CELEBRITY PORTRAITS
Sarah Golden
Unique Celebrity Portraits
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Introduction
Celebrity Portraits
Artists:
Andy Warhol
Jason Kronenwald
Sebastian Kruger
Ben Heine
Jason Mecier
Erika Iris Simmons
Vince Low
Thierry Guetta
Innes McDougall
Craig Alan
This show is about all the different ways you can do the
same thing. I have put together 10 different works, 10 different people. I have ten different artists who have all
found their own unique way to do celebrity portraits. The main connection
between these was the fact that they’re all images of celebrities, but the
other connections is that they aren’t your typical every day painting or
sketch. These are all completely different unique pieces of work.
Andy Warhol
Artist: Andy
Warhol
Title:
Marilyn Monroe diptych
Media: Pop
art; Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions:
205.44 cm x 289.56 cm.
Date: 1962
Biography: born august 6th, 1928, died
February 22, 1987, American, field: printmaking, painting, cinema, photography,
movement: pop art
Statement: "If you want to know all about Andy
Warhol, just look at the surface
of my paintings and films and me, and there I am. There's nothing behind it." http://www.potters.org/subject57713.htm
How It Connects: The number one reason that I chose this works was because I really like Andy Warhol. I wanted to have at least one of his pieces in my gallery, and Marilyn Monroe is one of my idols. So it was the perfect piece.
Jason Kronenwald
Artist: Jason
Kronenwald
Title: Gum
Blonde XVI
Media: Chewed
gum on plywood backing, sealed with epoxy,
Dimensions:
15.4 x 11 inches
Date: 2005
Biography: Jason Kronenwald grew up in Ancaster,
Ontario, Canada. He graduated from Queen’s University in Kingston with a
Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1997. Currently he lives in Toronto with his wife
Samantha, daughter Sadie and son Milo, making portraits out of chewed bubblegum
called Gum Blondes. Kronenwald has a dedicated team of chewers and prefers the texture
of Trident and Bubblicious.
Statement: "Today’s omnipresent media
unapologetically emphasizes style over substance. Youth, fortune, fame and
excess come before wisdom, integrity, talent, and the truth. The media depicts
the celebrities of today as modern day gods and goddesses to be worshipped and
emulated. As an artist, I feel a need to honor these lip-synching, boob-enhancing idols
in an appropriate manner. The qualities of chewing gum make it a fitting
material to use – sticky, sweet, consumed by kids, cheap, readily available,
artificial, over-packaged, gimmicky, salivated over, chewed up and spit out.
Essentially, gum is produced to be thrown away. In my Gum Blondes series, the message is the medium. My portraits put the focus on the
artificiality, plasticity and disposability of both the medium and the
subject." http://www.flickr.com/photos/wackydoodler/sets/72057594091167129/comments/
How It Connects: This is probably one of the most unique/weird portraits I've ever seen. I chose it because how many people make portraits out of chewed up bubblegum? Just this guy. Its a completely different technique compared to the majority of artists and their techniques.
Sebastian Kruger
Artist: Sebastian KrugerTitle: John Wayne
Media: Acrylic on board
Dimensions: 100 x 64 cm
Date: 1997
Biography: Born June 30, 1963 in Hamelin, Germany, isa German artist mostly uses acrylic paint, he creates hyper realistic details, was part of the pop art movement.
Statement: “I like the dark side of people’s character,” Krüger says. “Or I like to find out if there is a dark half. I like painting people like Vincent Van Gogh, William S.Burroughs, Keith Richards or even Marilyn Monroe. These people are very special to me. I feel very close to them. I’m very bored with all these entertainers with white teeth — where everybody is in good health and is so nice — I kind of don’t like it!” http://www.limelightagency.com/Sebastian-Kruger/Press_pages/american/press.html
How It Connects: The Reason behind me choosing this piece was because John Wayne was one of my favorite actors when I was a kid, so when I saw this picture, I knew I had to use it! The artist enhances prominent features and works with it to create funny caricatures.
Ben Heine
Title: Eminem
Media: Digital Circlism
Dimensions: 790 x 1000
Date: march 15th 2011
Biography: Ben Heine (born 12 June 1983 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire) is a Belgian multidisciplinary artist. Starting as a
painter and political cartoonist, he became more widely known in 2011 for his
"Pencil vs Camera" and
"Digital Circlism"
Statement:
Ben says he has been deeply influenced by Belgian Surrealism, German
Expressionism, American Pop Art, and Social Realism. Abduzeedo, a lf eading
online platform in Art & Design said about him: "His galleries are
filled with great stuff and he can walk beautifully between several art directions,
creating amazing pieces in any way he goes". http://benheine.deviantart.com/
How It Connects: I liked this one here because of the technique used. Its a completely unheard of method, that has never been done before! Ben heine uses individual dots on a black background, and no two dots are the same exact color! Its so different that i had to use it!
Jason Mecier
Title: P!NK
Media: Junk items
Dimensions: 24 x 35”
Date: 2006
Biography: Born in LA, Jason
Mecier is a San Francisco based 3-D portrait artist. He has spent over 10
years creating amazing 3-D mosaic portraits of his favorite music icons.
Statement: "Though I have no formal art training, I did have an excellent mentor in
my grandmother, Anita Tollefson. When I was young, I remember being mesmerized
by her paintings, weavings, mosaics, sculptures, collages, and stained glass
work that filled my grandparents' house and yard. If Anita was working on an
art project, she would set me up at a nearby table with a project of my own to
work on. One of my earliest pieces is a mosaic made from beans, noodles, rocks,
and cut bamboo sticks glued on a piece of wood. My grandmother encouraged me to
create masterpieces using materials readily available to me. She would rather
paint on the back of her cigarette cartons than buy a canvas. I learned from
her that I can make art out of anything I want to, and that there are no rules.
How It Connects: Each portrait is created from objects
disowned by celebrities and junk such as broken sunglasses,
make-up, gum wrappers, jewelry, deodorant, shoes, and other items. I chose it because I love the idea that you can create something out of nothing. He uses celebrities old, used, unwanted trash to create an image of them. Its even more amazing that celebrities will actually send him their old used items and ask him to do a portrait of them.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)