There was blood on the walls last time We Heart featured the art of James Franco, and not because we were mean about it – quite the opposite in fact. We enjoyed his tongue-in-cheek but unmistakably dark collaboration looking at the violent side of Hollywood, and what’s more, one has to admire the guy’s willingness to hang his arse out to be spanked by snarky hacks and envious keyboard warriors. After all, as everyone knows, actors aren’t real artists and even if they were, you’re not allowed to be good at more than one kind of art, and especially not if you’re also quite pretty.
But here comes Franco again with The Animals, and this time it’s paint rather than blood that’s everywhere – and we do mean everywhere. Recently “roasted” by Comedy Central, the Californian once more displays a welcome sense of humour in his collection of paintings, photographs and video. The work captures the antics of masked, androgynous figures who are let loose in a series of improvised performances, creating a record of the activities in the mess left behind. The Animals is on show at the Parisian concept store sans égal colette until it all gets cleared up on 2 November.
