“I was employed as a house painter to do faux-painting in Mel Gibson’s home . . . I believe it was Braveheart that was making Mel Gibson a ton of money at that time, which for us meant we could dedicate entire days to making a new door look old. Working with a large variety of media on a window pane in the closet of the guardhouse, I got to thinking that someone could have a nervous breakdown in there some day. Such a breakdown could prompt the afflicted individual to spend a lot of time staring at some insignificant portion of paint, eyes glued to a random set of details. For faux-painting to sustain its effect, a viewer must not partake in any isolated or protracted viewing; it is meant for glancing, not looking.”
Frances Stark, from her artist’s talk: “Scared to Death” (ÔAdd a Tooltip Text)
M: I wish I could drop down to a deeper layer with you, Gwynn. I wish I could see what’s hiding beneath those dangling rhinestones.
G: It’s just a hole, Mark. A hole through my earlobe. It’s been there since I was nine or ten, when I got them pierced.
M: I don’t think you’re getting me. I want to meet you in another dimension. I want to see the real you.
G: What do you want to know? Like I said, I’m a nurse. I can monitor people’s blood flow and heartbeat, count their breaths and brainwaves from another room. From another building, even. I love Andy McDowell, because I’ve been told I look a lot like her. I mean, people tell me that all the time. I like seafood.
M: Telling me what you eat doesn’t bring me any closer. We’re still in the rhinestones.
G: Well, these are my flashiest earrings. I hope you don’t think they’re tacky. You said we were going out to a nice place.
M: I like this restaurant, because it’s well lit. I hate the dark.
G: Yeah well, I’m no vampire. But my makeup looks a lot better at Applebees. (Laughs)
M: Applebees doesn’t serve food. They serve faux food.
G: You’re kind of a snob, then. What do they call that? A foodie?
M: I’m not a foodie. Ask me another question.
G: What do you think of beer-battered fries?
M: Ask me something else.
G: What’s your favorite color?
M: Glass.
G: Now, Mark, glass is not a color. Glass has no color.
M: Glass appears green, doesn’t it? It manifests as green, even if it has no color.
G: Isn’t rhinestone glass? I think it is. Actually, glass can be all kinds of colors.
M: Let’s argue about glass later. We should order. What are you in the mood for?
G: I’m going with the beer-battered fries.