MAGIC CARPET RIDE Behind the scenes of ’s debauched Aladdin fantasy BY MICHAEL SLENSKE

“My first wet dream managed to make The Wrong was that I won Super Ferrari, his 72-minute “screw- Mario Bros. and ball tragedy”—starring they introduced me himself, (who to the princess, and I ejaculated palled around and performed in my sleep as I won that with Green on the tour), level. To me, that’s how deeply , Arrested Nintendo is embedded in my Development’s , consciousness,” says Adam and a slew of other downtown Green, walking me through his cool kids—which was more Williamsburg painting studio or less a hyperbolically fictional dressed in bell-bottoms, a slapstick of his road life, shot striped button-down, and white one scene per week or as fast as tennis shoes. While that may the singer-songwriter could not sound like your typical pen the script on his then new explanation for a sustaining smartphone (which also served artistic inspiration, to hear as his video camera). the 34-year-old folk rocker “I had an insatiable appetite tell it, the Japanese video game for drugs and sleep depriva- company’s early eight-bit tion, and I was trying to write graphical interfaces have as much as I could on ketamine,” pervaded nearly every facet of says Green, who would hand his creative life for the past his actors index cards of two decades. “I want to excavate dialogue the day of each shoot. that material and transform “This is also probably where it into artwork, and I’m I got obsessed with technology almost entitled to do it because and this iPhone.” After pre- this corporation took over miering the film in 2011 at the my childhood brain.” Anthology Film Archives, Green When I first met Green three displayed his painted papier- years ago, in his old Gramercy mâché sets (which were made at loft studio in Manhattan, he Culkin’s loft, where numerous was in the process of doing just scenes were also shot) the that while still coming down following year at an art fair from a ketamine-fueled Euro- on the Lower East Side. Dealer pean tour for his 2010 album Kathy Grayson happened Minor Love. The tour was to see them and offered Green immortalized in Dima Dubson’s a solo show that summer at libidinal indie doc How to Act her gallery, the Hole, where he Bad, which captures Green’s screened the film, exhibited every smoke, snort, song, spank, the sets, and unveiled his and crowd-surf as the artist “Houseface” series of trippy deep-dived into his darker self Dubuffet-meets-De Stijl with two girlfriends and a sculptural abstractions of pack of groupies riding shotgun. Elmo, Big Bird, and Garfield, Despite the chaos of his personal which evoke everything from life, the musician somehow video game graphics and

88 ModErn PaintErs march 2016 blouinartinfo.com Adam Green in 2015 on the set of Adam Green’s Aladdin. Kelsey Bennett Kelsey the jagged lines of Friedensreich “My dad grew up being bones “symbolic alphabet” from Hundertwasser’s art and interested in illustration, and Aladdin (a lamp, a genie, a architecture to the design motifs he did a few cards, very casually, flying carpet, a princess, and of Persian tapestries. for Hallmark,” says Green. wishes) filtered through the “I guess I set out to be a noise “I remember when I was eight artist’s current context. Helping painter at some point,” says years old he drew Superman Green realize his vision is Green, whose earliest artistic in this really weird way, almost Francesco Clemente as the jaded influences came courtesy of the like somebody who had never genie; Natasha Lyonne as now-shuttered Exile on Main seen Superman before, but Aladdin’s self-medicating, gold- Street record store in his it was still good and it blew my digging mother; Shawkat play- hometown of Mount Kisco, New mind, because I was like, ‘Are ing his documentary-filmmaker York. It was there he met you allowed to draw Superman twin sister, Emily; Culkin , his future band- like that? He’s a copyrighted serving as Ralph, the leader of mate in , thing.’ There was something an Occupy-like rebel group and Matt Valentine (of the Tower discordant about it that was called the Magical Americans; Recordings), who introduced interesting to me.” It would doing double duty as him to Skip Spence, Pearls Before appear that the experience is the e-history-erasing, pan- Swine, the Incredible String still paying dividends. European-accented Sultan and Band, the Sea Ensemble, Amon In April, Green and Grayson the twins’ Uncle Gary; and Düül, and the No-Neck Blues are teaming up again for a British It girl blogger-pop singer- Band. “I started taking second screening-and-set reveal fashionista Bip Ling as the at the Hole to celebrate his promiscuous Princess Barbara. new film, Adam Green’s Aladdin, “I was on an airplane with an 80-minute hypersexualized, my wife when we thought of “The more I thought techno-futuristic spin on the Francesco. He was visually the Arabian Nights tale, featuring most genielike person I could reality-TV crews, coke orgies, imagine,” Green recalls. Shawkat, about digitized and a transgendered parent. who had interviewed Clemente “I was drawn to the piece flesh, the more it because it is so immersive and a total work of art. It takes a lot of creative power to get so many seemed like a people to join, and to hold it all together is a real feat,” says Grayson, who participated in the potent image.” “dada absurdity” as a ruff-and- tutu-wearing extra during psychedelics, and I related to all the summer 2014 shoot. “The those things deeply,” he recalls. props were my favorite part,” she “It was the introduction of the says. “The movie has so many concept of noise—noise music, amazing sculptures in it.” noise in art. I began to see Originally, the idea for the sounds as fibrous textures, and project came from Green’s telling my line evolved as I tried to a younger friend in passing, draw noise. Pressing hard on the “Wouldn’t it be funny if I made paper so that I could feel the my own version of Aladdin?,” tension in my wrist appealed to he recalls, noting he grew up me as a musician.” reading various versions of the He also got some notes on Middle Eastern folktale and perspective growing up in a loving the Disney film. “She modernist house in Westchester. said, ‘No, don’t do that. I grew There, he and his brother up not liking Aladdin because (who became an astrophysicist of the World Trade Center.’ ” at nasa) were raised by a Green was flabbergasted that a psychiatrist mother and a younger generation could ever neurologist father, both atheist confuse the princely protagonist Jews. His mother volunteered at with a jihadist, so he made a the American Museum of humorous painting depicting Natural History in New York, Aladdin riding his magic carpet and his father became a into the Twin Towers.

opposite, From top: headache specialist in order to “I thought it would be an Adam Green as Aladdin cure his own migraines. After interesting painting, but it has and Bip Ling as Princess Barbara go on a drug spending some time with Green, nothing to do with what I ended binge. They are filmed by it’s easy to see how such an up making,” says Green, who a camera crew played by Tennessee Thomas upbringing might form a mind raised $50,000 on Kickstarter and Michael Leviton. that references Finnegans and spent another quarter million Jack Dishel as Uncle Wake, Noam Chomsky, the Bible, dollars (much of it his own Gary in the mountains, and Nintendo in consecutive money) to finance the Gondry- trying to call Aladdin on his mobile phone. breaths (and with equal weight). esque opus, which utilizes a bare-

90 ModErn PaintErs march 2016 blouinartinfo.com Both images: Adam Green All blouinartinfo.co m march 2016 march Mod e rn Painte rs

91 92 ModErn PaintErs march 2016 blouinartinfo.com Both images: Adam Green for L.A. for L.A. days of my life.” and blissful of the most calm Aladdin the on the experience of filming he says one”); made this than hand-more no film (“There’s the film’shandmade aesthetic and appreciateslaborer” a“manual Green as relates to your be genie.’ ” he will says, ‘I theand as elevator down, going is over the Iwalk elevator, to So shouldone go.’ ‘I point Iwas like, itinto he laughed, one At time. minutes and 20 lines, each of his we read through the storyboard, about the movie. Ishowed him old. everything years Itold him couch and Ifelt Iwas 11 like He me took overdark. this to and it was prettypaintings and there these huge were all because he was not alot saying Itintense. felt intimidating and he was just really being opens, and he these big has eyes elevator this in and the door massive studio: SoHo “You up go sent Green over the artist’s to Clemente that he claims moca sets provided sets “some ’s YouTube channel,

pixelated seeing aesthetic after his at arrived filmmaker The and Nintendo-like sound effects. graphics, Lichtenstein-esque elicit Pop-y smoke signals, when props touched, his while effects) special (via illuminate whose game sets video cabinet. filing 80-foot-long insidedown and an stored shoots and then brokenduring could Velcroed be the walls to that tiles cardboard foot Uline lation 4-by-4- system using instal- an devise to McMillan worked set designer with Tom Hook and warehouse Red in photographer Kidd’s Charlotte world, Green rented outviral viruses.” smaller his up of all made asupervirus like almost the so endthe process, is result of every aspect basically in is hand His props,sets, costumes. the designing acting, directing, the screenplaywriting and songs, he’s it’s case, this doing. In that anything through shines and distinct really is perspective Dishel adds, “Adam’sCulkin. web Dryvrs, series launched popular the wildly Moldy Peaches and who recently whoDishel, the played in guitar actor-musician-producer Jack says off,” the take frame almost adoorwaystep through and Iwould did. any minute—and but at one apart that could fall game, avideo in living like upcame for with the It sets. was by whatand was amazed he props) for Green created the film. ofhundreds papier-mâché (and sets hand-painted the 30 for attention with onscreen have compete to they certainly Clemente feel inspired, and Ling experience.” enjoyable and very was surreal, abonkers, were super, so It super too. cool, Thewould thebe. outfits film immediately knew how visual I sent me the storyboard, Adam “When role,” she recalls. he would play me ask to the straightaway but never thought the be princess I wanted to that and Iremember thinking Aladdinhe was planning told meAdam that that evening remember Rome. “I seum in fashion brand outside the Colos- deejayingago while for a “It was crazy,”“It says Green, fragile To accommodate his landscapes love surreal “I choices like casting While Ling met Green afew Ling years starring starring ,

they could out print your e-mail so thehave office post to go to world that never You’d existed. weird transitional net. this “It’s version analog ofan the Inter- and used who the lived 1960s in amovie about peoplemaking who once had of adaydream printer,” a3-D be says Green, that the lamp could was thinking lamp. printing 3-D magical the find to mountain) Swiss cavea secret (shot atop asnowy excavated, are to diamonds” where town, “baseball a mining through on ahike Aladdin father later takes dead. is Gary absentee transgendered, money and news that Aladdin’s with Africa from Regulartown in arrives lost Uncle Gary debtor’s when prison long- his verge sent of being the sultan’s to album) on is the ninth for his hename was given by Zintendo the (aand blues, sing Aladdin Brooklyn” “go to he only to takes whichspace bucks on cocaine, recently spentHaving 30,000 houseface.” faggot rock, rock, that flesh “inventedcubes, flesh innovative, medieval company the Zintendo Records, from mojo about and is dropped be to pauper”—whoclass his losing is “upper-middle-coke-snorting blues-singing, character—a that centers the around title at aplot Green arrived tale, and the Aladdin printing, 3-D of “erotic pixel information,” of pornography.”mosaics cubic to just jerking off really at are Internet porn looking that peopleeven who think are and I grids, 3-D make to cells people biologicalprinting, using element. You it see 3-D with pixel that askin this has apotentseemed image— like the flesh, more aboutit digitized more“The thought I flesh. made resemble to of cubes sculptures wax Reliquaries,” “Technological Thek’s Paul hood brain.” hood over my child took “Nintendo “The turning point for me turning “The notion this By combining

the British Guy. Druggie H and as hotel-room floozies, Klip and Karley S Green as Aladdin, M I the Genie M as Clemente Francesco and Aladdin, as Green M as LaLiberte I opposite, From top: n Aladdin’s hotel room: room: hotel n Aladdin’s nside the lamp: N lamp: the nside ar M ar blouinartinfo.co ar S ar ustafa. uperstar as as uperstar s. P s. ciortino ciortino resident, resident, icole icole ical m march 2016 march - Mod e rn Painte rs

93 man-made wonders combined.” While Green and his production team are gearing up for the festival circuit, limited theatrical releases, a year-and- a-half-long world tour, and video on demand, the film seems best suited to institutional settings like the Fondation Beyeler in Switzerland, where Green reconstructed two prop-filled sets from scratch— one from the Big Bird–bedazzled “throne” room and a “street” from Regulartown—for two nights in January. opposite, clockwise From top left: “Similar to Jean Dubuffet, Installation view of Where do with his ‘Hourloupe cycle,’ Green we come from Where are we going, from the exhibition “Vita for you. From that idea, I started has invented a wholly individual Vitale” in the International to think about this equation visual world, where painterly Pavilion of Azerbaijan, La Biennale di Vemonstrandum where you take the Internet, elements evolve into the three- I, 1988. Acrylic 67Acrylic on plug it into the 3-D printer, dimensional,” says Raphaël cotton duck, 68 x 6Acrylic on linen, 50 x 50 in. press Go, and it prints out the Bouvier, who curated the “Jean entire Internet.” Dubuffet–Metamorphoses of Gamma, 2015. Painted stainless steel, In the hands of Green’s Landscape” exhibition, which 37¾ x 21½ x 21½ in.eel, 36¾ X Aladdin, a wish-printing machine also opened at Beyeler in 25½ X 25½ d nor Alive, 1977. Acrylic on lin0, 1968. Acrylic on that allows you to “mainline January. The museum’s Jan cotton duck, 84 x 84 in.Torus, your dreams” leads to Blakean Solberger adds, “Adam’s 2013.Acrylic on canvas, 50 x 50 in. excess. After suffering a installation is intended as an momentary twinge of materialist interdisciplinary nod to what guilt, the singer is soon turning could be perceived as the himself into a prince (with influence or heritage of Art Brut golden laptop dowries), printing within contemporary art.” luxury goods and piles of Three years ago, when Green cash, indulging in various drug was high and scurrying around and sex benders (with paid the Gramercy studio to show professionals and the princess), me all the paintings, drawings, future, he would love to make his even printing himself a baby and sculptures strewn about his own video game, and is currently named Gizmo. Emily sums it up two-level live/work space, his busy with a new series of oil- best: “Prints are like martinis; present focus would not have pastel “Paradise” paintings (a one is fine, two is too many, been possible. “I remember going selection of which were exhibited three is not enough.” around Europe thinking I’m a at Mexico City’s Material Art Ultimately, the lamp itself joke to everyone that’s older or Fair last month) that are inspired gets reprinted, and before long my age because my friends were by Nicolas Poussin’s bacchanal the Magical Americans are having kids and I was going scenes, gnostic texts, William fabricating stacks of guns, the around Europe on ketamine,” Blake, and Dante. sultan is printing himself a says Green. He admits that his “A lot of the early Christian 40-inch cock, while Regulartown saving grace came in the form of paradises deal with wheels folks are printing everything his wife, Yasmin, whom he that are turning and jewels,” from last year’s haircut to married not long after they met, says Green, pointing to similar an Immortal Jellyfish Regener- at a brunch, in 2011. motifs in some paneled works ation Algorithm. In other Yasmin helped launch the on paper scattered about the words, Adam Green’s Aladdin is Google Ideas think tank Williamsburg studio floor. “I a spun-out, neurotic quest with Jared Cohen and is now was thinking I could use that narrative grounded on some producing Aladdin with her language to make an ice cream– kind of psychedelic version husband. “My wife is such an colored papier-mâché paradise.” of Nintendo’s greatest hits—only integral part of everything For now, he just hopes to bring the high scores refer to how I’m doing. She’s inspiring me to Aladdin to as many countries much blow you’ve consumed and do lots of different things. It’s and audiences as possible. “You above: the final levels aren’t reserved cool to have a partner in crime,” push something out of yourself Dishel as Uncle Gary and Green as Aladdin. for winners but for kitschy Green says. “I picture most through your skin, and hopefully koans like “The deathbed is a of my ideas in the future will be it’s exactly how it looks inside opposite, From top: Ling as Princess Barbara, horrible hang” or “Technology is something that’s a collaboration you. That’s what being the driving her Ferrari. ushering in a neoclassical age... with Yasmin.” After the birth genie is,” says Green. “Rimbaud Macaulay Culkin as Ralph, reappropriated ideals that form of their daughter in the fall of says the genie is the prince the leader of the Magical the basis for a monolithic social 2014, he’s even pared his and the prince is the genie. Americans, protesting against the Sultan. He’s flanked sculpture that is greater than partying down to “a few beers.” They’re the same guy. You just by Benjamin Dubson as the pyramids, the Parthenon, the While Green doesn’t foresee have to have a balance with you Fifteen Year Old and Sienna Scarritt as Rebel Girl. Colosseum, Disney World, all making another film in the near and your genie.” MP

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