This idea of an artist persona runs counter to the authenticity that seems to be expected of American artists. Contemporary painting is full of this loyalty to painting as an act of conviction—as being true. What horrified Pollock in the movie that Hans Namuth took of him was that it made his practice appear fake. I can embrace looking fake—well, actually, it's more that I'm okay with giving the impression that I don't really know what I'm doing. That's interesting to me. It's funny because there's a side to creating where the art becomes autonomous and doubles back on you, making you look like an idiot. Artists are very afraid of that—not being in control.