Here it is: your James Franco update! Last we checked, the multi-talent was enjoying some gold balls at Marina Abramović's closing party at MoMA, and now he's... an artist! Of course he is, right? He's already played one on General Hospital, so it makes perfect sense.
This isn't the first we've heard of Franco dabbling in the fine arts—back in January he was discussing the possibility of an upcoming performance-art show at Deitch Projects in Long Island City (wherein he would also be filming scenes for his return to General Hospital). However, this is about his first solo art show, which will be at Clocktower Gallery and opens on the 23rd.
The show is titled "The Dangerous Book Four Boys," and will include sculpture, photography, drawing, film and video—it was curated by Alanna Heiss, the founder and former director of P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center. The show will address boyhood and the "sexual confusion" of adolescence—spoiler alert: one piece explores a romantic encounter between Spock and James T. Kirk. Hot! OUT Magazine says this is "just the kind of thing guaranteed to keep the 'is he, isn't he?' speculation alive... we love his devil-may-care attitude."
The Wall Street Journal (where Franco is a contributor) has a slideshow from the exhibit; he told them, "I like the idea that I can make people look at entertainment in a different way. And to the extent that my public persona allows me to do that, I'm doing it." So what's next? He's writing a children's book. We hope the moral is: if you are ridiculously good looking and absurdly wealthy, you can achieve all of your goals.
