In the past few months, the social media platform has been buzzing with images of political leaders dressed-up as flamboyant drag queens. The visual artist behind the controversy remains anonymous, conducting worldwide interviews under the pseudonym Saint Hoax. Plastik interviewed the artist to get a deeper understanding of their POP-Political message and discuss her/his latest projects.
Read MoreTALL, TANNED, YOUNG AND NOT-SO-LOVELY...CAMERON DIAZ’S FEMME FATALE CHARACTER IN RIDLEY SCOTT’S THE COUNSELOR DEMANDS A MATCHING “KILLA” WARDROBE. CREATIVE DIRECTOR AT THOMAS WYLDE, PAULA THOMAS, JUMPED TO THE MISSION, WITH SCISSORS IN HANDS AND A LOT OF HOLLYWOOD FLAIRE, CREATING SOME OF THE MOST ICONC LOOKS IN THE HISTORY OF MODERN CINEMA.
Read MoreFans of Mark Ryden’s fantasy world featuring fuzzy animals, big-eyed girls, meat and big daddy Abraham Lincoln will be delighted to learn that Taschen has now published a popular, and more affordable, edition of his “Carnival of Curiosities.” First issued in 2011, the big-format and limited edition of Pinxit was gorgeous, yet came with a hefty price of close to $1,000. With an eye on the new book, Plastik asked the celebrated American artist about Abraham, Alice, raw meat, and other major sources of inspiration.
Read MoreTO STAND OUT AMIDST THE OVERSATURATION OF SAMENESS, ONE MUST CONFRONT THE SYSTEM–OF MONOTONY, THAT IS. WE ALL KNOW THAT, BUT WHAT WE DO NOT KNOW IS THE PROCESS BEHIND IT. IN AN INTERVIEW WITH PLASTIK, THE UP-AND-COMING PARISIAN DESIGNER JEAN-MARC GADYTELLS US HOW HE TRANSFERS ALL THE INSPIRATION RUNNING IN HIS STREAM-OF-THOUGHT TO REALITY.
Read MoreAN EROTIC FAIRYTALE SIGNED OLGA RODIONOVA AND ELLEN VON UNWERTH
FOLLOWING THE OVERWHELMING SUCCESS OF THE BOOK OF OLGA, RUSSIA’S ANSWER TO GREECE’S VERY OWN APHRODITE, OLGA RODIONOVA, HAS TEAMED UP WITH GERMAN PHOTOGRAPHER ELLEN VON UNWERTH FOR YET ANOTHER JOURNEY INTO THE REALM OF BEAUTY AND DESIRE.
Read MorePOLISH-BORN KASIA DOMANSKA’S HYPERREALIST IMAGES DEPICT A COLORFUL WORLD OF BRIGHT BLUE SKIES, FLOWERS AND BIKINIS. PLASTIK TALKED TO THE NEW YORK- BASED ARTIST ABOUT FACT AND FICTION, BEAUTY AND THE THINGS THAT MOVE HER ...
Read MoreBritish photographer Martin Parr does not tend to make life more beautiful than it is. He documents reality around him, yet does so with an eye for all things off and odd. Not the designer dress takes center stage, but the champagne stain above the belly. ‘‘With photography, I like to create fiction out of reality,’’ Parr once said. ‘‘I try and do this by taking society’s natural prejudice and giving this a twist.’’
Read MoreInspIred by comIc books and the all amerIcan art of pin-up, Mel Ramos’ work Is at once a celebratIon of the female form and a playful crItIque on the Increased use and sexualizatIon of women In ads and publIcIty sInce the 1960S.
Read MoreWhat is art? That is arguably a question asked ever since the first Stone Age bison was drawn on a rock. Is a drawing art? Is a drawing of a drawing art? A painting of a painting? A photo of a photo? Most people will argue that a reproduction is not art, as it does not require a creative, inventive spark. But what if the photo of the photo would be retouched? Given another title? Would it then be art?
Read MoreWhen asked to describe himself in three words, British photographer Miles Aldridge replied:”Colorful, sunny and dark.” It is these very words that arguably best describe his work as well. Realistic, yet characterized by the use of bright, neon colors, Aldridge’s photos possess a surreal quality that hints at some of life’s darker and often erotic dimensions. While his work until 2004 mainly featured in the world’s leading glossies, it has since increasingly been exposed in art galleries and books.
Read MoreOne of the founding fathers and leading figures of the Pop Art movement, Roy Lichtenstein is mainly known for his paintings of enlarged comic book scenes. Yet he did many other things as well, including sculptures such as “The Head,” which was unveiled at the 1992 Olympic Games and still adorns the city of Barcelona. while he regards Picasso as his main inspiration, he never dared comparing his work to that of the Spanish master.
Read MoreOnce upon a beautiful day in 1976, Pierre Commoy met Gilles Blanchard. And the rest, as they say, is history. Pierre was an aspiring photographer, Gilles an upcoming painter. Together they became known as “Pierre et Gilles.” Inseparable both as lovers and artists, they have since created a modern day iconography of Saints, Stars, Sailors and Sinners. A fusion of painting and photography, their work is inspired by everything from French pop, Bollywood and Lourdes to Communism, Gay eroticism and Buddhist monks.
Read MoreJeff koons was asked to exhibit at the Versailles Palace last year. he could not have been offered a better venue for his first european retrospective: the ultimate baroque french palace for america’s king of kitsch. Visitors were able to admire fifteen of koons’ trademark works, including sculptures of a giant red lobster and Michael Jackson hugging his pet chimp bubbles, amidst the usual curly-curvy furniture and portraits of Louis XiV and Marie antoinette.
Read MoreGuy Bourdin was a complex and disturbed man. While he created timeless beauty, the leading French photographer was in fact obsessed with death, and always had a difficult relationship with women. Abandoned as a child by his mother, he often maltreated his models, while at least two of his former lovers committed suicide.
Read MoreStepping into the world of Japanese artist Takashi Murakami is like walking into a giant toy store. His sculpted and painted figures, with their rounded features and mushroom and flower companions, look like cartoon characters that ran off the pages of the latest manga adventure series. It is for that reason many people wonder if his work can be considered art. Murakami himself could not care less about how is work is perceived and defined. If there is one person in the world working hard to extinguish the distinctions between what is art and non-art, high art and low art, it is him.
Read MoreTraveling around the globe and leaving behind a trail of thought-provoking images, Banksy is without a doubt the world’s most famous graffiti artist. Having worked the streets for years, Banksy has also produced works on canvas worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in the fanciest of galleries. And yet, apart from a small circle of close friends, no one knows who Banksy really is.
Read MoreAlthough she has lived in a mental institution since 1975, Yayoi Kusama is still regarded as Japan’s greatest living artist today. With solo exhibitions in major museums in France and the United States, Kusama has become a well-respected artist worldwide. Playful and childlike as her works may seem, they are the result of a journey that led the now 89-year-old to the edge of insanity and even suicide.
Read MoreHe is regarded as one of the most influential photographers of our time, has been compared with all-time greats as Man Ray and Helmut Newton, while anyone who is someone in “celebrity-land” has to wait in line to be portrayed by him. Still, David LaChapelle stood at the point of becoming a gardener in Hawaii. At the time, he had spent some two decades working as a fashion and celebrity photographer, and was fed up. He still is.
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