Not An Artist
Directed by Alexi Pappas & Jeremy Teicher
Written by Alexi Pappas, Jeremy Teicher, & Matt Walsh
Starring Alexi Pappas, Bobby “RZA” Diggs, Matt Walsh, & Haley Joel Osment
Unrated
Runtime: 1 hour and 37 minutes
Available on VOD January 31st, preview screening at Dynasty Typewriter January 27th

by Christopher La Vigna, Staff Writer

Anybody who has pursued an artistic discipline can attest to experiencing moments of insecurity that give them pause and force them to ask themselves whether or not they’re a “real artist.” Maybe they’re just an impostor cosplaying as a walking pastiche of their idols. Alexi Pappas and Jeremy Teicher’s new film, Not An Artist, takes that age-old dilemma to a new level of absurdity.

The film begins with a group of artists who come to a retreat at a secluded campground out in the woods. They hope to unlock their full creative potential and earn a $100,000 grant in the process. We’re introduced to our group of artists in a quick “going around the room” montage: Alice (played by co-writer/director/producer Alexi Pappas), is a YA author working on an audio book series. Dante (Gata) is an filmmaker who works with miniatures and dioramas. Wesley (Hayley Joel Osment), is an affable painter who claims he’ll kill himself if he doesn’t find success. Kimi (Rosalind Chao) is a professor who yearns to be a playwright. Claire (Ciara Bravo) is a painter who is trying to figure out if “the art life” is right for her. Indigo (Cleopatra Coleman) is the daughter of a famous sculptor looking to step out of her mother’s shadow and become recognized as a sculptor in her own right. Finally, there’s Christopher (Clark Moore), a Berlin-based poet who got his start by tweeting joke poems that went viral. Now, he wants to see if he has what it takes to be the real deal.

The retreat is overseen by The Abbot (RZA), an ex-painter with deep pockets who, in spite of his personal creative failures, has such an intense devotion to the arts that he runs this exclusive residency that comes with a pretty major catch. In his big speech on the first day of the retreat, The Abbot claims that they have all gathered “to accelerate the inevitable,” and provides each artist with a binding contract to sign. The terms are simple: the artists must create a piece of work that reflects their full creative potential in thirty days time. If they fail, they must give up art forever, never producing any public work again. These contracts aren’t a gag either. The Abbot boasts about past lawsuits he’s won against ex-artists who have breached their contracts, implying that it’s one of the main sources of the residency’s funding.

The Abbot keeps reinforcing the need for money in order to make art, a tough reality that artists of all disciplines battle with. He offers ten grand to anyone willing to ring the ceremonial Quitting Bell at the center of the campgrounds and give up art then and there. Whenever a member of the group rings the bell, they read the contract aloud and sign. In addition, the pot of money grows larger each time an artist leaves early. While it seems like laughable overkill, the movie wisely plays this conceit totally straight. Though the film spends a fair amount of time with each of the artists as they work, struggle, or get consumed by introspection, the main focus of our ensemble is Alice. She seems to be unable to get a single paragraph of her book together and is constantly on the verge of ringing the bell.

Meanwhile, Alice’s dad Charles (Matt Walsh) is also not okay. Having recently lost his medical practice, he does his best to eke out a living taking telemedicine appointments from his camper. He’s desperate for connection and keeps getting rejected – by his daughter, his girlfriend, and even the fellow campers at the national park he’s staying at. This eventually leads him to arrive at the camp and crash his daughter’s residency. Charles’ arrival forces a brutally honest conversation with The Abbot, wherein he admits his appearance is purely out of desperation. He has no identity outside of being a doctor and a father and he has nowhere else to go. Alice is mortified by this turn of events, and is further disturbed by the Abbot's casual allowance of her father to stay on the grounds and participate in their daily group activities. As Charles makes a go of reconnecting with his daughter and opening his mind to the world of art, Alice does her best to fight through her crippling writer’s block.

The premise of Not An Artist might seem as though its fertile ground for a dark satire, a scathing rebuke of the narcissism and myopia that runs rampant through the arts. Instead, Pappas and Teicher present us with a very earnest depiction of people who both are and aren't artists. Those who dedicate themselves to a craft because of the joy it brings them, and those who realize that they don't need that type of work and validation to find contentment in their lives. We’re never meant to see those who ring the bell as being weak willed posers, and we find ourselves rooting all the more for the true believers like Alice and Dante who work hard to stick it out until the final presentation. Each actor does a damn good job of striking the right balance of humor and heart with their characters. Even RZA’s deadpan seriousness imbues The Abbot with a strange sort of charm.

Matt Walsh, who also co-wrote the film, resists the easy path of playing Charles as another clueless dad who just doesn’t get art and doesn't care to. His layman’s perspective, mixed with an openness to understanding the creatives he's surrounded by, wins you over effortlessly. When Charles and Alice finally hash things out, it provides Alice with the inspiration she needs to finally finish her book, and feel ready for the final presentation.

Ultimately, Not An Artist succeeds by centering the heart of its story around the power of art to bridge gaps. To enlighten and move us. In a time when the arts seem more derided and dismissed than ever before, it's a welcome message. A firm-yet-gentle reminder that the reason we make or consume art is simply because it brings us joy, and that’s value enough. Now more than ever, that joy is worth believing in.

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