The Van (2001)

• 84%
• 2001
• Alex Bag

Originally projected in the interior of a customized Dodge at the 2001 Armory Show in New York, The Van features Bag as three young female artists riding in the back of a van, en route to the Armory Show. Their gallerist Leroy, dressed as a pimp, is the driver of the van; he promises them major recognition and designer handbags. Fox, Honey and Fiona compete for Leroy's favor by detailing the inane—but not utterly improbable—pieces they're showing at the art fair, and the sexy clothes they'll wear to the opening. The name-dropping and catty glances escalate as each woman contends that she, more than the others, needs to use the van for her installation near the gallery's booth. As Bag derides the wish lists of the art-star hopefuls (the Turner Prize, the cover of ArtForum, Rosalind Krauss' critical attention, "more product endorsement"), she implicates the contemporary art world—herself included—in a bacchanal of greed.