Kalup Linzy & James Franco, That's Entertainment! | "New York Close Up" | Art21

What's the difference between art and entertainment? In this film, artist Kalup Linzy prepares for his debut performance as Kalup & Franco—a performance art music-based collaboration with the actor James Franco—at Rob Pruitt's "2010 Art Awards" at Webster Hall in the East Village. Kalup & Franco are the closing act for a Hollywood-style awards show where celebrity and contemporary art merge in ambiguous ways. Featuring excerpts of Linzy's original songs "Chewing Gum," "Hot Mess," and "Asshole," along with cameos by artists Marina Abramovic, John Currin, Rachel Feinstein, Mary Heilmann, Marilyn Minter, and Rob Pruitt; curators Klaus Biesenbach and Tom Eccles; dealer Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn; and critic Jerry Saltz.

Kalup & Franco's debut EP titled "Turn It Up," co-produced by DJ /rupture, is due out 07.12.11 on the label Dutty Artz.

Kalup Linzy (b. 1977, Clermont, Florida, USA) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

CREDITS | "New York Close Up" Created & Produced by: Wesley Miller & Nick Ravich. Editor: Mary Ann Toman. Cinematography: Rafael Moreno Salazar, Andrew David Watson & Ava Wiland. Additional Camera: Don Edler & John Marton. Key Grip: John Marton. Sound: Ian Forster, Nicholas Lindner & Ava Wiland. Associate Producer: Ian Forster. Production Assistant: Paulina V. Ahlstrom, Don Edler & Maren Miller. Design: Open. Artwork: Kalup Linzy & James Franco. Music: The 2010 Art Awards Band. Thanks: The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Bronwyn Keenan, Natural Health, NYC Taxi, Glenn O'Brien, Kangmei Pan, Rob Pruitt, Rob Pruitt's 2010 Art Awards, Lauren Van Natten, Webster Hall & White Columns. An Art21 Workshop Production. © Art21, Inc. 2011. All rights reserved.

"New York Close Up" is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Additional support provided by The 1896 Studios & Stages.

For more info: art21.org/​newyorkcloseup

[Kalup Linzy--Artist]

Do you think there’s a difference between art and entertainment?

Yeah, for me, I mean art feels more personal.

So art can be entertaining, but they’re not...I don’t think they’re the same machine.

I think in terms of Hollywood, I think that’s a big piece of performance art itself.

["Kalup Linzy & James Franco That's Entertainment!"]

[APPLAUSE]

[Tonight At Rob Pruitt's 2010 Art Awards]

[The New York Art World Is Celebrating At A Hollywood Style Awards Show]

[And A New Artist Duo Has Been Invited To Perform]

[New York Close Up]

Hey Kalup, can you tell me a little bit about the outfit that you’re going to wear during the performance tonight?

I’m wearing this gold wig...it’s a look I’ve had before.

I’m wearing this jacket, a Tim Hamilton jacket.

Do you know what James is going to wear tonight?

Yeah, he’s supposed to wear...if he do what he say he’s going to do...

So he’s supposed to wear like a suit with no arms and he’s going to have his hair slicked…slicked back or slicked down with a moustache.

So he may be...I may appear to be more the masculine figure tonight and he may look more feminine.

That may not...and tonight is our first night performing officially as Kalup & Franco.

So in the...the look is probably going to change.

Should I tuck this shirt in or should I leave it?

♪

James gets into the city I think at 6:55 if he’s not already here.

I hope the scene isn’t chaotic.

I kind of want to just be calm.

Cause he tends to cause a frenzy these days so...

I don't know what that's going to be like.

[CROWD]

[James Franco--Actor]

The celebrity thing isn’t difficult, I mean that helps but you don’t want to be so high up on celebrity and then the performance doesn’t go well because then...

I mean the bigger the celebrity is, the bigger the crash will be if it doesn’t come off well.

Kalup & Franco Are The Closing Act

Last year James Franco invited Kalup Linzy to join him on General Hospital where Franco plays Franco, a psychotic serial killer obsessed with a mobster.

Linzy plays his musical collaborator, Kalup Ishmael.

Linzy and Franco have decided to continue their collaboration by forming a performance art music based duo...

Where dreams, art, music, film, soap opera, real life, and performance art collide.

Ladies and gentlemen, Kalup & Franco.

[APPLAUSE]

♪

♪ They met at the club, dancing real strong. ♪

♪ He wanted her stuff, she said you can’t have none. ♪

♪ He looked her in the eyes, he was super fine. ♪

♪ She say okay cute boy, my stuff is your toy. ♪

♪ She took him home for some. ♪

♪ They was real drunk. ♪

♪ He sniffed some coke. ♪

♪ That’s why he’s real broke. ♪

♪ He could not get it up, so he ate his stuff. ♪

♪ Made it in the bed, she looked at him and said. ♪

♪ This ain’t no chewing gum, ♪

♪ This ain’t no chewing gum, ♪

♪ This ain’t no chewing gum, ♪

♪ This ain’t no chewing gum, ♪

♪ This ain’t no chewing gum, ♪

♪ This ain’t no chewing gum, ♪

♪ This ain’t no chewing gum, ♪

♪ This ain’t no chewing gum, ♪

♪ He couldn’t concentrate... ♪

When Kalup came to talk at Columbia, you brought in some of your videos, and that was the first time I was exposed to most of those videos.

And I had just...I think I had just shot General...the first...

The first half, the first part. Yeah you did, yeah...

But then a lot of people went up to talk to you after so I felt like oh, I shouldn’t bother him.

♪ I thought you found love, I thought you were love. ♪

♪ You are not love. You’re just a good fuck. ♪

♪ You’re just a hot mess. ♪

♪ You used to feel blessed. ♪

♪ You want a love nest. Child, confess! ♪

♪

KALUP: ♪ I want to know why. ♪

JAMES: ♪ I want to know why. ♪

KALUP: ♪ Please tell me why. ♪

JAMES: ♪ Please tell me why. ♪

KALUP: ♪ Please tell me. ♪

JAMES: ♪ Please tell me. ♪

KALUP: ♪ Pretty please. ♪ JAMES: ♪ Pretty please. ♪

KALUP: ♪ With ice cream. ♪

JAMES: ♪ With ice cream. ♪

KALUP: ♪ And cherries. ♪

JAMES: ♪ And cherries. ♪

KALUP: ♪ Ooh, and nuts. ♪

JAMES: ♪ And nuts. ♪ KALUP: ♪ Lots of nuts. ♪

JAMES: ♪ Lots of nuts. ♪

KALUP: ♪ Big nuts. ♪

JAMES: ♪ Big nuts. ♪ KALUP: ♪ Chunky nuts. ♪

KALUP: ♪ Chunky nuts. ♪ JAMES: ♪ Bad nuts. ♪

FRANCO: ♪ Bad nuts.♪ KALUP: ♪ No more nuts. ♪

JAMES: ♪ No more nuts. ♪

KALUP: ♪ I am nuts. That motherfucker. ♪

JAMES: ♪ Motherfucker. ♪

KALUP: ♪ That son of a bitch. ♪

JAMES: ♪ Son of a bitch. ♪

KALUP: ♪ He did this to me. ♪

Now we just thought because all this, this is one of the core audience to support our projects, our music and stuff.

So we just...I’m really excited. I’m really excited. I’m really excited.

Me too.

So we got a lot, everything we can’t talk about in terms of like, so I said everything we can’t talk about like the…[WHISPERS] This comes out in June though. [WHISPERS]

Oh.

But it’s fine. This doesn’t come out until June. But no, we don’t have to...

But like a movie... movie soundtrack.

We got a lot of big plans!

We got a lot…so it’s going to be like...it’s going to be great.