PARALLELS: 'I Finished Netflix'
Today I finished Netflix. Not really but there are films and tv series that have been loyal companions for me during this pandemic as I am sure they have for many of my readers. Since I don’t really care to review viewing rooms, I thought I’d explore some works by artists that, just like me, have been inspired by cartoons.
I know what you’re all thinking: here we go… she is going to talk about Murakami’s use of the Doraemon characters or KAWS use of the Simpsons. But I am sure you all know these works fully well, so let’s at least attempt to be a little creative.
The first collective I’d like to present to you I did find on an online platform: GALLERYPLATFORM.LA. This is actually a brand new platform that was put together by Los Angeles art dealers and includes 81 galleries from the city. It is meant ‘to promote engagement with the local and international art audience’. Each week, 10 galleries are featured on the website and can display works; guest curators are invited and there is also an editorial section. I must say I am really excited for this project that, without a doubt, represents one of the positive outcomes of COVID-19. It sets a precedent for a great form of collaboration between mega galleries such as Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, and Jeffrey Dietch with more emerging spaces. Among the artworks shown on GALLERYPLATFORM.LA. was Red Elmo (2018) by artist duo FriendsWithYou, presented by The Pit, Los Angeles. By using plasticine clay the duo, formed by Samuel Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III, created an angry representation of Elmo – the famous character from Sesame Street. Similarly to Murakami, their artistic expression inserts itself in the line of post-pop’s visual language. When taking a closer look at Red Elmo for example, other iconic figures are distinguishable. These characters create a references specific to the act of play, an action we are all familiar with and which allows free associations and interactions. To be more specific, Elmo’s fur is in this case populated by characters such as Super Mario, Peppa Pig, Ronald McDonald, and Pikachu.
FriendsWithYou, Red Elmo, 2018
Plasticine clay in plexi frame
18 × 15 × 2 inches
Pokémon appear to be often referenced by artists, probably because they are highly recognisable due to the fame they gained at the beginning of the millennium. They are debatably as well-known by millennials today as Campbell’s Soup Cans were known in the 60s when used by Andy Warhol. An artist who made Pikachu the muse for a sculpture was Daniel Arsham. Blue Crystalized Pikachu is a series of 500 sculptures created in light blue cast resin and aluminium oxide. Just as other artworks created by Arsham, the Pikachu is imagined as a monument of the present uncovered in the future. Its surface is eroded in parts to let crystals emerge. Arsham is extremely well known for taking iconic figures from the present, recent past, and occasionally even very far past – for example the Venus de Milo – and imagining them as artefacts found in the year 3000. His works are always very clean and polished, mostly distinguished by the use of the colour white and surfaces from which crystals emerge. His art reflects on the concept of time, bridging the gap between past, present, and future in an extremely poetic manner. Another way in which Arsham made himself even more know was by collaborating with the fashion house Dior in designing not only a clothing line but also the runway for the Dior 2020 Men’s show. Here it’s worth venturing on a fairly unknown path to me by mentioning the use of tv shows that has also been employed by fashion. Among the most famous is probably the use of Bart Simpson’s head to decorate a sweater done by fashion designer Jeremy Scott, creative director of fashion house Moschino.
But it hasn’t been just the Simpsons and Pokémon that have become the subjects of artworks; we could also cite George Condo’s drawing in Tate’s collection: Batman and Playboy Bunny (2005) – and I think you can guess who is portrayed there. Condo also must have drawn inspiration from Mickey Mouse when painting Interrelated Portraits (1999). Claes Oldenburg was also inspired by Mickey Mouse when designing the Geometric Mouse, a drawing he had suggested be used by the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago as its façade (obviously never realised). What was realised, though, was Mouse Museum which was an exhibition space shaped as the famous mouse’s head and that contained ready-mades and experiments from his studio.
I guess what I am trying to show here is that even if you have spent much time watching television during this pandemic, it’s ok – many great artists have been inspired by one of the most lovely ways to waste time.
P.S. I am sure I have not extinguished the list of those inspired by cartoons or tv series so comment below if you can come up with more!
Erica Rompani,
Head of Reviews, MADE IN BED