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.
Erika Iris Simmons
Artist: Erika Iris Simmons
Title: Ghost in the machine, Bob Marley
Media: cassette tape on canvas
Dimensions: 24 x 14 inches
Date: 2010
Biography: A twenty seven year old, self-taught artist,
internet freelancer, known all over the internet as iri5
Statement: “It
feels great to work with strange, older materials. Things that have a mind of
their own. Most everything I use has been thrown away or donated at some point.
Past its prime, like some of the finest things in the world.”
- Erika Iris Simmons
How It Connects: This one is probably one of my favorites out of all the pieces i chose for this exhibit. I have never seen something so cool before! I love that she uses old cassette tapes to create the artist who made the music. For this one she used an old Bob Marley cassette to create him.
Vince Low
Artist: Vince Low
Title: Will Smith
Media: Pen ink on canvas
Dimensions: 24 x 29 inches
Date: 2013
Biography: Dyslexic artist and illustrator from Kuala Lumpur, creates artistic order
from the chaos of pen lines to create portraits of famous faces.
Statement: “I grew up in Malaysia in 1998; I graduated from the One
Academy with a degree in illustration. Since then, I have worked my way up from
a designer to a creative group head in various advertising agencies. I am now
the head of illustration at grey group Kuala Lampur. To me it’s easy to love my
job because I love what I do every day. I don’t see it as work and I believe
that’s my reason for success. It’s like playing a computer game. The fun and
exhilaration I get from it sometimes makes me to forget to even eat or sleep.
The passion I have for art drives me to do better every time. As an
illustrator, I always give my all in what I do. The style has to match the idea
and it’s important to craft something that is beyond the ordinary. People often
ask me how and what do I use to create my art? I always tell them the median
doesn’t matter, what matters is you. Even if I only have wood or stone, I can
use that to create something that is uniquely me.” http://www.artgalaxie.com/index.php/vince-low#gallery1-page-3
How It Connects: I love the work that this artist does. And not just because he work looks so amazing, but because of the reason behind his work. He scribbles all over his canvas but out of all the disorder, comes soomething amazing. He started the scribble method as a way to raise awareness for people who have dyslexia, where hes from not many people know about the disorder. And he himself being dyslexic makes it all the more amazing to me.
Thierry Guetta
Artist: Thierry Guetta
Title: Jimi Hendrix
Media: mixed media on
screenprint
Dimensions: 29 ½ x 21 ¾
inches
Date: 2008
Biography: Thierry Guetta (A.K.A. Mr. Brainwash) is an
actor and director,most commonly known for, Exit Through the Gift Shop, Life Remote Control, and The
2011 Independent Spirit
Awards. He is Married to Debra
guetta
Statement: “I start a picture and I finish it. I don’t think about art while I work.
I try to think about life.”
How It Connects: I chose this picture, because it was so different. instead of trying to highlight the celebrity's face, and body, the artist instead, covered it in color spots and gradually faded into a sprinkle of color here and there. Its not something most artists would think to do, I don't think..
Innes McDougall
Artist: Innes McDougall
Title: Obsession
Media: oil pastel
Dimensions: 12 x 16 inch
Date: 2010
Biography: Innes is a mainly portrait artist who works out of Scotland. Originally educated digitally his talents have moved onto more traditional media now. He most often uses watercolor paints but has been known to use pastels, acrylics and even oils.
Statement: “I love playing with colour and I am a bit obsessed with painting eyes and lips. I don’t think art has to have a meaning I like to try and create beauty and I don’t have a problem with that.”
How It Connects: It connects obviously because it is a celebrity portrait. I chose this one, because I like the colors and the beauty of it. The artist used so many different colors and none of them are the colors that you would actually see on a humans face, yet they combine so perfectly to create this portrait.
Craig Alan
Artist: Craig Alan
Title: Elvis Presley
Media: painting on canvas
Dimensions: 40 x 40 inches
Date: 2009
Biographical info: Craig Alan was
born in 1971 in San Bernardino, California. Craig Alan continues to exhibit his
artwork across the United States, where he has established himself as a
singular voice in the visual arts industry.
How It Connects: I chose this work because it was a celebrity portrait that was different and unique. Craig Alan painted tiny little people standing strategically to look like pixels in the shape of a celebrities face.
Conclusion (what I learned)
The
process of organizing an exhibition of different works by various authors is
definitely not as easy as it sounds. There are so many artists and their pieces
it is hard to decide which ones will work for your exhibition, and which ones will
not. I have never put together an art gallery before, so I started not
knowing what I was doing at all. Once I got into it though some things became
easier, like what I was supposed to
be looking for, and what things I wanted to put in my gallery. One thing that didn’t
get any easier for me at all was finding the artists information. It was simple
to find the piece and who did it, but trying to find all the information like
dimensions, when it was done, and the authors’ statement, or biographical
information. Since many of the artists,
that I chose were not well known or famous, finding any kind of information on
them was a real pain!
A job as a curator? No thank you. I enjoyed
looking at all the different types of art there is, but trying to choose and
research everything was much harder than I thought it would be. I definitely
give props to anyone who can do this job and do it well.
I picked a theme, (celebrity portraits) and then I found artists who do celebrity portraits. Once I got my artists and found their work that I was using, it was just finding the little details that took me the longest. I used Andy Warhol as an artist, since he was very well known and famous, finding information on any of his work was simple. But using an artist who is not well known, like Craig Alan, was a much harder thing. He is not famous or dead, so just typing his name into the Google search engine and expecting a HUGE list of information and facts on him was not working for me.
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