"Art" is a 1994 play by French playwright Yasmina Reza, author of God of Carnage.
Marc, Serge, and Yvan are longtime friends. However, things start to go sour when Serge spends two hundred thousand francs on an artwork that's just a white-painted canvas. Marc doesn't take it so well.
The best-known performance of the play was filmed for French TV in 1998, starring Pierre Vaneck, Fabrice Luchini, and Pierre Arditi (who all inaugurated the play in 1994).
"Art" contains examples of:
- Batman Gambit: Serge knew that the felt-tip pen ink was washable, and he deliberately lets Marc deface the painting with it.
- Black Comedy: A staple of the playwright, Hilarity Ensues from adults acting like children.
- Butt-Monkey: Yvan.
- Feud Episode: the entire play.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Marc sees his relationship with Serge as a very twisted version of this trope.
- Insistent Terminology: Serge wastes no words in explaining how his painting is not just "white".
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Some print editions of the play feature a white-painted canvas on the cover, credited to "Antrios" and belonging to a private collection. Antrios is the (fictional) artist who is the author of Serge's painting in the play.
- Lucky Charms Title: The proper title of the play is "Art", quotes included.
- Minimalism:
- Minimalist Cast, and only one set as stark as possible to represent the homes of all three characters. The only thing changing from one scene to another, to show whose home is it at the moment, is the artwork on display.
- In-Universe, the same artwork at the centre of the dispute can be said to belong to the Minimalist genre.
- One-Word Title
- Only Sane Man: Deconstructed. Yvan tries to act like this between Marc and Serge, but given his personal problems, his fragile psyche, and his constant belittling on the others' part, he ends up having a Heroic BSoD.
- Rebuilt Pedestal: Marc calls Serge his best friend and mentor and says this whole painting thing has broken things for him. Then they make up after Serge lets Marc draw on the painting.
- Trapped with the Therapy Session Yves is the unhappy empire/middleman in this battle as Serge and Marc's friendship nearly breaks up. And right before his wedding, too!
- Tranquil Fury: Marc catches a felt-tip pen Serge has tossed him, and calmly draws a skier on the painting.
- Two Lines, No Waiting: The main story involving the three friends is shadowed by Yvan's struggles with organising his own marriage.
