Hello.
Australian Story first met celebrated artist Vincent Fantauzzo Hello.
Australian Story first met celebrated artist Vincent Fantauzzo
six years ago.
But back then, there was a key part of his story
But back then, there was that he couldn't talk about.
Coming on the program started a process for Vincent
of facing some dark truths about his childhood
in a way he hadn't been able to previously.
Vincent's giving his sons a very different upbringing
to his own,
with the help of an unexpected father figure.
VINCENT FANTAUZZO: I chased approval from my dad my whole life.
He wasn't there. He didn't kick a ball.
He wasn't there. He didn't pay any attention.
The only time I heard from him is when he needed something.
When he passed away, it was like being at the wrong person's funeral.
He is a person that kind of neglected, abused, you know,
caused all sorts of emotional conflict,
and we're celebrating him in front of people.
It pissed me off.
And I just grabbed the microphone It pissed me off.
And I just grabbed the microphone from the priest and I said,
"I don't know who you're talking about, but it's not my dad."
ASHER KEDDIE: Vincent's relationship with his father
left such a gaping hole inside him for so many years,
and to an extent, still does.
I still feel like I can fix my relationship with him.
It's partly why I chose to buy his car back,
which I know he loved but couldn't afford to maintain it.
And now I'm doing it for him.
It's a conflicted feeling.
Like, "Fuck you, but will you still like me?"
The thing is...he loved his dad...
..and so he wanted to find a way to connect with him one last time.
But it also led to some pretty big truths being spoken.
(IGNITION SPLUTTERS, RUMBLES) But it also led to some pretty big truths being spoken.
(IGNITION SPLUTTERS, RUMBLES)
(TRAM BELL DINGS)
Vincent is an empath.
He's very sensitive to people's energy,
and I think that contributes to his incredible gift for painting.
I love people.
When I'm painting someone,
I want to truly understand what the person is.
And I think my childhood
kind of helped with that.
He doesn't want people to hide.
Yet he himself hid so much for so many years. He doesn't want people to hide.
Yet he himself hid so much for so many years.
It's kind of an interesting... contradiction in a way.
About six years ago, I appeared on Australian Story.
About six years ago, We mainly focussed on my dyslexia,
but I didn't tell the whole truth about my life.
I think Vinnie came to a point where he...
..really felt an overwhelming need to
expose how he was feeling and what he was struggling with,
and it took a really long time for him to do that, even with me.
I wrote a book recently.
Because of my dyslexia, I used a ghost-writer, who was incredible.
Because of my dyslexia, I used It was very therapeutic.
It also just made me face truths,
which I don't think a lot of my family may have faced,
and that's probably... they might not like my book.
So each chapter of the book, I've done a sketch
So each chapter of the book, to give context to the story.
I think often about what Vincent's life could have become
I think often about what as opposed to what he's created.
It's pretty frightening, really.
(DOG BARKS)
I grew up firstly in Broadmeadows and Glenroy, around that area.
It was very rough.
It was like the Wild West.
This is the first time I've been back here in 25, 30 years or something...
(DOG BARKS) ..and it feels exactly the same.
My parents, they got married very young.
They started having kids, and had probably too many. (LAUGHS)
WOMAN: We had five children, and Vincent was the middle one.
WOMAN: We had five children, MAN: Vince, take your hat off.
Hmm?
We didn't have much money. We were pretty poor. Hmm?
We didn't have much money. We were pretty poor.
We didn't have much money. We struggled a lot.
So what does that mean, Rose? I don't know. (LAUGHS)
I wanted boundaries, and I never had them.
I wanted boundaries, (KIDS LAUGH, CHATTER)
My mum was too busy to set boundaries (KIDS LAUGH, CHATTER)
My mum was too busy to set boundaries and to keep an eye on us,
and I kind of did whatever I wanted, and most of it was wrong.
We'd go to the supermarket, and my dad would say,
"Grab those batteries and put 'em in your pocket."
He was teaching me the shit way of doing things in life.
He was very controlling in a lot of ways.
He was very controlling Financially, emotionally...
There was also a violence to my dad.
Everyone lived in a little bit of fear that he could explode.
ROSE: We actually split up, Claude and I,
and after that, we, the children and I,
lived in several houses around the area.
It was very hard.
(DOG BARKS)
When he left, he purposely made it (DOG BARKS)
When he left, he purposely made it very difficult for my mum.
He stopped working, he closed his business down,
because he didn't want to pay any child support.
because he didn't want to pay Never paid one cent.
At school, Vincent wasn't very good at reading and writing and maths.
He just couldn't do it, and he would lose his temper with it.
School was a place that I associate with hiding or shame
School was a place that or low self-confidence.
I couldn't do the work. I was in trouble every day.
I honestly felt like I must be stupid.
We didn't think about,
"Has the child got ADH?" We didn't think about,
"Has the child got ADH?" or, "Have they got dyslexia?"
"Has the child got ADH?" That wasn't even an issue then.
I would sit in class
and I would do caricatures of my friends or the teachers,
and that would get a laugh.
And I guess that's where art became appealing,
because it came so naturally, and it gave me a sense of confidence.
because it came so naturally, (PENCIL SCRATCHES)
I left school very young, at 13, or...kind of got myself kicked out.
I worked in kitchens and restaurants.
You know, I had so many different jobs.
I did concreting. I painted houses.
(DOG BARKS)
I tried to be this tough guy that people wouldn't mess with,
I tried to be this tough guy so that meant fighting daily.
You know, I ended up getting myself into quite a bit of trouble
You know, I ended up getting myself with police and gangs.
I did a lot of bad stuff that I regret so much.
I thought to myself,
"Unless I hustle and do something really dodgy..."
"Unless I hustle and do something Alright, stop it!
"..the dream of being successful is a dream that I can't reach."
"Unless I'm a criminal."
There were a couple of things that kept me from
going down that wrong fork in the road.
One of them was boxing.
ROSE: Vincent did some work with Jack Rennie,
ROSE: Vincent did some work who taught him a lot of ethics.
He was kind of like his mentor.
Jack Rennie was a boxing coach that trained a lot of famous boxers.
Jack Rennie was a boxing coach He taught me to fight my own fight,
and he taught me to clean the gym if I want to keep training here,
and he taught me to clean the gym 'cause I couldn't afford to pay.
He taught me respect.
For the first time I felt like
you can have people in your life that are positive.
They don't have to be your dad.
I remember one time I did a painting to thank Jack Rennie.
I remember one time I did a painting He was like, "What? What is this?"
And I explained, "This is what I do, you know, in my spare time."
And... (CHUCKLES) ..I remember him saying, um,
"You're very good at boxing and you can make it all the way,
"but you're probably even better at drawing."
"but you're probably And, um...
..you know, that's those moments where people can change your life.
..you know, that's those moments That was one of them.
Vincent wanted to go to art school.
He said he needed to get the...the ethics and the business side of it Vincent wanted to go to art school.
He said he needed to get the...the ethics and the business side of it
and how to run everything.
I kind of hustled my way into university.
I had an old copy of someone's school report,
and I just put my name on it and did my own version and photocopied it.
And I got into RMIT.
MAN: Vincent was very ambitious, talented.
He was always in the studio working, non-stop.
But he also expressed to me an unease
about his written work, his art history and theory components.
I couldn't do those, and no-one knew I couldn't do them.
So I started to pay people to do my essays,
So I started to pay people and...I got caught.
So I had to say, "I can't do it because I can't read or write."
The lecturer said, "I can help you if you can prove..."
"..there's some kind of problem there."
So I was forced to take a dyslexia test.
First I had to find out how to spell 'dyslexia'.
I failed with flying colours. (CHUCKLES)
So I found out that I was highly dyslexic.
I think I had the reading capabilities of someone in grade one.
There was a relief that I...
"OK, I'm not stupid. I actually have something wrong with me."
Once Vincent sought help formally at RMIT,
he realised there was a lot of support for him...
..and he graduated with a degree in fine art,
and then went on to enter the Master of Fine Arts program.
ROSE: He's an honorary professor... (LAUGHS) ..of RMIT!
ROSE: He's an honorary professor... (LAUGHS)
I mean, you can't get any better than that, can you, mm?
Doors kept opening, galleries wanted him to put his art in there,
and he just went on to meet all sorts of people,
and he just went on to meet because that's Vincent.
You know? He's got this charismatic way about him.
I didn't want to be a shitkicker.
I wanted to make people proud and be proud of myself.
I wanted to make people proud Painting's given me all of that.
It's also given me the most incredible friendships.
KIM LEDGER: I met Vincent through my son, Heath.
Heath had been telling me about this aspiring artist,
Heath had been telling me young artist friend in Melbourne,
who I just have to meet.
Me boy! who I just have to meet.
Me boy! How are you, mate?
(LAUGHS) Hey.
WOMAN: Hello. How are you?
WOMAN: Hello. (GROANS)
I'm not picking you up!
His connection with Heath I'm not picking you up!
His connection with Heath was quite great,
even over a really short period of time.
There was a lot of common ground between the two of them.
How old was Heath here? 28.
I think Heath had visions of
Vincent actually becoming a world artist.
He'd already had that vision probably before Vincent had.
He'd already had that vision I went to...
And he said, you know, "He's going to do a portrait of me."
And he was really quite excited about it.
I never have a plan, and that worked for Heath as well.
He sat on the chair and everything disappeared.
And he's sitting there, almost like meditating.
I was taking photos.
Then he just started screaming at himself.
Like screaming, like all this emotion coming out.
And then he just walked around to the other side,
and then he whispered something in his ear.
And then he started laughing. And then...
And it just went on, like a one-man show.
Like a little performance, yeah.
The last words, Heath, as...
..pretty much as I was getting in the car to take off,
..pretty much as I was getting he looked at me and said,
"This portrait is going to he looked at me and said,
"This portrait is going to change our lives."
I did that painting like I'd never painted before.
When you do a painting of someone,
you spend a lot of time When you do a painting of someone,
you spend a lot of time thinking about them, who they are.
So it was like I was having a conversation for...
Yes. ..three weeks, continuing.
And we spoke on the phone once during that time
and he said, "Oh, don't... don't show me yet.
"I want to see it in person."
But on that night before I emailed the image...
I just felt like I had to email the image,
and I never got to find out if he opened the email or not.
and I never got to find out Yeah, yeah.
MAN: Australian actor Heath Ledger was found in a Manhattan apartment.
His family says the death was accidental.
That was the beginning of the pandemonium for everybody,
That was the beginning of including us as a family.
We do really appreciate the emotional support
We do really appreciate from all over the globe.
When all this chaos was going on,
I spoke with Kim, who I'd never met before.
He just gave me the family's blessing
to enter the painting in the Archibald.
The first time I saw it, I thought, "Oh boy."
You know, that was...
It was...a little bit confronting at the time. You know, that was...
It was...a little bit confronting at the time.
WOMAN: The winner of the 2008 Archibald People's Choice Award
goes to Vincent Fantauzzo for his painting called Heath.
goes to Vincent Fantauzzo (CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
I don't find it creepy or anything like that.
It was just the timing of it all was just, like, unbelievable.
It was a bittersweet moment that we couldn't really celebrate
for all the reasons that you would understand.
Especially painting Heath for three weeks, all day, every day,
Especially painting Heath for thinking about him.
So when I heard the news, it was devastating. I was just shocked.
I didn't celebrate anything in my head at the time.
It felt negative, but I knew something exciting was happening.
So even now, the thought of it is part guilt
that the painting is and was so successful.
We were obviously communicating with Vincent
because he was feeling so kind of bad about this whole thing as well,
and he didn't need to.
It was not his fault.
Your understanding, your caring...
The circumstance where I met Kim was terrible, you know,
but I found this person that would be in my life forever
that I trust so much.
I didn't have a you...in my life. Mm.
And that's the...
..that's the biggest gift. Mm.
Um...
Like my old boxing coach when I was a kid,
you just had faith in me that, you know, you can...
you just had faith in me "You got this. You can go do it."
I fairly quickly realised "You got this. You can go do it."
I fairly quickly realised that Vincent was an artist
that probably, from a structural perspective,
that probably, needed a little bit of support.
There was the whole business side of things
that you just had to watch me fuck up...
(LAUGHS) ..until I learnt my lesson.
When your passion eventually meets your talent,
you know, the world opens up for you.
And that was a perfect example of that with Vincent.
It all sort of came together for him.
MATT MORAN: Vincent very much wants to prove himself,
which drives him. MATT MORAN: Vincent very much wants to prove himself,
which drives him.
You know? He's incredibly ambitious.
He works incredibly hard.
I did discuss doing a nude with Matt...
I did discuss doing a nude (LAUGHTER)
..but it was in a freezer, and it was probably the wrong...
..but it was in a freezer, (LAUGHTER)
..the wrong place to get naked.
ASHER: It's the struggle in other people that he can identify with.
It's not about getting the brush strokes right. ASHER: It's the struggle in other people that he can identify with.
It's not about getting the brush strokes right.
WOMAN: A painting of a distressed-looking Baz Luhrmann
has won the country's richest portrait prize.
The portrait where Baz has his face in his hands
was a moment of incredible vulnerability for Baz.
BAZ LUHRMANN: A lot of people go it's the least image like me,
'cause you can't really see me.
But I look at it and go, "Yeah, that's...that's me." 'cause you can't really see me.
But I look at it and go, "Yeah, that's...that's me."
I spend a lot of time self-reflecting on my stupidity.
JULIA GILLARD: I knew I wanted a realist style,
and Vincent's work came to my attention.
(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
I think he's captured a look in my eyes,
which is about leadership and about strength, I think he's captured a look in my eyes,
which is about leadership and about strength,
which is about leadership but with some ambiguity in it.
MATT: Vincent, he was really looking for...
MATT: Vincent, he was ..for more females to paint,
and he asked me if I knew the...
.."the hot girl that was on TV," Asher Keddie.
.."the hot girl that was on TV," And I said, "Yeah, I did."
I think it was a text And I said, "Yeah, I did."
I think it was a text that I said to Asher,
I said, "Look, can you do me a big favour?
I said, "Look, "My mate really wants to paint you."
I thought, "Well, if I'm going to say yes to being painted,
"it's probably a good idea to be painted by him."
I absolutely felt connected on a level
I'd never felt connected to anybody in my life.
I was just drawn to him, and I could feel the same coming from him.
I was just drawn to him, and I could I just met my person,
and we pretty much I just met my person,
and we pretty much were together from...
and we pretty much It wasn't like that.
We were pretty... We were... We knew right away.
I just feel accepted by Asher
and loved for who I am.
She doesn't want me to be anyone else...
..and I don't want her to be anyone else.
She has heaps of flaws, just so you know.
No, she... (LAUGHS) ..she doesn't.
Through those first 10 years we were together,
Through those first 10 years something was troubling him deeply.
I didn't know what was really going on for him.
And I remember my time in childhood in a very filmic way.
I had to remove myself from the experience
to kind of deal with and process things.
As a kid growing up, I lived constantly in fear.
I lived in fear that people would find out I couldn't read and write.
I lived in fear that people would I lived in fear of my dad.
I lived in fear of someone else I lived in fear of my dad.
I lived in fear of someone else that was very abusive to me.
There was some pretty terrible abuse that went on, um,
There was some pretty terrible abuse from someone outside of the family.
When I was nine, I attempted to write the suicide note,
When I was nine, I attempted but obviously I can't write well now,
so I don't know what it would have looked like.
I feel like it would have been enough
I feel like for someone to know I was in trouble,
and it went unnoticed.
Like what was happening went unnoticed.
I feel responsible to talk about it
because it happens to other people I feel responsible to talk about it
because it happens to other people and it never gets talked about.
But I don't... I don't think I can say it...
I just can't say it out loud. You know?
I just can't say it out loud. It was...
It was fucked up enough to affect me
every day of the rest of my life.
ASHER: When Vin told me about the abuse that he'd endured,
on the one hand, I felt devastated for him and really angry.
And I can't stand the thought that that...
..was happening to him for so many years.
..was happening to him But I also felt really relieved...
..because I knew something...
..was there.
This one is not based on a specific moment.
This one is not based It's more about a feeling.
A feeling of a boy feeling isolated.
The kid's in a commission house alone,
and it's kind of smoky and misty and, uh...
It's like a reoccurring dream of being trapped and scared.
It's been a big relief for Vincent to let go of that burden
that he carried himself only for so many years.
And a relief to trust me.
He's been able to break that cycle of dysfunction,
really because he's started to tell the truth.
I didn't tell people what went on in the past for a long time,
because I don't want to be defined by negativity.
I wake up with a smile on my face. I'm very happy person.
Even though in some ways I'd like to change the past,
if I did, I wouldn't be where I am now with the family I have.
It's his life's purpose, really,
to be a really caring, attentive, It's his life's purpose, really,
to be a really caring, attentive, present, and nurturing father.
KIM: He had very low self-esteem as a kid
but was always trying to overcome it.
I don't think he wanted to see his kids go through that.
The way Vincent parents his children
has a lot to do with what he felt was missing in his own childhood
has a lot to do with what he felt in terms of boundaries,
feeling safe, and listened to.
When my dad passed, I realised, like, that's over.
When my dad passed, I don't have the chance.
I do have a chance... to, with my own kids,
I do have a chance... to have a much better relationship,
and that's why I want them to love to have a much better relationship,
and that's why I want them to love and feel comfortable with me.
While I can. One day you'll be too big, but for now...
KIM: He's trying to give them the stability and a relationship
that he never really had with his own father.
That's a progression in life, isn't it?
Can you tell me something philosophical
Can you tell me something while we look at the ocean?
Quote of the day.
"Be good to your mother."
I kind of now do everything the opposite of what I was taught,
and I more than often I get it right, so...
(ENGINE REVS)
(BOTH CHAT INDISTINCTLY)
My relationship with Kim feels like how relationships should be.
Kim's about to tell me what to do, and I'm about to do it wrong.
We're both redheads, and Kim also, fortunately, runs a race track.
We're both redheads, and Kim also, So when we go to Perth,
he just knows So when we go to Perth,
he just knows I want to go to the track.
he just knows But Kim's an incredible driver,
and I just drive like I stole the car.
That's probably a fair way of putting it.
(TYRES SQUEAL)
ASHER: They're very funny together.
I mean, they...THEY think they're very funny together. (LAUGHS)
I mean, they...THEY think they're Pick up the throttle.
Oh, that's good.
That was interesting.
And that's a bit interesting.
So you get out of the pedal across the front.
(BOTH LAUGH, EXCLAIM)
So to go fast, (BOTH LAUGH, EXCLAIM)
So to go fast, first you have to go slow, right?
So to go fast, (TYRES SQUEAL)
His advice is fatherly in a way that Vincent really wants.
And he's tough on him sometimes too.
Which...which I think is great.
(LAUGHS) Everything...
Everything Kim told me not to do, I did.
Everything Kim told me not to do, Kimmy.
Just being part of that journey with him
has provided me a great deal of comfort.
Does he have more of a sweat-up than me? I'm not quite sure.
Does he have more of a sweat-up No, I do. I was like...
And I feel very proud to have been...
..a witness to this growth in him personally.
Pretty special spot, isn't it? Yeah, it is. Just beautiful.
I'm always inspired by Heath.
I feel like I have someone I'm always inspired by Heath.
I feel like I have someone watching over me almost.
I got this gift from Heath that changed my life
I got this gift from Heath and I feel like he knew it.
He had that tattoo on his shoulder and it was about
"What you give out, you get back."
Vincent wanted to do the same thing
and had the same kind of thing
put on his forearm,
and that's his personal way of... of...of dealing with it all
and...and thanking his buddy for where he is now.
This is something I can look at forever and always feel inspired.
If there was some good to come out of it,
then, you know, me being able to contribute to your journey
and the cementing of our relationship
and the cementing was something that really...
I think he'd have a smile on his face.
I think he'd have a smile Yeah. Yeah, he would be.
He'd be... He says to me, Yeah. Yeah, he would be.
He'd be... He says to me, "Don't listen to him."
Yeah. (LAUGHS) No, I'm joking.
Yeah. (LAUGHS) Yeah, that's right. Exactly right.
I often refer to him as my surrogate son in Melbourne.
In some areas I felt like I've taken him under my wing a little bit,
but as an artist, you're never under anybody's wing.
You have your own wings and you fly through life.
ASHER: Vincent is really thriving
in so many different areas ASHER: Vincent is really thriving
in so many different areas in his life.
And if you think about
survival, perhaps, being his biggest achievement...
..that just makes it all the more incredible, really.
We're at the opening of my gallery - Fantauzzo Gallery.
That's kind of weird. It's a good name.
That's kind of weird. There's all these incredible guests,
but Kim being here means the most to me.
I know that I've come a long way,
but I feel like I have so much more that I want to do.
It's a rather overwhelming celebration
It's a rather overwhelming of this man's amazing journey.
There's a lot of people
that may have gone through There's a lot of people
that may have gone through similar things to myself,
and I want for people to understand that you can turn things around.
and I want for people to understand (GENERAL HUBBUB)
I actually feel after doing this that I've closed a chapter,
I actually feel after doing this and, you know, there's...
I'm just getting started, really.
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