BOOBIES (2020)Photography by Frank Ford.
The term kitsch indicates a particular way of producing objects, sometimes even of presumed artistic value, which are in reality characterized by excessive, cheap, banal and, consequently, bad taste ornamentation. When was just stated, however, it could be confusing regarding the state of some well-known works of art, which, despite being combined with this "derogatory" adjective, actually present a very personal, exuberant, priceless and highly recognized aesthetic value, such as, for example, the glittering and controversial sculptures of Jeff Koons. So I have to ask myself, how do you distinguish simple bad taste from perhaps excessive but, at the same time, also highly iconic and sought-after artistic styles? The answer lies in the history of the term in question, which, first used to describe only banal and ingenuous works, was subsequently enriched, during the 20th century, with a coexisting meaning, aimed at indicating a sort of ephemeral Pop art, preciously distinguished by the his extravagance and lightness. In addition, it is possible to state that everything that has been recognized as kitsch since the twentieth century, precisely because of its link with Warhol's movement, is also considered to be related to the human condition and its naturalistic standards of beauty, even if in the case of kitsch what has been said takes place in a rather superficial and melodramatic way. So, having reached this point, we can state that kitsch represents a style of mass art or design, having as its subject popular or cultural icons, which, due to its distinctive peculiarities, can be both excessive and amusing, but certainly attractive to who is looking for an object lacking any critical distance from the observer, or capable of offering instantaneous emotional gratification, devoid of intellectual effort and the necessary sublimation. In conclusion, if we accept the fact that art is primarily subjective, even the most misunderstood of trends can be recognized as a form of creative expression in its own right. I would like to specify this last somewhat relativist point of view, since, differently from what I have told you, many art critics have not wanted to recognize in kitsch a real and proper expression of creativity, mainly not for aesthetic factors , but due to the fact that it represents a form of pure and superficial aesthetic enjoyment.
TELLING SECRETS (2018)Photography by Susan Maxwell Schmidt.
DO NOT THROW ON THE PUBLIC HIGHWAY(2018)Photography by Marine Foissey.
Michael Jackson: link between sculpture and kitsch photography
In order to delve into the aforementioned matter, I thought of presenting the work of two of the best known contemporary exponents of kitsch art, comparing the ways in which the latter have dealt with the figurative narration of the same subject: the King of Pop, Michael Jackson! I take this opportunity to imagine myself doing the iconic moon walk of the aforementioned singer, in order to graciously manage to move from the story about Jeff Koons, which I will face first, to the one about David LaChapelle, both artists authors of “Jackson” themed works, titled Michael Jackson and Bubbles (1988) and American Jesus (series of works). Speaking of the elder of the two, he is considered to be Warhol's official heir, as, with intentions similar to those of Sixties Pop art, he pursued the aim of bringing high culture, and therefore the art world, closer together to the more popular one, where television characters triumph, who are skilfully transformed into works of art, both accessible to the understanding of the masses, and capable of covertly criticizing the banal and superficial consumer lifestyle. Precisely by following this last desecrating assumption, Koons also made fun of the image of Michael Jackson in Michael Jackson and Bubbles, a porcelain sculpture that is part of the banality series, which immortalizes the popular singer leaning on a flowerbed, while hosting on his knees the pet chimpanzee Bubbles, an animal intent on clutching a white cloth between its paws. The subjects in question wear similar clothes, their bodies are parallel and colored in a homogeneous way, so much so that they constitute an optical unit, aimed at arranging themselves on a multi-perspective triangular composition. Speaking of the meaning of sculpture, the artist has revealed how, generally, the main purpose of his works is to involve the widest possible public, a purpose that can be easily achieved precisely through the treatment of subjects belonging to the world of entertainment, as well as extremely well known and popular like Michael Jackson. In addition, Koons' stars also want to make explicit the affinity between the cult of ancient Christian icons and modern consumer and media celebrities, making clear the hidden parallelism between the ancient omnipresence of the image of God and the popular recurrence of the of some characters. As far as the intentions of David LaChapelle's photography are concerned, he is known for his hyper-real, sly, subversive, surrealist, Pop and certainly kitsch photographic style, which made the features of the aforementioned sung, within the series American Jesus. The latter, almost taking up the parallelism of Koons, aimed at assimilating the image of God to those of modern celebrities, has reinterpreted Catholic iconography, in order to give life to a divine Jackson, the subject of shots that welcome in their title phrases extracted from the songs of the Pop star himself. An example of what has been said is American Jesus: Hold me, carry me boldly, a title taken from the hit Will you be there, aimed at revealing the words of a new cult, linked to the image of a new deity, who appears lying in the arms of Jesus: the child prodigy of the Jackson five! Finally, the relationship between art, kitsch and celebrity will be further explored by analyzing the works of some Artmajeur artists, such as: Vincent Sabatier, Ora and Maria Buduchikh.
INSTAGRAM INFLUENCER BARBIE (2021)Photography by Cassiopeia.
ROBOCLUSION MICHAEL JACKSON 4 (2022)Sculpture by Vincent Sabatier (VerSus).
Vincent Sabatier: Roboclusion Michael Jackson 4
"I am a huge art lover. I adore Michelangelo. If I had the chance to talk to him or read anything about him, I would like to know what inspired him to become who he is, the anatomy of his mastery..." . These are the iconic words that Michael Jackson, King of Pop and subject of Sabatier's sculpture, uttered in the legendary 1993 Oprah Winfrey television interview, an event ready to make us reflect on the fact that, precisely in analogy with the legacy of the aforementioned Italian master, the singer too has eternally influenced the art world, extending his ancestry to various artistic movements and media. Precisely in this sense it is appropriate to highlight how the figure of Jackson has been immortalized by artists of the caliber of Keith Haring, David LaChapelle, Grayson Perry, Andy Warhol and Faith Ringgold, so much so that the first of these, a great fan of the singer, has made an unusual figurative work, intent on celebrating the features of Michael. Perry, on the other hand, in his Sex and Drugs and Earthenware vase from 1995, depicted Jackson together with Kurt Cobain, in order to celebrate the most important icons of the Nineties, while Warhol, who in his diaries mentioned the meetings with Michael, he immortalized him in keeping with his distinctive portrait style, aimed at proposing an intense close-up of the subject, to transform him into an icon. Finally, Faith made Who's Bad? (1998), a quilt in which the King of Pop is represented along with other historical heroes such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Nelson Mandela, among a pantheon of fantastic people, who have done incredible things for the black community.
MADONNAPainting by Ora.
Ora: Madonna
Only one other Pop star has had a similar impact within the art world as the aforementioned Jackson: Madonna, the undisputed muse of David LaChapelle, an American photographer and video artist, famous for his hyper-realistic, highly saturated and often controversial celebrities, who have immortalized, in addition to the aforementioned diva, Nicki Minaj, Britney Spears, Tupac Shakur, Michael Jackson and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, characterizing them through a humorous style, which combines elements of surrealism and pop art. In addition to this type of representation, the American artist also created, in 2012, an armless bust with the face of Madonna, aimed at portraying the singer with her most iconic mole and crucifix, as well as two showy breasts, a symbol of the sexualization of his character. Precisely this last work of art could also be interpreted as a kind of voodoo fetish premonition, as the American photographer would later abandon the project of making the Hang up video of the same singer, due to intolerable character incompatibilities, which, within the gossip, they transformed Madonna into a hysterical hag and LaChapelle into a conscientious artist, capable of recognizing the limits of his tolerance threshold, in search of a constant and healthy self-respect. Regarding the work of the artist of Artmajeur, however, it too, like the aforementioned mannequin, proposes one of the most famous versions of the Pop star, despite the fact that in this case the purely celebratory approach invites us, rather than imagining controversies, to humming in our minds one of the most popular refrains of the undisputed queen of Pop.
MODERN ICON 'KIM' (2019)Collages by Maria Buduchikh.
Maria Buduchikh: Modern Icon Kim
The description, as well as the subject itself, of the mixed technique created by Buduchikh takes us directly into contemporary reality where, according to the artist of Artmajeur, millions of girls pray for Kim Kardashian, dreaming of becoming like her: a well-known and multifaceted successful woman , described as both a television personality, an entrepreneur, an actress and a model, whose popularity has spread from participation in the reality show Keeping up with the Kardashians, continuing through a constantly growing career made up of entrepreneurial initiatives and media visibility. Kim, included in the list of the most influential people in the world by Time in 2015, is "suitably" depicted by Buduchikh as a divinity, aimed at recalling the features of the most famous woman in art: the Madonna in the company of her Son . At the same time, within the rich and varied figurative story, another contemporary artist dared to compare the figure of Kardashian to that of decisive figures of the Christian religion, such as Jesus, the Virgin, Joan of Arc, etc. I am referring to graphic designer Hannah Kunkle, an artist who has created a series of images, aimed at immortalizing Kim as various religious icons, arguing the following shocking thought: “Kim Kardashian is God. She is crazy and corpulent and has a nose of an angel. I don't know if she's omniscient, but no one can deny that she's not omnipresent. Kim floats above all of us, even the deniers and haters. We have accepted her into our lives via television screens, memes and Instagram feeds. If Jay Z is her father and Yeezus is her son, then she is the omnipresent ghost of pop culture."
Olimpia Gaia Martinelli
