Schnabel – or is it Hirst? – skewered by Dominic West
THE contemporary art world is hardly short of colourful characters, not to mention gossip. The Cannes Film Festival provided the source yesterday of fresh controversy: who is the mystery pyjama-wearing artist sent up by Dominic West in his new film?
West, the British actor, disclosed yesterday that he had based his character in The Square, a satire of the art world, on real-life contemporary artists. The character, Julian, wears pyjamas, a sports jacket and tinted glasses, and his works in the film include a pile of gravel and a neon sign reading, “You have nothing”.
The easy choice would be Julian Schnabel, the American artist known for wearing tinted glasses and pyjamas in the daytime. But other contenders include Damien Hirst, the best known of his generation of provocative contemporary artists and no stranger to works some members of the public have found baffling. In a press conference, West claimed he could not remember who precisely his version of “Julian” was based on, but admitted: “I’m sure you can guess ... my clothes give it away.” His co-star Claes Bang confirmed one of the clues was in the name.
West said: “We had a lot of people in mind. A lot of the interview we filmed [during a scene in the gallery] was taken from various interviews with great international artists who we looked at in great detail.
“I think they’re pretty scary, these guys, the incredibly knowledgeable artists who cannot be disputed because they’re talking about art, which is something there’s no definite answer to. So I’d be quite scared of meeting someone like that. Also, because they’re so powerful and so rich.”
The film also stars Elisabeth Moss as a journalist covering the world of contemporary art, and a half-bonobo ape who appears in her apartment without explanation. Bang, who also acted in the scenes, described how the animal came with a long list of instructions on how to behave, including not to look it in the eye or run away.
Ruben Ostlund, the director, added: “Anything can happen in a movie when a monkey appears in an apartment. I love monkeys and I think human beings love looking at monkeys because you’re seeing yourself reflected in them.”
Telegraph reviewer Robbie Collin awarded the film four stars.