We first saw this series of famous black and white photographs made new with a little recoloring over at Thaeger. While the concept isn’t earth-shattering, the results are pretty amazing — taking moments from the history books and reinventing them for a new generation. How else are we to fully appreciate Albert Einstein’s smart sweater, or Charlie Chaplin’s baby face, sans mustache? The portraits in Sanna Dullaway’s series have that reach out and touch quality, and the iconic “event” pictures breathe new life into each memorable moment. Margaret Bourke-White’s photo of the breadline during the Louisville flood in 1937 has been reprinted in blurry black and white so many times, it’s refreshing to actually see the expressions on each person’s face. Meanwhile, Alfred Eisenstaedt’s V-J Day in Times Square circa 1945 proves that making out is always better in color. Click through for a closer look at select photos from the series.
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The portrait, as far as we’re concerned, is one of the most arresting forms of art. Not only does it portray a person, but it can affix a million meanings or emotions to that person, adding to and possibly conflicting whatever baseline emotions their visage stirs up in the viewer. Here, we’ve collected a few of what can best be described as the most iconic portraits of the most iconic figures, from musicians to actors to artists to politicians. Note: we’re not claiming that these are the most iconic figures of the 20th century hands down (although some would definitely make the cut), but rather that these portraits rank among the most powerful and enduring photographic images of the century. Indeed, many of these photographs have transcended their subjects to become iconic in their own rights as images — for instance, even those who have no idea who Che Guevara is would probably recognize his face as captured by Alberto Korda and spray-painted on a t-shirt. Click through to see 10 of the most enduring portraits of pop culture icons taken in the 20th century, and since of course there are many more that could have been included on this list, be sure to chime in with your own suggestions in the comments.
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Realist painter Mario Soria paints pop art portraits, rendering iconic individuals with surrealistic detail. Andy Warhol, Woody Allen, and Frida Kahlo are the subject of several of the Spanish artist’s monochrome pictures that (not to be redundant here) pop with bursts of color throughout. Soria adds biographical details to each subject — as you’ll notice that Frida Kahlo’s visage is covered with falling baby carriages. The artist wasn’t able to conceive after a near-fatal bus injury where her abdomen and uterus were pierced. Do you like the way Soria treats the sides of his canvas with the same attention to detail, framing Einstein’s portrait in crushed soda cans and Andy Warhol’s with Legos? Head past the break, and let us know. Read More »
We’re always on the lookout for cool pop-culture related visual art, so we can’t thank the good folks at Brain Pickings enough for drawing our attention to Israeli artist Noma Bar and his book Guess Who: The Many Faces of Noma Bar. This 2007 volume collects 50 of Bar’s minimalist vector portraits of iconic figures from the world of film, science, literature, politics, music, and more. We’ve picked out ten of our favorites from the book; check ‘em out after the jump.
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Ever wondered how your favorite artist gets their work done? No, we mean, exactly how. As in, if we use the same pen Hemingway used, and the same kind of paper, and at the same time of day, maybe we’ll… nevermind. Regardless of pen type, there is something fascinating about the artist’s desk, and like anything else, everyone will draw their own far-reaching conclusions. In particular, it seems like everyone has their own opinion about what the state of someone’s workspace “means,” and we guess it has more to do with what the adage-makers own desks looked like than anything else. Whether a cluttered desk means a cluttered mind, or whether a cluttered desk just means a cluttered desk, or whether a messy desk is a sign of genius, we don’t know. But be their desks cluttered or clean, these creative people are definitely on this side of brilliant. Indulge in some harmless voyeurism and sneak a peek at the desks and workspaces of writers, artists, and thinkers. Then, it’s time to redecorate.
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The work of Philadelphia-based artist Alex Queral repurposes old phone books for carving; using a very sharp X-ACTO knife and a little pot of acrylic medium for the detail areas, he creates incredibly detailed celebrity portraits out of pages of faceless names. “It can be quite tense work sometimes because it takes a long time to finish and when you cut something away you can’t get it back again,” he has said. “Nearing the end of the carving and then suddenly having it ruined by a careless cut can be pretty crushing. You have to start all over again.” Click through to view some of our favorite pieces.
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Nerds tend to overdress — probably the result of being fussed over by mothers who they were always making “so proud.” That overdressing, though well-intentioned, frequently gets out of hand. Yesterday the New York Times’ Bits blog spoke with Kristen Slowe, a designer who’s trying to make style simpler for the geekier males among us with her new line Saboteur. Inspired by the impending fashion revolution, we decided to comb through style site Nerd Boyfriend, and came up with this list of heroes who’ve made their nerdy fashions into classics.
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The New York Yankees rewarded their long-suffering fans on Wednesday night by clinching their 27th World Series title. Today they’re celebrating with a ticker-tape parade, complete with a performance by Jay-Z and a cameo by Spike Lee. The last time things were this crazy in the Canyon of Heroes was back in early 2008, in celebration of the Giants’ Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots. After the jump we run through some of the biggest NYC ticker-tape parades of the last century.
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