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Cindy Sherman

Art

The Famous Artworks Matchmaking Game

By Marina Galperina on

Valentine’s Day is around the corner, and some of us here at Flavorpill are feeling silly. Or, you know, nauseated and glum. Sigh. So, what are we going to do? We’re going to play the Famous Artworks Matchmaking Game! Yay! Remember when you were kid and you’d smack your Barbie and Gumby together and pretend they were a couple? It’s like that. We’re pairing up the classic, contemporary, and pop culture works of art — and their subjects — that we think should go on a date and have a nice time together. Feel free to rain on our silly love parade in the comments section. We realize that it could be quite cathartic this time of year. … Read More

Art

Flavorpill’s 10 Most Anticipated Art Exhibits of 2012

By Marina Galperina on

If one your New Year’s resolutions was to see more art shows, then you should find this guide quite handy. From east coast to west coast and over the pond, we’re in for an exciting year of ambitious retrospectives and thematic group shows. Explore the seedy underbelly of ’30s and ’40s New York with Weegee’s intense crime scene photography. Take a trip into the intimate dreamworld of female Surrealists. Meet Keith Haring before he was a superstar. Be other people with Cindy Sherman. Here are just some of the exhibits that we’re most looking forward to in 2012. … Read More

Art

Portraits of Famous Artists and Photographers by Other Artists

By Marina Galperina on

What happens when an artist drops his brush or a photographer lowers his camera to pose for a portrait by a colleague? We investigated and found a snap of a young Nan Goldin, pre-fame and sans blouse, Francis Bacon’s face deconstructed by the strokes of Lucian Freud, and Picasso romping around in a big blond wig for Brassaï. Often starkly casual peeks, these portraits are brimming with a friendly intimacy and professional camaraderie. Take a look at some of our favorite cultural figures as models in the slide show. … Read More

Photography

This Is Now the World’s Most Expensive Photograph

By Caroline Stanley on

Remember back in May of this year, when we told you that at $3.89 million, Cindy Sherman’s 1981 self-portrait Untitled #96 was the most expensive photo in the world (a record that was previously held by Andreas Gursky’s 99 Cent II Diptychon, which went for $3.35 million back in 2006)? Well, sorry Sherman.… Read More

Art

Meet the Art World’s 100 Most Powerful Players of 2011

By Judy Berman on

Art Review magazine has published its annual “Power 100″ lists of the art world’s most influential players – and even if you’re more a casual art fan than an all-out industry wonk, it’s a fairly interesting document. While the 2010 rankings placed Larry Gagosian at #1, the top spot is now occupied by an actual artist: Ai Weiwei, who drew an unprecedented show of support from the global art community after being imprisoned by the Chinese government earlier this year. Gagosian, meanwhile, has slipped to #4. Could that be because insiders are sick of watching him bend over backwards for celebrity dilettantes like James Franco and frauds like James Frey? Also interesting: Jeffery Deitch, who was #12 last year, is down to #48 after months of pretty terrible publicity. The only other artist to crack the gallerist-dominated top ten is Cindy Sherman.

Other boldface names on the list include Marina Abramović (#23), Takashi Murakami (#47), Anish Kapoor (#50), Steve McQueen (#59), Damien Hirst (#64), Slavoj Žižek (#65), Jeff Koons (#66), and Miuccia Prada (#85). Although you could spend all day picking out omissions, we’re especially surprised to see that Christian Marclay — whose video installation The Clock won the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale and has probably been the most praised work of art this year — isn’t included. Check out the top ten after the jump, then click over to Art Review for the full list and tell us whether you agree. … Read More

Art

The “Remake” Project’s Recreations of Famous Works of Art

By Tom Hawking on

Yesterday we ran a selection of our favorite “cover” art — famous paintings recreated using a variety of materials and techniques, from Cezanne in balloons to Edward Hopper in Lego and Rene Magritte in vegetables. It turns out that we’re not the only ones enamored of such ideas — the good folk at Booooooom have been running a competition called Remake, whereby artists are invited to recreate and reinterpret notable works of art. We’ve found it fascinating to see how people have approached the idea, some producing strikingly accurate recreations of the originals, others using the composition as a departure point for something entirely new. It’s an ongoing project — the deadline for entries is October 21 — but we wanted to share some of the most interesting submissions here. And if you’re artistically inclined, you should totally enter the competition — the prize is a copy of the Adobe CS5 Master Collection. … Read More

Photography

Famous Photographs Remixed as Instagrams

By Marina Galperina on

The concept of the Mastergram Tumblr is simple: “Remarkable photos made better (or worse) using Instagram.” Yet, just the loaded byline alone sends disgruntled shudders up the spines of photography purists while iPhone enthusiasts get giddy with anticipation. There you have it. Celebrated shots by Cindy Sherman, William Eggleston, Robert Mapplethorpe, and more, fed through smoothing, brightening, tinting Instagram effects — the very same technology that makes your most banal shots all pretty and special.

Photographer Andrew Emond investigates: “If the Instagram effect can make mundane images appear to be works of art, what happens when we apply the same filters to images that have historically been held in high regard? Is the imagery degraded or enhanced as a result? Does the effect add a new layer of meaning to the photo? Perhaps these are questions best left resolved by the viewer.” View the manipulated imagery below and see how Nan Goldin’s faded, blue-less bruise makes you feel. … Read More

Art

The 10 Best Photos of Artists at the Beach

By Paul Laster on

When the summer season hits, we become a little beach-obsessed here at Flavorpill. As a result, we recently combed the Internet to discover literary greats in old fashioned bathing outfits and rock stars in skimpy swim suits — which has led us to consider, what do artists do (and more importantly, wear) at the beach? From Pablo Picasso playing servant to his baby mama on the French Riviera and Salvador Dali using a washed-up starfish as a monocle on the Spanish coast to Tracey Emin promoting donkey rides on the English shore and Terence Koh flaunting his wedding dress in the East Hampton surf, we’ve found that most artists look fabulous on the beach — even if  hours in the studio have left them a little pasty. Click through our gallery of beached artists below. … Read More

Art

Self-Portraiture: An Incomplete Visual History

By Emily Temple on

Given that yesterday was what would have been famous portraitist (and self-portraitist) Andy Warhol‘s 83 birthday, we’ve been thinking a little bit about the long history of self-portraiture. Many artists’ first subjects are themselves, which makes some sense, considering the proximity and availability of one’s own face. Often artists’ self portraits differ greatly from the rest of their work, but some trade almost exclusively in the form. Like anything else, the mediums and methods vary widely, but all are fascinating in that they attempt to show an inner part of the artist more directly than any representation of an outside subject could. With that in mind, click through for our very incomplete (how could it not be?) visual history of self-portraiture, and let us know if we’ve missed any of your favorite pieces in the comments! … Read More

Celebrity

Check Out the Crazy Ads for Cindy Sherman’s MAC Line

By Caroline Stanley on

Famed photographer Cindy Sherman is no stranger to working with big brands — remember that amazing series of self-portraits that she did for Balenciaga last fall? Her latest collaboration, a limited-edition MAC collection that will be in stores from September 9 to October 27, looks to be just as promising based on some newly-released promotional images. Between this, her upcoming retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, and the fact that her 1981 work Untitled #96 recently became the most expensive photograph in the world, we’re guessing it feels pretty good to be Sherman right about now. … Read More