Artists & Illustrators Draw On Their Love Of Animals For The Creative Pet Project.

I know there are many wonderfully innovative and creative projects out there asking for your funding on sites like Indiegogo and Kickstarter. But this one is truly worthwhile and supports two causes close to my own heart - Animals and Art. Rob Snow and the artists put a ton of work into it and the rewards for contributing are terrific (shown further down in the post), so I hope you will consider helping them fund the project.


above: "Rooooaaar!" by Rob Snow, the brainchild behind the Creative Pet Project

Over the past two years, 111 artists and illustrators from around the world have come together to form the Creative Pet Project. Their intent is to create a unique and beautiful book - but a book with a difference. The aim of the book would be to raise funds for numerous charities which support animals. For this reason the criteria for inclusion in the book was to have a companion animal and, at the same time, include animals in the artwork.





Many a well-known name in art genres such as pop surrealism, lowbrow art, and children’s book illustration have come together because they share a goal and motivation; to help animals.



Just a few participating in the project are Tara McPherson, Martin Wittfooth, Chet Zar, Dilka Bear, John Brophy, Ana Bagayan, Sas Christian, Brian Kesinger (of Teagirl fame) and Brandt Peters/Kathie Olivas. The talent in the book is endless.


above left: artists Sas and Colin Christian with Bunny and Brody; above right: artist Carol Rizzo with her cat, Bear.

Many of the artists (65%) have rescue animals. They have become passionate about their connection to animals, which shows in the amazing artwork which this project has selected. To give you an idea of some of the talent included, here is a selection of some of those featured in the project (click their names to visit their sites/article sites). Raffaele Bafefit, Ana Bagayan, Dilka Bear, Chris Brett, John Brophy, Chris Buzelli, Rachel Caldwell, Erica Calardo, John Casey, Mary Chiaramonte, Sas Christian, David Cowles, Chris Crites, Antonio Segura Donat, Lola Gil, Paulina Góra, Fabio Hurtado, Jon Jaylo, Andy Kehoe, Brian Kesinger, Jean-Christian Knaff, Anita Kunz, Jen Lobo, Tara McPherson, Jackie Morris, Ricardo Martinez Ortego, Yuko Shimizu, Heiidi Tailleferr, Martin Wittfooth, Chet Zar

Artwork from the Creative Pet Project:


The book is now ready, and ready to print. On Saturday, February 1st they launched a funding campaign at Indiegogo (igg.me/at/cpp-book), in the hopes of raising enough money to publish the book as well as continue the project for further volumes.

The charities to benefit from the book are planned at three per volume. The first volume's proceeds would go toward PETA, IFAW and Born Free USA. These charities are doing invaluable work for animals, the environment and education.

Below is the pitch from Rob Snow, the creative force behind the project, used on Indiegogo:


The perks/rewards:

For helping fund the book, perks include wonderful prints by the artists who contributed to it.

The Creative Pet Project asked the contributing members to add some pieces of work to the possible perks included for this campaign. Many have given permission to do limited prints of the work included, some signed, some unsigned. Original pieces, and other items to interest you in contributing. There are so many they have listed them so you can see and choose the week that you'd like to get the perk.

Week One ~ 1st - 7th Feb and Week Five ~ 1st - 7th March:


1. "Madonna" by Anita Cruz - limited edition print ($300) Signed 14.5"x16" 1 available
2. "Boris" by Kristin Tercek - limited edition print ($50) Signed 11”x14” 1 available
3. "Foxes" by Yating Sun - limited edition print ($50) Unsigned 11”x15” 4 available
4. "Rooooaaar!" by Rob Snow - limited edition print ($150) Signed 27”x19” 10 available
5. "Pets" by Rob Reger - limited edition print ($50) Unsigned 8”x10” 25 available
6. "Las Abejas No Tienen Rey" by Sergio Chaves - limited edition print ($40) Unsigned 11”x16” 10 available
7. "Manny" by Rick Dienzo Blanco - limited edition print ($30) Signed 10”x10” 25 available
8. "Wisdom" by Jon Jaylo - limited edition print ($80) Signed 11”x17” 10 available
9. "Somewhere" by Dilka Bear - limited edition print ($68) Unsigned 12.7”x16” 3 available
10. "untitled106" by Paulina Góra - original painting ($250) Signed 27”x19” 1 available
11. "Water Animals" by Rachel Caldwell - limited edition print ($250) Signed 13”x13" 1 available
12. "Wisdomseeker" by Lorena Krause - limited edition print ($50) Signed 7”x11” 1 available


Week Two ~ 8th Feb - 14th & Week Six ~ 8th - 14th March


1. "Mr.Froggy" by Erica Calardo - limited edition print ($60) Signed 5.83"x8.27” 1 available
2. "Crow" by Yating Sun - limited edition print ($50) Signed 7”x11” 3 available
3. "Where are you" by Jen Lobo - limited edition print ($50) Signed 7”x11” 10 available
4. "C'mon Baby Light My Fire" by Anita Kunz - limited edition print ($300) Signed 14.5”x16” 1 available
5. "pro32" by Paulina Góra - original sketch ($35) Signed 8”x11” 1 available
6. "Betula" by Kristen Tercek - limited edition print ($50) Signed 11”x14” 1 available
7. "Sunrise" by Cole Lemke - limited edition print ($50) Unsigned 11”x16” 10 available
8. "Gatorcat" by William B Hand - limited edition print ($80) Unsigned 16”x21” 10 available
9. "Somewhere - part 2" by Dilka Bear - limited edition print ($68) Unsigned 12.7”x16” 3 available
10. "India" by Jean-Christian Knaff - limited edition print ($90) Signed 16”x11” 80 available
11. "Blancaflor" by Tesa González - limited edition print ($100) Signed 16”x11” 10 available
12. "Pimp My Ride" by Rob Snow - limited edition print ($120) Signed 16”x21” 10 available
13. "Pet Portrait" by Lou Pimentel - limited edition print ($150) Signed 4.5”x6” 1 available

Week Three ~ 15th - 22nd Feb & Week Seven ~ 15th - 22nd March


1. "Cat Lover(s)" by John Casey - limited edition print ($68) Unsigned 11”x16” 10 available
2. "Hope for Rain" by Marco Piunti - limited edition print ($60) Signed 16”x21” 10 available
3. "Zephur" by Kirstin Tercek - limited edition print ($50) Signed 11”x14” 1 available
4. "The Monkees" by Anita Kunz - limited edition print ($300) Signed 14.5”x16” 1 available
5. "En Attente Expectations" by Marty-Cruz - limited edition print ($30) Unsigned 8.27”x11.69” 10 available
6. "Girl Green" by Yating Sun - limited edition print ($50) Unsigned 11”x17” 3 available
7. "Human & Pet #1" by Marty-Cruz - original sketch ($58) Signed 5,83”x8,27” 1 available
8. "Morphseeker" by Lorena Krause - limited edition print ($50) Signed 7”x11” 1 available
9. "Shell" by Elena Ospina - limited edition print ($50) Unsigned 11”x16” 20 available
10. "Jimi Hendrix" by Anita Kunz - limited edition print ($300) Signed 14.5”x16” 1 available
11. "Rod Stewart" by Anita Kunz - limited edition print ($300) Signed 14.5”x16” 1 available
12. "The Unloved Ones" by Mario Sánchez Nevado - limited edition print ($50) Unsigned 16”x11” 50 available
13. "Tea" by Lazarina Nedelcheva - limited edition print ($40) Unsigned 11”x19” 10 available

Week Four ~ 23rd - 28th Feb & 22nd - 29th March


1. "The Stones" by Anita Kunz - limited edition print ($300) Signed 14.5”x16” 1 available
2. "Bioseeker" by Lorena Krause - limited edition print ($50) Signed 7”x11” 1 available
3. "Can't Resist" by Lazarina Nedelcheva - limited edition print ($40) Unsigned 11”x19” 10 available
4. "Hex" by Mary Chiaramonte - limited edition print ($50) Signed 18”x24” 1 available
5. "Steampunk Girl" by Yating Sun - limited edition print ($50) Unsigned 11”x17” 5 available
6. "Fox with Baby's Breath" by Yating Sun - limited edition print ($50) Unsigned 11”x17” 5 available
7. "Hide" by Lazarina Nedelcheva - limited edition print ($40) Unsigned 11”x19” 10 available
8. "Elvis" by Anita Kunz - limited edition print ($300) Signed 14.5”x16” 1 available
9. "Postcard Set" by Liran Szeiman - limited edition print ($22) Signed 4”x6” 1 available
10. Human & Pet #2" by Marty-Cruz - original sketch ($58) Signed 5,83”x8,27” 1 available
11. "Come Closer" by Lazarina Nedelcheva - limited edition print ($40) Unsigned 11”x19” 10 available


The Impact
The impact of your help will be to provide much needed funds to help animal charities in their crucial and critical work with animals, and environmental issues alike.

• To stop deforestation and land erosion.
• To stop animal trafficking and the extinction of species.
• To stop over fishing of the seas and illegal whaling.
• To stop animal abuse in many aspects from domestic/industrial and wildlife.



For more information, and to pledge some money to make this project work, or to pre-order a copy of the paperback or hardback versions, please visit the campaign site here . They have many perks and rewards to help you choose how to fund the project. For the cost of a cup of coffee, you could help make a difference.

Hardback
Beautiful hard back book with presentation box sleeve. Each purchase here comes with a ePub version as well.

• 111 Full Colour Paintings and Illustrations.
• 111 Portrait images with pet of the artists involved.
• 11.6" x 11.6" in dimension
• Biography of artist and pets.
• Image description.
• Over 250 pages of literature.
• Including charities work program spreads.
• Contributor thank you section.
• Comes in a box sleeve presentation.

$65 + P&P - Order here

Softback
Beautiful soft back book with satin finish cover. Each purchase here comes with a ePub version as well.

• 111 Full Colour Paintings and Illustrations.
• 111 Portrait images with pet of the artists involved.
• 11.6" x 11.6" in dimension
• Biography of artist and pets.
• Image description.
• Over 250 pages of literature.
• Including charities work program spreads.
• Contributor thank you section.

$50 + P&P Order here

PDF of the book
An exact copy of the book in PDF format, to view on computer or tablet. Printing has been disabled.
$15 - Order here

eBook
A ePub version of the book. Redesigned to suit the ePub format.
$10 - Order here

Infographic


For your interest, they have created a very cool infographic (of which a very small part is shown above) to help explain the contributors presence. The full PDF version can be seen here: http://www.creative-pet-project.com/pdf/infographic.pdf

The Creative Pet Project on Indiegogo

My Valentine To You: The Evolution Of The Kiss In Art.

Ah, the kiss. The most romantic expression of love and tenderness. You may think that kissing as a subject in fine art is trite or cliche, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been depicted beautifully by many of the world's most well-known and respected artists. As my Valentine to you, I have rounded up some of the most interesting and iconic expressions of "The Kiss"  (Le Baiser, Der Kuss) by established artists over the past 150 years.

THE KISS:
The Kiss has long been a favorite subject for painters but no one has captured it quite like the pieces shown below, many of which have been reproduced over and over again. Here are some very famous - and not so famous - versions in chronological order starting with one of the most well-known examples that inspired many of the others, Francesco Hayez' The Kiss.

Francesco Hayez, The Kiss, 1859:


Auguste Rodin, The Kiss, marble sculpture. The piece was initially commissioned by the French State in 1888 and carved between 1888 and 1898. It was cast in bronze by Rodin as well:


William-Adolphe Bouguereau's most famous painting, Cupid and Psyche as Infants, is often incorrectly labeled as Le Premier Baiser (The First Kiss, 1873), 1890:


One of the earliest known paintings of a same sex kiss is that by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. He actually painted two works of the female couple in a lip lock in the same year and the two are often confused.

The Kiss, 1892:

In Bed, The Kiss (1892):


Edvard Munch also created multiple versions of his own interpretation of The Kiss in oil paint, lithography and woodcut as shown below.

The Kiss painting, 1897:

The Kiss lithograph, 1897:

The Kiss woodcut, 1897:


Easily the most well-known of Austrian painter Gustave Klimt's work is his The Kiss, painted between 1908 and 1909:


Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi's modern interpretation in stone as well as plaster. He created many versions of The Kiss, further simplifying geometric forms and sparse objects in each version, tending each time further toward abstraction.

The Kiss, stone, 1907-1910:

The Kiss, plaster, 1907-1910:


Rene Magritte's surrealist Interpretation of The Kiss, 1951:


Pablo Picasso actually created many pieces (at least 10) named The Kiss (or Le Baiser) during the years of his life.

First, his figurative version of The Kiss (also known as The Embrace), approx 1905:

His abstracted version of The Kiss in 1925:

His surrealist version of The Kiss  (also known as Figures By The Seaside) in 1931:

In 1969, Picasso painted a series of three pictures on the theme of 'The Kiss' (artist Jeff Koons owns one the momochromatic version on the left of the second photo) a day before his 88th birthday at his home at Mougins along the Côte d'Azur, where he lived the last fifteen years of his life:


And yet another painting of The Kiss by Picasso in 1969:


Joël Peter Witkin, an American photographer whose work often involves corpses, created this grotesque version of The Kiss in 1982:


South African artist Tracey Rose, who works with photography, video installations and performance art, created this live installation of The Kiss in 2001 of which 6 editions of Lamba prints were made:


William Cobbing further contemporized The Kiss by adding yet another medium, video, in 2004:


Inspired by a journalist's photo of then Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and East German leader Erich Honecker sharing a kiss, Russian artist Dmitry Vrubel, painted his version of it on a surviving portion of the Berlin Wall in 2009:


And lastly, The Kiss, 2013 as seen by contemporary artist Erwin Wurm:


Interested in an even greater art selection of kisses? Check out The Kiss: A Celebration of Love in Art

And there you have it. I hope you enjoyed my selections and I wish all of you a very Happy Valentine's Day with lots of kisses.

Classic Romantic Paintings Get Subtly Animated in BEAUTY Video by Rino Stefano Tagliafierro

In this 10 minute video, BEAUTY, director Rino Stefano Tagliafierro takes 116 classic romantic paintings (all of which are listed at the end of this post) and slowly and subtly animates them, bringing the beauty in them to life. A slight tilt of the head, a dress raising ever so gently, petals falling from flowers - tiny, almost imperceptible movements, are expertly executed without changing the general composition or color of the original painting.



William Adolphe Bouguereau's original painting of The Nut Gatherers compared to a screen grab of the subtle animation. Note the arms, hands and grapes on the figure on the right:


The Manifesto: The Enigma of Beauty

«Devouring Time, blunt thou the lion’s paws,
And make the earth devour her own sweet brood;
Pluck the keen teeth from the fierce tiger’s jaws,
And burn the long-lived phoenix in her blood;»
(W. Shakespeare, Sonnet no. 19)

Over Beauty, there has always hung the cloud of destiny and all-devouring time.
Beauty has been invoked, re-figured and described since antiquity as a fleeting moment of happiness and the inexhaustible fullness of life, doomed from the start to a redemptive yet tragic end.

In this interpretation by Rino Stefano Tagliafierro, this beauty is brought back to the expressive force of gestures that he springs from the immobility of canvas, animating a sentiment lost to the fixedness masterpieces.

Its as though these images which the history of art has consigned to us as frozen movement can today come back to life thanks to the fire of digital invention.

A series of well selected images from the tradition of pictorial beauty are appropriated, (from the renaissance to the symbolism of the late 1800s, through Mannerism, Pastoralism, Romanticism and Neo-classicism) with the intention of retracing the sentiment beneath the veil of appearance.

An inspiration that returns to us the sense of one fallen, and the existential brevity that the author interprets as tragic dignity, with an unenchanted eye able to capture the profoundest sense of the image.

Beauty in this interpretation is the silent companion of Life , inexorably leading from the smile of the baby, through erotic ecstasies to the grimaces of pain that close a cycle destined to repeat ad infinitum.

They are, from the inception of a romantic sunrise in which big black birds fly to the final sunset beyond gothic ruins that complete the piece, a work of fleeting time. - Giuliano Corti (english translation: Thomas McEvoy)

The short film:


The paintings, in order of appearance:

Asher Brown Durand - The Catskill Valley‬

Thomas Hill - Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe

Albert Bierstadt - Among the Sierra Nevada Mountains

Ivan Shishkin - Forest edge

James Sant - Frau und Tochter‬

William Adolphe Bouguereau - L'Innocence

William Adolphe Bouguereau - Song of the Angels

Ivan Shishkin - Bach im Birkenwald

William Adolphe Bouguereau - Le Baiser

William Adolphe Bouguereau - Nature's Fan- Girl with a Child

William Adolphe Bouguereau - The Motherland

Ivan Shishkin - Morning in a Pine Forest

William Adolphe Bouguereau - The Nut Gatherers

William Adolphe Bouguereau - Two Sisters

William Adolphe Bouguereau - Not too Much to Carry

Thomas Cole - The Course of Empire: Desolation

Martinus Rørbye - Entrance to an Inn in the Praestegarden at Hillested

William Adolphe Bouguereau - Sewing

William Adolphe Bouguereau - The Difficult Lesson

William Adolphe Bouguereau - The Curtsey

William Adolphe Bouguereau - Little Girl with a Bouquet

Claude Lorrain - Pastoral Landscape

William Adolphe Bouguereau - Cupidon

William Adolphe Bouguereau - Admiration

William Adolphe Bouguereau - A Young Girl Defending Herself Against Eros

William Adolphe Bouguereau - Dawn

William Adolphe Bouguereau - L'Amour et Psych

William Adolphe Bouguereau - Spring Breeze

William Adolphe Bouguereau - The Invation

William Adolphe Bouguereau - Nymphs and Satyr

William Adolphe Bouguereau - The Youth of Bacchus

William Adolphe Bouguereau - The Birth of Venus

William Adolphe Bouguereau - The Nymphaeum

Gioacchino Pagliei - Le Naiadi

Luis Ricardo Falero - Faust's Dream

Luis Ricardo Falero - Reclining Nude

Jules Joseph Lefebvre - La Cigale

John William Godward - Tarot of Delphi

Jan van Huysum - Bouquet of Flowers in an Urn

Adrien Henri Tanoux - Salammbo

Guillaume Seignac - Reclining Nude

Tiziano - Venere di Urbino

Louis Jean François Lagrenée - Amor and Psyche

Correggio - Giove e Io

François Gérard - Psyché et l'Amour

John William Godward - Contemplatio

John William Godward - Far Away Thought

John William Godward - An Auburn Beauty

William Adolphe Bouguereau - Flora And Zephy

Louis Jean François Lagrenée - Amor and Psyche

Fritz Zuber-Bühle - A Reclining Beauty

Paul Peel - The Rest

Guillaume Seignac - L'Abandon

Victor Karlovich Shtemberg - Nu à la peau de bete

Pierre Auguste Cot - Portrait Of Young Woman

Ivan Shishkin - Mast Tree Grove

Ivan Shishkin - Rain in an oak forest

William Adolphe Bouguereau - Biblis

William Adolphe Bouguereau - Elegy

Marcus Stone - Loves Daydream End

William Adolphe Bouguereau - Head Of A Young Girl

Hugues Merle - Mary Magdalene in the Cave

Andrea Vaccaro - Sant'Agata

Jacques-Luois David - Accademia (o Patroclo)

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio - San Giovanni Battista

Roberto Ferri - In Nomine Deus

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio - Cristo alla colonna

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio - Incoronazione di spine

Paul Delaroche - L'Exécution de lady Jane Grey en la tour de Londres, l'an 1554

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio - Decollazione di San Giovanni Battista

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio - Sacrificio di Isacco

Guido Reni - Davide e Golia

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio - Giuditta e Oloferne

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio - Davide e Golia

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio - Salomè con la testa del Battista

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio - Davide con la testa di Golia

Jakub Schikaneder - All Soul's Day

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio - San Gerolamo scrivente

Guido Reni - San Gerolamo

Pieter Claesz - Vanitas

Gabriel von Max - The Ecstatic Virgin Anna Katharina Emmerich

William Adolphe Bouguereau - Portrait of Miss Elizabeth Gardner

Jan Lievens - A young girl

Johannes Vermeer - Portrait of a Young Girl

Luis Ricardo Falero - Moonlit Beauties

Joseph Rebell - Burrasca al chiaro di luna nel golfo di Napoli

Luis Ricardo Falero - Witches going to their Sabbath

William Adolphe Bouguereau - Dante And Virgil In Hell

Théodore Géricault - Cheval arabe gris-blanc

Peter Paul Rubens - Satiro

Felice Boselli - Skinned Head of a Young Bull

Gabriel Cornelius von Max - Monkeys as Judges of Art

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio - Medusa

Luca Giordano - San Michele

Théodore Géricault - Study of Feet and Hands

Peter Paul Rubens - Saturn Devouring His Son

Ilya Repin - Ivan il Terribile e suo figlio Ivan

Franz von Stuck - Lucifero Moderno

Gustave Doré - Enigma

Arnold Böcklin - Die Toteninsel (III)

Sophie Gengembre Anderson - Elaine

John Everett Millais - Ophelia

Paul Delaroche - Jeune Martyre

Herbert Draper - The Lament for Icarus

Martin Johnson Heade - Twilight on the St. Johns River

Gabriel Cornelius von Max - Der Anatom

Enrique Simonet - Anatomía del corazón

Thomas Eakins - Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic)

Rembrandt - Lezione di anatomia del dottor Tulp

Peter Paul Rubens - Die Beweinung Christi

Paul Hippolyte Delaroche - Die Frau des Künstlers Louise Vernet auf ihrem Totenbett

Elizabeth Jane Gardner Bouguereau - Too Imprudent

William-Adolphe Bouguereau - The Prayer

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio - Amorino dormiente

Augustin Théodule Ribot - St. Vincent (of Saragossa)

Caspar David Friedrich - Abtei im eichwald



CREDITS

DIRECTOR: RINO STEFANO TAGLIAFIERRO

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: LAILA SONSINO

2ND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: CARLOTTA BALESTRIERI

EDITING - COMPOSITING - ANIMATION: RINO STEFANO TAGLIAFIERRO

MUSIC & SOUND DESIGN: ENRICO ASCOLI

ART DIRECTION: RINO STEFANO TAGLIAFIERRO

HISTORIOGRAPHER: GIULIANO CORTI

Food Art So Impressive, You'll Feel Full. The Art Toast Project by Ida Skivenes (IdaFrosk).

above: Frida Kahlo's famous self-portrait created with food on toast

Oslo, Norway based Instagram food artist and enthusiast Ida Skivenes (aka IdaFrosk) uses a dinner plate as a canvas to create original and reproductions of classic art with food. Her Art Toast Project features the classic works of masters from Magritte to Munch recreated on, you guessed it, toast.

Lady Gaga Morphs Into Classic Paintings Via Video - A Comparative Look.

A video installation by artist Robert Wilson inserts Pop music phenom Lady Gaga into such classic pieces of art as Andrew Solari’s The Head of John the Baptist on a Charger (1507), Jacques-Louis David’s The Death of Marat (1793) and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres' famous portrait of Mademoiselle Caroline Rivière (1793-1807).


above: a view of the installation at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac

Mademoiselle Caroline Rivière
Lady Gaga as the Portrait of Mademoiselle Caroline Rivière by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1793-1807):

The original painting:

Side by side:


The Death of Marat
Lady Gaga as the murdered Marat in Jacques-Louis David’s The Death of Marat (1793):

The original painting:

A still of the video:

Side by side:


The Head of John the Baptist
Lady Gaga as Andrew Solari’s The Head of John the Baptist on a Charger (1507):

Video stills showing the morphing of Gaga into the original painting:


The original painting:

Side by side:


The artist at work on the video portraits of Lady Gaga:


The video portraits are one part of a two part exhibit from artist Robert Wilson presently showing at The Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac. In the second part, he and Lady Gaga are seen in action during the shooting of the video "Flying" (a sort of "making of") , in which the musician can be seen hanging upside down naked while a rope cuts into her skin, bending her left leg, pinning her arms behind her back and deforming her breasts.

Flying:



The artist and Lady Gaga on the set of Flying:


The press release:
The Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac is pleased to present an exhibition of video portraits that Robert Wilson made in London in November 2013: Video Portraits of Lady Gaga.

American artist and stage director Wilson has based this series of slowly shifting video portraits on old masters like Ingres and Solario. Lady Gaga's face and body metamorphose into the features of Mademoiselle Rivière, for example, in a video inspired by the famous portrait of Mademoiselle Caroline Rivière by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1793-1807). Wilson also gives us a variation in eleven steps based on Andrea Solario's Head of John the Baptist on a charger (1507) in which the 16th century model and the transformed face of the pop star merge in and out of each other.

The second room is devoted to the making-of of the two artists' joint production. Robert Wilson and Lady Gaga are seen in action during the shooting of the video Flying. Robert Wilson dictates every movement, every item of scenery and every shade of lighting. His artistry as a stage director finds its highest fulfilment in Lady Gaga’s sheer power and determination. "She is capable of changing character at an alarming speed", says Wilson.

Video Portraits of Lady Gaga is Robert Wilson's fourth exhibition at the Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac. In 1993 the gallery presented drawings from his adaptation of Mozart's Magic Flute at the Opéra Bastille, and in 1996 the designs for the opera Erwartung at the Théâtre du Châtelet. In 2006 there was an exhibition at the gallery of his series of portraits, Faces of Mozart, in graphite, coloured inks and watercolour.

Check out Wallpaper Magazine's article on the exhibit here

About the artist:
Robert Wilson was born in Waco, Texas. He studied at the University of Texas and at the Pratt Institute, New York City. In the 1960s he was recognized as one of the leading lights of avant-garde theatre in Manhattan. With the performance company, the Byrd Hoffman School of Byrds, he created Deafman Glance (1970) and in 1976 his opera Einstein on the Beach with music by Philip Glass brought him worldwide renown and changed conventional perceptions of opera.

Since then, Robert Wilson has staged both original works and works from the traditional repertoire, notably: The CIVIL warS (1983-1985), Salome at la Scala, Milan (1987), Black Rider at the Théâtre du Châtelet (1990), Orlando with Isabelle Huppert at the Théâtre de l’Odéon (1993), Wagner's Ring at the Zurich Opera (2002), Lulu by Frank Wedekind with music by Lou Reed at the Théâtre de la Ville (2011), The Life and Death of Marina Abramovic in Manchester (2011) and at the Teatro Real, Madrid (2012). In November 2013, he presented The Old Woman by Daniils Kharms, with Willem Dafoe and Mikhaïl Barynchnikov at the Théâtre de la Ville and in December, at the same venue, Peter Pan with the Berliner Ensemble and music by CocoRosie. He will be staging another production of Einstein on the Beach in January 2014 at the Théâtre du Châtelet. Robert Wilson is currently featured in the Festival d’Automne à Paris, 2013 and he is guest artist at the Louvre.

images courtesy of the artist and the gallery -  their official sites, facebook pages and twitter feeds