A Pop Quiz on the subject of art and show-biz:
1. Name the rapper who claims he’s the 21st century Picasso.
2. Who’s the contemporary artist posing on the cover of this September’s Italian Vogue with an actor who cut off his own arm in a 2010 movie?
3. Which female pop vocalist is desperately studying performance art?
Marina Abramovic (Bullet Magazine)
Jay-Z’s Picasso Baby with Marina Abramovic
James Franco and Marina Abramovic on the cover of Italian Vogue
Marina Abramovic covers James Franco in gold leaf and honey as part of a conceptual art project.
Lady Gaga and the Abramovic Method
Marina Abramovic and Lady Gaga at Watermill Center Summer Benefit
Jay-Z with painting of Basquiat by Swizz Beatz
James Franco
James Franco and Kalup Linzy at the Rob Pruitt Art Awards
Remember when art used to comment on pop culture? Now, pop culture makes art. Here are the answers:
1. Jay-Z: Featured in Frieze magazine’s latest issue, his Picasso Baby: A Performance Art Film has topped three million views on youtube. Serbian performance artist Marina Abramović validated the rapper’s cred as an artist by participating in his event at the Pace Gallery this summer.
2. Marina Abramović: Shown above gold-leafing James Franco, she appears with the actor on the cover of Italian Vogue. Abramović just made a documentary about Franco, describing him as “the last unicorn.”
3. Lady Gaga: She’s studying the Abramović Method. Abramović’s interview with Lady G will be the feature story in a series of four V magazine issues dedicated to LG this fall.
Abramović has reshaped her own public image in the past few years. Historically working the raw edge of contemporary performance art, she became a pop culture sensation during her 2010 The Artist is Present endurance piece at the Museum of Modern Art.
Is her friend James Franco now laying claim to Walter Benjamin territory, we wonder? This fall Ovation, the arts-themed cable network, will debut James Franco Presents. By Franco and about Franco, the series promises “an unprecedented look at the fascinating projects and real life adventures of James Franco.” Will the actor’s POV thereby become critically important in the art world?
The closest we’ve come to this subject on Fresh Talk is Sasha Dees on Miss T and The American Dream.
For more on the crossover between pop culture and art see this MTV article.
