Netflix Presents: The Characters (2016) s01e04 Episode Script

1 Since bursting on the scene, Denise St.
Roy has transformed the landscape of American culture.
Denise is able to capture a radical vulnerability in her work, whether it's her multimedia art, her painting, or her video pieces.
Denise has always been a huge influence.
She may be solely responsible for getting me to paint.
You can't measure the beginning or end.
Denise changed everything for everyone.
She was one of the first that made me think about color in such a unique way.
Everything didn't have to be vertical, she taught me.
And everything didn't have to be there when you thought it was there.
She revolutionized space, and what it is to take up space.
I don't know if I ever believed in the idea of masterpieces.
I always thought that was a market construct, until I lived with Denise's work.
She never accepted any of her many awards.
She receives them, and then she donates them to toy stores, because that's what she thinks they are they're toys.
Denise is an enigma.
I have actually known Denise from before she was born.
Somehow, she entered my consciousness prenatally.
Her early performance work, initially, was impossible to understand, but also impossible to forget.
I remember, for a whole year, Denise vowed she would never touch money unless she was destroying it.
The money piece stopped me in my tracks.
I didn't know art could do that.
Later, she started doing a lot of corporately sponsored works.
Even though people know her for her more corporate pieces, she's so punk rock, so organic, so down-to-earth, the world just kind of picks up where she leaves off.
The fact that Denise collaborated with Lou Bradley is astounding.
His disdain for his fellow artists is infamous.
I absolutely love Denise.
All of us, all of her friends and I, have been looking forward to what she's going to come up with next.
It could be any scale.
It could be the scale of a desk, it could be the scale of a pin, it could be the scale of the world.
The thing about Denise, which is actually crucial to understanding her and I think almost no one knows this, is that Denise Oh.
Oh, no.
What's happening? I don't know why that's happening.
It shouldn't happen when I'm screening.
Do you want to help with that? I just don't know why that happened.
It's obviously not planned.
He goes on to pretty much say that I am one of the artists who really influenced the top-tier painters of the second half of the 21st century, which is so sweet.
And he gets very emotional.
It's beautiful to see that sort of prominent figure collapse under the weight of my influence.
Here I am.
I know it's hard to wrap your head around the fact that I am teaching.
Right? "Why is she teaching? She is my greatest influence.
Why is she here?" And it's activism.
But, at the end of the day, I can't help.
You either have it or you don't, and if you don't, you never will.
Are there any questions? Anything at all? Open book.
I encourage you to speak up, because so often, we silence ourselves.
If there is anyone? Yes? What are you working on now? What do you mean? What are you working on right now? Directly Directly, in terms of - Art.
What are you working on? - Always working.
Well, expand on that.
What is the thing you are working on right now? It's private.
I can't go there.
I will say that it's huge.
It's big, but I can't It's for Sprite.
And I'll just let you sit with that.
I don't relate to the title of artist.
I don't like it when people force that on me.
It brutalizes me into a genre, and that's an act of violence.
So people call me an artist, I respectfully cross arms, then I bow and I leave.
I had a teacher.
And he always said, "Every negative thought you have, build a house around it.
" Right? So I continued to build these birdcages.
And I collaborated for years with a parrot who lived in this home.
And I was making a lot of inaudible music, and the bird and I would I would play the song, and the bird would go You know? We had this incredible dialogue back-and-forth.
And the bird one day I came home and the door was open, and the bird had gotten out.
It happens to be that, in some of these photographs, I was eating wheat, and then I wasn't eating wheat.
And you can see here, wheat, clearly.
No wheat.
Wheat.
Non-wheat, wheat.
I legally can't talk about that.
But I was involved in a fire and that's what's left of the building that I burned down.
This This is my awareness headdress.
I didn't exactly get it legally, but I've had it for years, and I work with it constantly.
It's everything to me.
And this is Louisa, who I can't see right now.
But she is the spine of everything I do.
And I want her to have it.
I want you to have this.
Because of Yeah.
That's for you.
Great.
That That feels good.
You know, knowing now that she has it and that it's no longer mine I don't miss it.
This is my This is my husband, Brian.
We haven't found the space, honestly, to hang it up, and there has been no time, so God, wow! Thank you for these girls.
They're working hard.
They know not what they do.
Lot of moms are going to be in the stands this weekend.
You know? Or dads.
Sisters, brothers, younger, smaller.
Taller, too.
Come on! Come on! Come on! Your ponytail is your center point, OK? Arch your ponies down and then hit it.
I just want you to know that I don't blame you for your playing, I blame your family.
It's not softball.
It's ping pong now.
Sasha.
I thought you had more in you.
If you leave it, leave it at the door.
Leave it all in the van, because you can't bring it on the field.
I didn't say we were done talking.
I didn't say that you could run away, OK? Lots riding on this.
Wow! To have dropped it in that moment says a lot.
We have to be honest with each other.
If you say you're trying your best and I know you're not, I can't trust you.
OK.
I know Mom's not here.
She is working, OK? She's busy.
You want her to know you are doing good work? You want me to tell her you're doing good work? - Yeah.
- OK.
So good work for Mom.
- And do good work for you, and for me.
- OK.
And the whole team, because everyone's watching.
-OK.
Family is everything to me.
And, for me, family is Brian, Louisa Louisa counts.
And Jenny, my daughter.
I named them Jenny to see if they would be able to develop separate personalities, despite being recognized as a singular unit by myself and the state.
One birth certificate.
That was hard.
But they are different in many ways.
You saw that fear response.
See, the fear mechanism in that one is really sharp.
OK.
Well, that's good.
We have it right now.
Drag the file down.
I need you to drag it down.
I am Denise's art dealer.
I have been for a few years now.
This is my gallery.
It's amazing.
My dad bought it for me when I was in law school, but I was going through a hard time, and it was time to pursue a more passionate lifestyle.
Great.
She still hasn't dragged it down.
Drag it down one more time.
Drag it right down.
Yeah, hold on.
Do it with a lot of force, and drag it down.
It's kind of intuitive.
Drag it down.
I had always loved art and so, for me, it was just a natural progression into art.
That one you can drag down, right? If you can't drag that one down, we have more of a problem.
Where are you? Thank you.
I think art is everything, and I've always said that.
I think what's important is for art to have a message, a very clear message, clearly, for it to transcend certain boundaries.
And Sorry.
Sarah? Sarah? Hey.
Sorry.
Less.
Yeah, just do less.
And then go up.
- That's how it is.
Do you see? - Yes.
Before, you were like this.
You have to go like that.
You were here, and you have to go there.
OK? My friend Carly that I went to college with, she passed she passed away.
This other girl we went to school with started a GoFundMe account to help cover funeral costs, but, like, it turns out she took all the money and paid for lap-band surgery with it.
It's not right.
No, that is OK.
Yeah, yeah.
No, I hear you.
Do you see what I'm saying? You guys are going like that.
You have to go like that.
Because a spill It's actually math.
When a spill And you should also listen.
When a spill drops, it doesn't do an up-splash, it actually goes side-splash.
It's a common misconception.
Art has to have a message, though.
I think that that's really crucial.
I think that the partnership with Denise with Sprite is very exciting for everyone on board.
She has been formally invited by Sprite to create work for their corporate headquarters, the lobby.
I think that's going to be an incredible marriage between two forces.
Out of the chairs! Everybody, out of the chairs.
Come on.
If I sing it, does it help? Out of the chairs Does that help? You have been told that you can't make mistakes in art but I'm here to tell you that you can.
That's a mistake.
Are you afraid of sex? No sexuality.
Maybe if you knock the head off, there'd be a thought inside of it.
I know, I can tell by looking at this, that you're not a reader.
Sometimes that can help work.
Apoliticism can make you burst through a wall, and then you go, "Cool! A natural form," right? But this, to me, is offensive.
How old are you? Twenty-eight.
Enjoy it.
No.
No! No.
I couldn't tell if the no's were audible at first, but they were audible, so just keep No.
This is so weird.
You don't have an iPhone 5 charger, do you? - I don't.
Sorry.
- OK.
Do you have an iPhone 5 charger? Sorry.
I could get one.
I I might have one at - My apartment's not that far from here.
- Really? The master is leaving.
Everyone can relax.
Hi.
Sorry.
It's me, from the interwebs, and now I have my own show, because that's a thing now.
Now we're best friends.
Awesome sauce.
This weekend I went ahead and decided to buy all the birdhouses, because that's a thing.
We have an amazeballs show, because I made it that way.
If you guys like pizza Retweet if you love pizza.
Sorry, I am a mess.
My spirit animal? Two burgers.
Uh-oh! I accidentally invented the most awesome sauce game, where two burgers fight but one's a dinosaur and one's a robot.
Which one fights, which one wins? Dinosaurs versus robots.
Tweet at me which you like more.
Uh-oh! You know what that means! Time to play everybody's favorite game, That's Not A Thing! That's not a thing! That's not a thing! That's not a thing! That's not a thing! "That's not a thing!" I am going to wait around and watch Game Of Thrones, I guess, because that's a thing that I do, because I am a nerd, and a guy, like most dudes are.
Bye, BFFs! Don't forget to subscribe! We are friends because of the Internet! Oh! Oh! I am feeling all the feelings! Bae? Bae? Bae? Uh-oh.
Bae? Hey, bitch.
Whatcha doing? I folding.
What do you think's more important? Don't think about it.
- Sensitivity to aesthetics or compassion? - I think It's a trick question.
Yeah.
I think they are the same thing.
The same thing.
Same sides of a different coin.
Do you think Do you think I'm a good mom? Hey, Denise.
What's up? Not much.
We're meeting with the Sprite ambassador today, from Sprite, and he flew in from Asia.
And we've been here for about 45 minutes now.
I'm just worried, wondering if I should start calling hospitals, or what to do at this point.
Brian said you'd be at the studio, but I checked, and you weren't there.
So we're just really worried, really scared, and just sort of wondering if maybe you fell, or maybe you're just really absorbed right now in your work, which is amazing.
But please call us.
We're really upset.
OK.
Bye.
Hi, Rachel.
I just got your message.
You're going to have to forgive me.
I'm just on a real roll here at the studio, and can't tear myself away.
I tried to leave a while ago.
My knees literally buckled beneath me, so, trust me, you wouldn't want me down there at the gallery anyway.
I'm covered in plaster.
Just really doing a lot of work here at the studio.
Finally kind of getting a breakthrough.
So I'll have some work to show you soon.
OK.
Signing off.
Did you get the I need you to get all the keys.
Keys.
So if you just go to the guy on the corner, from before, he will do that.
- You can't see from here.
- I can.
You can't, but - Also, I need Himalayan sea-salt lamps.
- Cool.
- Do you know what I am - Yeah.
You know how they come in large and also small? - I need them large.
- Large, large, large.
And it might make sense to get them online.
Online.
And the light switch is broken in the front hall.
- I don't know if you noticed? - Was it? - The front hall.
- The front hall? Yeah.
So if you could actually call someone about that that would be great.
Having a huge party in a couple of weeks.
- Yum! - A dinner party.
- Yum, yum, yum! - OK, I think that's it.
I think Are you OK? I saw you took kind of a tumble.
I don't But you are OK? - Fine.
- OK, great.
- Have a good night.
- You, too.
Hey.
Hey.
- Hey.
- Hi.
It is such a nice day, so Yeah.
- Yesterday was insane, I thought.
- I know.
It's been so humid.
The worst.
Do you Do you collect art? I'm seeing the way you're interacting.
There's such a sense of connection between you and the work.
- No, not really.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
Me neither.
Well, I'm in the art world, but I'm a relaxed kind of person.
Like, I just hang out at home.
Been cooking.
I took a southeast Asian cooking class two years ago.
I don't go to clubs or anything like that.
Like, I'm - Yeah? - Sometimes I do.
That's nice.
We're just going to mic you real quick.
OK.
Hi.
And I am just so happy you were able to make time for this.
I know that last time we spoke, things got a little If you could? Thank you.
a little heated.
- I decided to come.
Clean slate.
- Great! And we can just be here now, which is something that I have been saying for years.
What do you - What do you do? - I teach art history at Columbia.
That's so cool, that you're able to find the time to teach.
Well, but I paint as well, so it's You know? - You paint? - Yeah.
Oh, my God.
I realized I haven't seen you in quite some time.
Not since your last show in London at the Tate.
Oh, yes.
I remember your review.
I have it.
I destroyed it, of course, but I have it.
- I understand.
- I archived my trash.
You know I'm a fan, I just like to approach each new show without the memory of previous successes.
I like to approach the work as an individual entity.
Are you crying? Crying? As you were speaking, you were welling up, and I actually saw a single tear just I am not crying.
You're crying.
If you have any questions, this is my gallery, so - Oh, really? - Yeah.
Yeah, absolute.
Yeah.
It's a little corner of heaven that I am lucky enough to control.
- Yeah? - Yeah.
Yeah, I love looking at this work.
I mean, I represent a lot of artists, I'm lucky to say, but Denise St.
Roy I represent, and that's kind of amazing, so She is essentially a corporate decorator now.
What? Would you say that your process is a natural one? Yes.
- Talk about that.
How does that - I just did.
I don't discuss my process.
I never have, I never will.
I think that art Right? The T actually is hard.
People, over the years, "Art.
" It is "art.
" Yeah.
The force of that, even just audibly prevents us from finding out about your process? Yeah.
OK.
Well The T comes down and becomes an X.
"Don't talk about it.
" She essentially mimics work of subaltern communities, and refuses to create art outside hermetically sealed corporate America.
Where did you read that? Most people, when they make a claim like that, substantiate it with arguments.
You're going to make your thesis, which is very bold, in your case.
Pointing to the facts, supplying those facts to substantiate your claim, which is a very bold claim.
This is all a matter of I let the work speak for itself, and I always have.
- Well, that is - And if you want to write a biography about me, which you tried to the answer is no.
I'm sorry, I just think that the most fascinating subject that I explore with artists is the creative process.
Whereas I focus on the work.
Which comes out of a process.
The work.
It makes sense.
A lot of lesser-known artists are threatened by a woman in power, and in such a huge position, in as much as she is.
Coming from her work I not only love, but I work with her personally, and she's incredible.
And she's your boss.
- She's my mentor.
- Oh.
And she is a complete badass.
Where did you go to school? You were born in Palm Springs, yes? To substantial means, yes? In fact, your family is quite wealthy, being the heirs to the largest cage manufacturer in North America.
I'm curious.
Coming from such a position of privilege, how did that affect your work? I am I am trying to understand.
But I think and I'm remembering this now about you.
You tend to swallow your words, and they get caught in your It's almost like a whisper that's also a growl.
All I am getting is You know? I just can't - You can't understand what I'm saying? - I can't.
And I'm wondering if anyone else? Like I'm speaking a different language, or there's something caught in my throat? Almost a different language, but it's more Physically, I think you're so tight that the words get caught.
You know? That's really hard for me and my family what you are saying, because it's really not OK.
Actually, Josh, I think you should go.
So, this was fun, but My name is not Josh.
Uh-huh.
Yeah, well Are you really? I think that you should go.
I do.
OK.
OK.
People want to know what's behind the work.
They want to know your story, where you're from, what your influences are.
We know that you're Jewish.
I'm wondering if you'd like to talk about that? Wow! OK.
Oh.
Are we done? Dad? Dad? Dad? Dad! Oh, my God.
Lou Bradley! Is that you? - Bravo! - Denise! You guys, settle.
Settle.
You guys, settle.
Settle down.
Settle down.
You guys Denise.
I want to thank you all for joining me to cherish Denise tonight.
I am so thrilled to finally get to announce her collaboration with Sprite, which I have been waiting with bated breath with breath that is bated, as much of you have.
But we're here, and I just want to say, Denise, that you're my mom.
And even though you're not, you are.
I love you.
And everything that's happening here tonight is a dream.
And please don't Instagram the event.
You will be punished to the full extent of the law if you go ahead and decide to post.
That being said je t'aime, Denise.
Je t'aime.
Yes, I would like to chime in, if I could? Ten years ago, I stumbled into a small downtown gallery, not knowing that I was about to strike gold.
Denise, what you have done, and what you continue to do, is an inspiration to all of us here at Sprite.
And we joyfully anticipate what you're planning to do.
Bravo.
This is tremendous.
I think that all of us here tonight are here for a reason.
Behind me is obviously an object of extreme anticipation.
What lays behind the curtain? Is it my birth mother? Is it your birth mother? Is it your sister who never came home one night? Is it your brother, who fainted suddenly, and then recovered, but was always different? When it's unveiled, consider that maybe it's been you the whole time.
Who's scared? Yeah.
Thank you.
A lot of hands aren't being raised, and I wonder why.
I wonder if somebody is scared that the mayor is here? Is the mayor here? Is the mayor here? Just No.
If I seem at all a little tired, it's jet lag.
I know many of you can't relate to air travel but it is exhausting.
I don't even know what day it is right now.
Ask me what day it is.
Please ask me what day it is.
- What day is it? - Don't care.
I grew up in Palm Springs.
By the time I was 14 my family owned the single largest cage manufacturing company in North America.
Do you know what that did to me? But what I want to say is that you have to open your own cage door.
And then you realize, "Oh, it's me.
I am still in the cage, but now I am outside.
" Right? I try to deal with that in my work.
I try to uncover those areas, excavate deeper.
When I hit a ditch, I go, "Great, another ditch to open.
" Underneath that ditch, I'll often find another ditch.
Inside that ditch, a box.
What's in the box? A ditch.
And that's hard.
If anybody has anything they want to ask me, now is not the time.
I would like to raise a glass to all the people in the room, and globally, who don't identify as artists, and the true horror of that.
And to the people in the room who weren't invited, the boldness with which you entered this space is noted.
Please bow your heads ceremoniously.
Bravo! Good night, Ms.
Denise.
See you tomorrow.
Louisa? Will you come sit with me? Yeah, yeah.
Come sit.
No one's honest with me.
Mmm-mmm.
People are all People are nervous around me, you know? They don't say what they want to say.
They're scared.
They're scared of me.
They're scared of me.
When I was a little girl my father told me about a bird that lived on our roof.
A rare bird, with bright orange feathers and a blue beak, the size of a dog.
I always wanted to see the bird.
And I begged my father to bring it to me.
He never would.
He insisted I would scare it away.
Years passed, and then, one day, when I returned to my childhood home to see my family when everyone was asleep, I crept onto the roof.
The bird was gone.
I had waited so long to see her, that when I The bird was gendered female? The bird had never been there, Denise.
It was a fable that my father created because he wanted us to live in awe.
It is a gift to be in awe of something, anything.
But we can't creep up on rare birds to see them.
Louisa? Yes? I hate, hate, hate asking you this.
- I need my headdress back.
- I thought you wanted me to keep it? Yeah.
I need it back.
I need it back.
Thank you.
Thank you.
You don't know how good that feels.