CON ARTIST is a punk-fueled docu-comedy feature film about art, business, celebrity and fakery
centering on the
divisively controversial career of business artist / media whore / game show host Mark Kostabi.
One of the world’s most successful living artists, Kostabi today sells over one thousand paintings every year.
But all of "his" paintings are concieved of and painted by a stable of employees who come up with ideas
and then paint them in a self-reflexive, uber-ironic twist based on Warhol's Factory system.
These paintings are then signed by Kostabi, titled by celebrities and art personalities on his cable access
game show Title This, and then sold all over the world at mid-level prices.
While overt self-promotion and lampooning of the art business in the 1980s catapulted Kostabi to international
fame, his bad behavior, coupled with industry changes, knocked him off his arrogant pedastal in the 90s.
Today Kostabi is a tragi-comic figure looking to get back on top. Our cameras have followed him for two years as
he looks for love and acceptance whilst gearing up for a major trip to Italy for an unveiling of an important new piece.
CON ARTIST is an intimate look at a controversial subject who serves as an amazing lightening rod for debate
about much larger issues. A growing list of interview subjects include: Michel Gondry, Glenn O’Brien,
Donald Kuspit, Baird Jones, Mike Cockrill, Kembra Pfahler, Moby, Randy Jones, Jacob Collins and many more.
Current Project Status:
In Post-Production
Official Selection IFP Independent Film Week 2008 (work-in-progress)
|
