Look man, you should let me go,
What are you gonna do?
Kill me?
Is that old lady gonna kill me?
I don't think so,
So what's the plan, hmm?
The fuck am I doing here?
She's gonna get caught,
You're both gonna get caught,
you're both gonna go to prison for 20 fuckin' years,
Or,
or you can let me go,
Did you ever think about that, hmm?
You let me go right now,
and she gets sent to jail for kidnapping,
And you're just the accomplice, just the accessory, right?
Jail time cut in half,
Blame the whole thing on her,
She's not your fuckin' mom,
you don't care, right?
Or is she your mom?
Don't scream again,
Aldis, right?
Aldis Browne?
I'm right, right?
You are a painter,
You're a good painter,
Since you were a little kid,
Yeah,
I know your work,
I love your work,
I know exactly who you are,
- You do? - Yes, yes,
I don't know what the three of you have planned,
but this is a huge opportunity for you, okay?
Look, you let me go, right?
Look, you let me go,
and this story blows up,
Huge fucking news story,
Every news outlet,
The art world will go ape shit,
Vanity Fair, Page Six, New York Magazine,
I'm fucking famous, man,
Everyone will want to know who kidnapped Ryan West,
"Why, how, who would do such a thing?"
Right?
Right, and when they find out it's you, Aldis,
This great painter,
Suddenly, everyone is looking at your work,
Googling you, the whole fucking world wants to know
what kind of painting this guy really does,
The guy who kidnapped Ryan West,
And because you're good,
no because you're great,
your work becomes famous,
- You're patronizing me, - Infamous, no, no,
- I'm not, no, - Yes, you are,
I wouldn't do that to you, man,
Then what?
Our work is forever intertwined?
My art?
And your art?
Yes, for the next 100 years,
Look, you turn yourself in,
and you go to prison for like a year, with parole,
And while you're in there, right,
you're doing all this new work,
you're doing interviews, 60 Minutes or some shit,
And when you get out, you're famous,
because your work is so good,
and because you're dangerous,
- I'm dangerous? - Mysterious,
And people love that shit!
A young, famous painter gets kidnapped by who?
By his childhood,,,
By what?
What?
Childhood,
what?
Huh?
You remember,
You remember what you did to me,
Aldis,
- If you let me go,,, - Say it,
Say it,
Okay, I remember,
I remember what I did,
But I was a kid,
Aldis, I was a little kid and I'm sorry,
You know?
- I apologized! - Yes,
- Right, I apologized, - Yeah, you did,
I did, yes,
But you ruined my life,
You were supposed to disappear,
You were supposed to be some fat,
fuckin' drunk loser in Omaha,
And I was supposed to be successful,
I was supposed to be the one who was respected,
and written about,
I was supposed to be rich,
Getting my dick sucked by models, because I am the underdog,
Those are my fuckin' parties,
my accolades,
my opportunities!
I am supposed to be you,
and you are supposed to be nothing!
I'm sorry,
You are not sorry!
You are not fuckin' sorry!
If you know who I am, you know that I'm nothing!
You know that I'm totally fucking insignificant!
Fuck!
Oh, God!
And that means you won,
That means you're living my dream,
And I can't have that,
I just can't let go of it,
I go to bed every night, Ryan,
and I wake up hating myself,
and I fuckin' hate you,
And I hate whatever fucked-up God
thought I needed to be taught a lesson,
No,
No, no, no, no, no,
No, please, please, God, please,
But I've learned my lesson, Ryan,
And you know what that lesson was?
I think you do,
You know what it was?
Be the bully,
That's all it takes,
Be the bully,
Fuck!
We can't keep him around forever,
No, Joanne, we can't keep him around forever,
And I don't think either one of us
have the strength to kill him, but if you want
- that to happen,,, - Oh, for fuck's sake,
nobody's killing anybody, Joanne,
I'm just trying to make you happy,
My boy was so close, you know,
So close to being an important painter,
And maybe I was to blame,
I kept him cloistered, working,
I told him from a young age he couldn't have friends,
if he wanted to be successful,
Focus only on the painting,
and everything else is meaningless,
Friends, family, school,
sex, all of it fading, fleeting, temporary,
The only part of you that will endure is your art,
if you're good enough,
Everything else is utterly meaningless,
You really believe that?
Of course I do,
Don't you?
My son wasn't strong like you,
He wanted a life outside of art, outside of me,
And I wouldn't give it to him,
He killed himself to hurt me, to punish me,
but now I have you,
And I will not fail again,
I will make a sacrifice for you, Aldis,
And we will turn this scandal into a vehicle,
for your great, triumphant success,
- Thank you, Bill, - Fuck it, fuck it,
You see, Ryan, we are at an impasse,
We like what you have to say, we like your little plan,
But our dilemma now is what to do with you,
I mean, we can't just let you run
half-naked from here screaming,
Why not?
- What? - Why not?
Why can't we just let him run?
Well, we do have neighbors,
I don't think they want a naked, bloody,,,
This is a respectable neighborhood,
You do realize we are allowing ourselves to get caught?
We're going to prison,
so what's it matter how it happens?
What do you suggest, we call the police?
- Police? - We want publicity,
but we have to be careful,
We call a critic,
maybe a reporter,
- What's going on? - Shut up, Bill,
What's going on?
Please don't shout, you're embarrassing yourself,
What's he talking about, what plan?
- We're turning ourselves in, - No,
That's what we've decided, Bill,
I won't let you do this!
Oh, yeah, well what are you gonna do to stop me?
No!
- No! - Oh, my God!
- No! - No!
- Oh! - No, no, no,
What the hell is the matter with you?
You're not going anywhere!
You are not going anywhere,
You stupid, impulsive moron,
- what were you thinking? - I won't let you go,
I don't care what you want,
- this was for Aldis, not you, - Oh, Aldis, Aldis, Aldis,
Now you went and ruined everything,
Now I've got to come up with a whole new plan,
No,
No!
Coffee,
And almond milk for you,
What do we say?
Thank you,
It turns out that being an extremely talented painter,
is not enough,
It turns out that it doesn't matter how hard you work,
It doesn't matter who believes in you,
it doesn't matter if the critics shower you with praise,
It doesn't matter if you sell,
Many great painters have died without a glimpse of fame,
without a sliver of success,
When you are striving to be remembered,
when what you are after is to be found in
the great institutions of art long after you are dead,
what matters is this,
At the right time,
you must capture the imagination of us all,
I love that phrase,
Capture the imagination,
It sounds as illusive and magical
as the rare event truly is,
Here I sit,
My final days to be spent in this blue, cold,
artless place where, at times,
all one has is their imagination,
You may think that I'm swimming in regret
as I will never get out of here,
will never go to another opening,
never spend an afternoon in one of my favorite museums,
but again, my dears,
you would be wrong,
For I am old,
and can't imagine a greater feat in this long life
than capturing your imaginations,
And introducing you to my greatest accomplishment,
My deepest love,
my genius,
Aldis Browne,
Isn't he spectacular?