Last month I mentioned that James Franco was part of an installation at the Venice Biennale, a tribute to James Dean in which Franco's entry was an homage to actor Brad Renfro (who died at 25 of a heroin overdose), in which Franco carved Renfro's name into his arm with a switchblade and documented it in photography and film.
A limited-edition extension of that project is Franco's submission to 'The Thing', a subscription-based art quarterly with contributions from known artists and public figures. The Thing publishes 500-1,000 copies of each product and sends them to subscribers.
Franco described his entry to the Bay Citizen:
“It represents what it's like to be a performer,” said Franco, pointing to the objects that would be bundled into the issue — a lipstick-covered mirror and a photo of a switchblade carving the word “Brad,” as in the actor Brad Renfro, into Franco's right arm. “You go into something with such high hopes, things happen, you get so terribly disappointed.”
More photos at the Bay Citizen…
A video of Franco working at The Thing office, AFTER THE JUMP…
