When you look at art, you see what you want to see. And some people, as Irene Gallo, the art director for Tor Books, points out, see science fiction. BoingBoing pointed us towards the Tor blog, where Gallo has collected a great series of sci-fi-themed artworks inspired by classic paintings. Whether translating modern painting to hyper-modern painting or just swapping out a traditional angel’s wings for something a little more nerdy, these works are playful studies that were probably as much fun to make as they are to look at. Click through to see some of our favorites, and then be sure to check out even more over at Tor!
Office cubicles aren’t known for inspiring creativity. In fact, they have a reputation for doing just the opposite. But working in a confined space doesn’t always have to be stifling. Meet Bill Taylor, a data manager in Durham, North Carolina who recreates iconic works of art on a whiteboard in his cube. He spends only two to five minutes per day on his drawings, taking roughly six weeks to finish each piece — and then he leave it up for a day or two, photographs the finished product, wipes the board clean, and gets to work on his next masterpiece. “[T]here’s something about doing it this way that forces me to be patient, something I could always use more practice with,” Taylor told the Telegraph. Click through to see some of our favorite whiteboard paintings, and then visit Taylor’s website to peruse the entire collection.
For reasons that are obvious now that we’re no longer five years old, Barbie often gets a bad rap. But once upon a time, the little plastic doll with the impossible proportions was one of our most beloved toys. We’re assuming that it was the same for a French woman named Jocelyne Grivaud who is hoping to change the way that we see Barbie by incorporating her image into some of art history’s most famous works. Click through to see Barbie as everyone from Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring to Warhol’s Marilyn, and let us know in the comments which remixed work of art is your favorite.
We’re happy if our previous roundup of feature films about artists inspired or rejuvenated any of your artistic or bohemian impulses. That said, pull up a chair. Let’s get real. Here you will find some of our favorite documentaries about artists, many of them current and some even freshly made. Dig out the heart of Louise Bourgeois’ gigantic spiders. Go behind Pablo Picasso’s brushstrokes. Wonder eternally if Banksy’s fooling you. Rebels, superstars, activists, eccentrics, con artists — they’re all here and they’re ready to tell you their story.
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.
[Editor's note: While your Flavorwire editors take a much-needed holiday break, we're revisiting some of our most popular features of the year. This post was originally published February 16, 2011.] If we’re being honest, most of us will never own a work of art by a famous artist. And while back in college, it might have been okay to pay homage to one of the greats with a poster print from the museum, these days when it comes to the artwork that hangs on our walls, we tend to opt for original pieces by emerging (read: more affordable) talents. A few enterprising souls have found a way to sidestep the issue completely by displaying famous works of art directly on their bodies. Click through for some of our favorite examples, and if you happen to have an art-inspired tattoo, be sure to tell us about it in the comments.
We don’t know about you, but after we finish a dazzling piece of fiction, we want nothing more than to continue it in some way, to bring it to life in the physical realm. If our painting skills were anywhere as good as our reading skills, we would probably do just that, but alas, they are not. However, we can content ourselves with the knowledge that there are lots of wonderful works of visual, aural, and mixed-media art out there that are based on or inspired by books. Of course, many books are illustrated, and the illustrations are meant to reflect the story, but this is not exactly what we mean by “works of art inspired by works of literature” — otherwise this list would be full of artists like Ralph Steadman and Walter Crane, whose iconic illustrations knock our socks off. Instead, we tried to choose freestanding works that depicted or took influence from literature, whether directly or obliquely. Now, we are completely aware that the list of artworks influenced by literature is endless — especially if you consider the Bible literature — so here we’ve chosen a number of our favorite examples, trying to include both contemporary and classic works of art ranging from sketches to book-length collections of paintings to full-scale musical productions from artists both famous and largely unknown. Click through to see our list of great works of art inspired by great works of literature, and let us know your own favorites in the comments.
With New Year’s Eve festivities approaching, you might be wanting to go a little farther than noise makers and confetti. In that case, we’ve got some arty party ideas. Don’t panic! Whether it’s a little get together at your place or something fancy somewhere huge, you can always just shamelessly replicate one of Dalí’s storied shin-dings or take creative influence from a particularly jubilant Aubrey Beardsley rendering. Here’s a little brainstorm of famous artist parties to get you started.
A patron of the arts as well as a visionary bookseller, George Whitman, the owner of Shakespeare & Company, the legendary English-language bookstore on the Left Bank in Paris, died this week at age 98. Writers flocked to his shop to browse, mingle, and even spend the night. To honor Whitman’s legacy, we decided to take a look at Shakespeare & Company, as well as several other storied haunts of artists, writers, poets and other intellectuals, from cafés to bookstores to hotels. Click through to check out our list, and let us know which currently happening spot you think will become the next artist hangout of legend in the comments. Read More »
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 »
