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 »
After running features on the childhood photos of both famous writers and rock stars over the past few weeks, it might seem like we’re a bit youth-obsessed at Flavorwire lately. But we promise that that’s not the case. We just think that there’s something fascinating about images of cultural icons snapped long before they’d become household names. It humanizes them a bit. And so, today we turn our focus on the art world — specifically, some of the most influential talents of the past 100 years. Click through to peep photos of everyone from a dashing young Andy Warhol (pictured here) to a breathtakingly adorable baby Yoko Ono.
Museums and galleries in cultural capitals around the world are just starting to roll out an exciting new line-up of fall exhibitions to entice their viewers. From Willem de Kooning’s sensual abstractions at New York’s Museum of Modern Art and Diane Arbus’ iconic photographs of nudists and transvestites at the Jeu de Paume in Paris to Pipilotti Rist’s colorful video installations at London’s Hayward Gallery and KAWS’ playful interpretations of cartoon characters at Honor Fraser in Los Angeles, the new art season is a major moment of renewal for artists, both old and new. Click through our top ten show picks worldwide and let us know what you would add to the list.
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.
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!
Today at Flavorpill, we watched a clever/slightly disturbing commercial featuring animal-free animal memes. We were frightened by this infographic that visualizes the US debt crisis as a really tall skyscraper made from $100 bills — fingers-crossed Ben Affleck will save us all. We decided that it’s been way too long since we’ve celebrated Tina Fey’s comedic genius. We saw some of our favorite works of art get a major makeover. We couldn’t believe that Facebook would censor the cover art of the Nevermind reissue — they’re about 20 years late to that controversy party. We wondered if we should take it as a bad sign that Frank Darabont has reportedly stepped down as showrunner for The Walking Dead. We were surprised to see how closely some of these famous mothers and daughters in Hollywood resemble one another when you look at photos of them at the same age. We reconsidered the work of Diane Arbus, who ended her life 40 years ago this week. And finally, we loved Entertainment Weekly’s roundup of the 13 funniest Broadway musicals ever. How many shows have you seen that made their list?
Tuner Prize winner Gillian Wearing is a master of disguise. These silicone masks and costumes are uncanny! With her varied, oeuvre-spanning show now open at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery in Chelsea, we’re drawn to her tribute self-portraits as idols Andy Warhol, Diane Arbus, and Robert Mapplethorpe. Wearing has also recreated photos of her mother, her brother, and herself as a three-year-old child with unsettling authenticity. She calls it “liberating.”
For her new video piece Secrets and Lies, Wearing liberated others by posting an open-call online and recording the intimate confessions of strangers hidden under grotesque masks. Check out some of the artist’s best disguises, starting with this portrait of doll-like supermodel Lily Cole wearing a chipped Lily Cole mask. How meta!
Not all books come with a body bag, but that was the favor given out at the book party for Alix Strauss’ marvelously morbid Death Becomes Them: Unearthing the Suicides of the Brilliant, the Famous, and the Notorious. The bags held macabre gifts like Funeral Home Perfume and Waterproof Mascara, which aren’t exactly to my taste, but they also included Vincent Van Gogh vodka and Hemingway Daiquiri rum, which definitely are. The liquor didn’t stop flowing there: Strauss asked mixologist Eben Klemm to invent signature cocktails for a few of the book’s exquisite corpses, making it the best literary celebration of death since Finnegans Wake. Read More »
Emerging photographer Jim Lind is a senior at the Savannah College of Art and Design; his aesthetic is inspired in part, by the work of Diane Arbus: “Whenever I look at her strange portraiture, I’m always left questioning the lives of the people in her photographs. She had such skill in blending the mystery with the familiarity.” Judging from the dark beauty of the apocalyptic photos in his City of Exile series, we can expect exciting things from him in the future. More after the jump. Read More »
With the announcement just last night of Patrick Swayze’s passing, we can only hope that this unofficial Summer of Death comes to a close with the cooling weather. As much collective mourning as any celebrity death can inspire, whether it’s somewhat expected (like Swayze’s) or not (like Michael Jackson’s), there’s something shocking — and haunting — about a high-profile suicide that leaves fans reeling even more. In her new book Death Becomes Them, Alix Strauss looks at the methods and the madness behind some of the most shocking celebrity suicides in recent memory, from Kurt Cobain to Elliott Smith, and some from not-so-recent history (think Vincent van Gogh and Hitler). Read More »
