Monday 1 July 2013

James Franco: Psycho Nacirema

 

For starters, apologies for the lack of posts recently. I’ve realised that when there’s not that much to do, you wanna do even less, and, obviously, this summer’s been no exception.
Anyway, a few of weeks ago, Leah and I went to our favourite boy James Franco’s exhibition at Pace London, and much to my surprise, ‘Psycho Nacirema’ was... well, entertaining and fun. Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s legendary 1960 classic and the 'Fatty' Arbuckle case, the actor slash art-maker has skilfully constructed a very believable life-size interpretation of the Bates Motel – and it’s both gory and hilarious. There are quite a few questionable objects (gummy ducks?!?); red paint’s been splattered everywhere, and the excruciating amount of ‘Marion Crane’ portraits and video projections will keep you well aware that you’ve stepped into Franco’s insanely bizarre world.
Some people (including myself) might doubt James’ creative output, and although ‘Psycho Nacirema’ won’t strike you with extreme originality, it manages to evoke a spectrum of emotions which, I think, is definitely a rarity nowadays. Or maybe I'm over-exaggerating (as per usual), and it's simply his boyish charm that keeps people interested. Either way, you won't be bored.







All images by me.