There is not even a frame. Marc feels obligated by friendship to accuse Serge of art-snobbery. Similarly obligated, Serge accuses Marc of art-ignorance. Having rarely seen a fence he couldn't straddle, Yvan proceeds to wobble on the subject of the painting, thereby setting himself up as a target of obligation for both Serge and Marc. Their fields of fire spread into other topics and other relationships.
Rancor rises along with their critical vigor.
And the core question expands. One may feel obligated to point out a friend's lapses in taste and judgment. Some 85 loud, lunging, accusatory minutes into the war, Serge thrusts a felt tip pen into Marc's hand and stands back from the white canvas, inviting vandalism and laying his half of their friendship on the line. Minutes after that, the play ends in a burst of blinding whiteness and the friendships have evolved. For all its energy, director Towers lets his Art maintain a chilly reserve, for the most part eschewing any bid for empathy.