Filed under: Art World | Tags: Chelsea Wolfe, Evan J. Garza, Gagosian, Lindsay Lohan, Richard Phillips, Sasha Grey, Venice Biennale
Stills from ‘Sasha Grey,’ a film directed by Richard Phillips
A week ago we posted a story about contemporary painting star Richard Phillips‘ filmic debut, ‘Lindsay Lohan,’ a stunningly banal minute-and-a-half portrait of the blonde super-celebrity in the style of sexy fragrance ads. In keeping with the commercial theme of the mobile video show which it was made for, currently sailing down the canals of central Venice for the 54th Venice Biennale, Phillips second film for the floating screener, ‘Sasha Grey,’ leaves ‘Lohan‘ in the dust.
Unapologetically interested in selling sex — and rightly so given the context — Phillips’ muse for the eponymous film is Sasha Grey, a lesser known star recognized largely for her work as a performance artist working in the adult film industry, as well as her lead role in Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Girlfriend Experience’ (and even lesser known as the front-woman and brains behind aTelecine, her brooding electro goth-rock band). Phillips’ film was shot in the San Fernando valley, the site of many of Grey’s previous adult film performances, and the film fluctuates between alternate portraits of the adult film star turned cinematic screen siren.
(via V Magazine, courtesy Gagosian Gallery)
‘Sasha Grey’ is blanketed in raw sexuality, almost a complete 180 from the energy phoned-in from Lohan. L.A.’s Chelsea Wolfe provides the score for the film, which feels surprisingly painterly. The still frames of Grey’s face, on her back on a sofa (in the famous John Lautner Chemosphere House off Mulholland Drive), evoke rich ties to portraiture and recall Phillips interest in the figure.
Which film do you like more? Do you have a video to suggest for video Fridays on the blog? Email us at blog@newamericanpaintings.com or leave us a comment!
Filed under: Art World, Los Angeles | Tags: Evan J. Garza, Gagosian, Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, Lindsay Lohan, Richard Phillips, Tamaryn, Venice Biennale
Still from ‘Lindsay Lohan,’ a film directed by Richard Phillips
Sailing through the busy canals of Venice, Italy next month will be a giant mobile video screen featuring the work of more than 80 artists; the week-long, water-going version of a New York City cab elevated for the biggest and baddest biennial in the world. Presented by Moscow’s Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, and running (or sailing) concurrently with the opening week of the 54th Venice Biennale, COMMERICAL BREAK is curated by Neville Wakefield and will include contemporary painting bigwig Richard Phillips‘ first foray into film, ‘Lindsay Lohan.’
The short film, which features the famously-troubled blonde mega-celebrity in all manner of brooding, bikini-clad swimming and sunning scenes; a portrait of the star that vividly evokes the decades-old cinematic tropes of sexy fragrance ads, in keeping with the floating exhibition’s theme of navigating commercial and creative combinations. It’s also intensely apropos of the setting next month in Venice, when tourists and art-makers share the streets for the Biennale’s five-month stretch.
(via GagosianGallery)
Reminiscent of classic bombshell swimsuit moments — á la “10” starring Bo Derek — the film is the quintessence of convention, to the point of banality. (And that’s the point). Viewers should expect as much from Phillips’ filmic debut as they should from a Calvin Klein Obsession ad, but with a much better soundtrack. San Franciso’s Tamaryn provides the score for the minute-and-a-half film, whose epically lush, shoegazey track “Cascades” ripples over each cascading wave caught on film. ‘Lohan‘ is less significant for being a pretty insignificant piece of work, and more so for what it will bring to Wakefield’s smart, floating show.
—Evan J. Garza, Editor-at-Large
