This post was submitted by Ben K.

“We want to create works of art of joy and beauty, which we will build because we believe it will be beautiful.  The only way to see it is to build it.  Like every artist, every true artist, we create them for us.” – Jeanne-Claude

This week marked the sad passing of Jeanne-Claude, the artist who was the wife and collaborator of Christo.  They are the husband and wife team made famous for their public art installations, mostly involving the wrapping of public spaces and buildings in fabric (the Reichstag in Berlin, the Pont Neuf in Paris, a series of islands in Biscayne Bay in Miami). Most recently they were the celebrated pair responsible for the 2005 Central Park installation “The Gates” where over 7000 flowing fabric gates were installed in the park, bringing a burst of excitement to the New York winter for just 16 short days.

These installations were provided to the public at no cost.  Instead, the couple funded the projects themselves, without governmental funding or corporate sponsorship, largely on funds raised through the selling of items related to the installations.  This allowed them to keep their vision purely their own, their artistic gift to themselves and the world.   They understood the tension between art and commerce, both in the way that outside funding could inhibit their work, and in the way that they could use what they had done to create ancillary products that would drive revenue to fund future artistic endeavors.

That very tension between art and commerce has often caused for a great debate in the art world that increasingly seems to be screeching toward a fever pitch.  In (Untitled), the new film by director Jonathan Parker, that tension is skewered in a thought-provoking satire on the current state of contemporary art.

Adam Goldberg stars as Adrian, a humorless composer so obsessed with the artistic nature of his indescribably avant-garde musical compositions that he declares that suicide will be his only option if success does not find him within three years time.  Adrian’s musical centerpiece is a steel bucket to which he drops in items.  Or kicks.  Or drops in items and then kicks.  His clarinetist (Lucy Punch) doesn’t so much play the clarinet as wail and scream among the jarring noises performed on stage.  It may come as little surprise that Adrian’s music is not quite everyone’s cup of tea, even along the artistically cutting-edge streets of lower Manhattan.

Adrian’s brother Josh (Eion Bailey) is a painter who has found commercial success through the sale of his pieces to hotels and hospitals, but longs to find respect within the art world.  While owning an ultra-trendy gallery, his art dealer Madeleine Gray (Marley Shelton), will only sell his work out of the backroom.  Madeleine sees no true artistic vision behind Josh’s work, and will have nothing to do with the promotion of it as that which is real art.  But the work featured in her gallery doesn’t bring in the sales revenue to continue her artistic vision.  She relies on artists like Josh to provide her with the product to discreetly sell out of her back room to fund the front gallery.

One night, Josh takes Madeleine to see one of Adrian’s performances, and she is bowled over by what she perceives as the artistic beauty of his compositions.  She invites him to perform in her gallery alongside the works of Ray Barko (Vinnie Jones), a new artist that she is promoting who dabbles in taxidermy.  After a performance in the gallery, Madeleine convinces one of her wealthiest patrons, Porter (Zak Orth) to commission a new work by Adrian to be premiered in her gallery.

Soon Adrian finds that too many cooks in the kitchen begin to spoil his artistic vision.  Porter has made his fortune in computers, and his commission seems to come with strings for both Madeleine and Adrian.  He falls for the clarinetist and begins to wonder why there can’t be a clarinet solo in Adrian’s piece.  His involvement in the art world is both a desperate attempt to remain on the cutting-edge of the New York scene, but further more it is an investment. He gobbles up contemporary art and stores it in vast lofts within his penthouse for no one to see.  For Porter, this is just something to do to make more money and create a legacy beyond expanding a stock portfolio or owning real estate from sea to shining sea.   The art world is littered with such people.

In reality, the villains and heroes of the film are not so clear.  How else is someone like Madeleine supposed to survive if not selling works that have commercial value?  But does their commercial value necessarily prohibit them from possessing an inherent artistic nature? What she sees as art may not bring in the big bucks, but it certainly has a deeper value in her opinion.

Compromises are made.  The market demands one thing and the artist provides another.  The artist expresses his vision and the supposed purveyors of taste laugh it away.  The characters in the film have difficult decisions to make- is compromising their artistic vision for survival and fame worth it?  If the artist can’t bring their work to the masses then what is the point?  The movie leaves for few easy answers.

But the film points to the truth.  For centuries, artists have had external factors influencing their work.  Today’s influencers may not be so different than those in the past.  From the European monarchies of yesterday commissioning works to the dotcom millionaires of today like Porter, art has always intersected often uncomfortably with commerce.  The interplay between the two has played itself out for centuries.  (Untitled) cleverly shows us how it does today.

The film begs to ask if that which we believe in as true art was decided for us, or if we are able decide for ourselves.  At one point when asked the age old question about what the difference is between art and entertainment, Madeleine states that while entertainment packages itself for easy consumption, art leaves for few easy answers, instead continuing to ask questions.

Possibly.  In Madeleine’s assessment of it then, (Untitled) is art.  Certainly you will be entertained, but the movie does not resolve the questions it seeks to ask of its audience.   The closest the film comes to answering the question of what is true art comes as Adrian begins to look into himself.  He sees what he does as beautiful art, and if anyone else feels the same then great, but if not, it does not change it in his eyes.

Rest her soul, maybe Jeanne-Claude was right.  Maybe the true artist is that person who creates their work for themselves first, and for others second.

(Untitled) is playing in select theaters nationwide.  Check www.untitled-themovie.com for further details.

With the passing of Jeanne-Claude, this week I am recommending 5 Films About Christo and Jeanne-Claude as the DVD pick of the week.  This series of documentary films chronicles 30 years of the collaboration and love between the two artist over their long career together.  It allows for an interesting exploration into the mind of the artists and the hard work that went into all of their various installations.  It brings into question the importance of public art and the value that art adds to life.  Watching the artists deal with interest groups and public officials in order to have complete control over their vision is fascinating to watch.  While you will not find it at your local video store, it is available on both Amazon and Netflix, among other sites.  Below is a video of the two artists introducing the installation that they were currently working on, “Over the River” where they planned to cover a long stretch of the Arkansas River in Colorado with silver fabric.

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