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5 Artists Influenced By Cartoons And Comics

Many artists take inspiration from cartoons, popular culture and recognisable characters in their work, often using them satirically as a comment on consumer culture or our image-obsessed society. Cartoons and characters from popular culture are a fantastic tool for contemporary artists. Not only are they recognisable for their creative style and iconic characters, they can also act as a symbol for the society in which we operate. Thus our perception of these figures is of great significance — a satirical mirror reflecting the culture, history and mind of an archetype citizen in orderly civilisation, easily lampooned. Read on to learn more about some of the most thought-provoking uses of cartoon figures in the art world.

By Editorial Team, Oct 3, 2023

Remembering Jean-Michel Basquiat. 10 Facts You Should Know About The Artist

Jean-Michel Basquiat born of Puerto Rican and Haitian descent was a prominent public figure in the New York City’s explosive art scene of the 1980s. His iconic paintings and drawings examining the colonial enterprise and his relationship to this legacy. Recounting events from Haitian, Puerto Rican, African and African American history thrust him into a world of fame and celebrity which would sadly be his demise. On August 12th, 1988, aged just 27, he was found dead in his apartment in NoHo, Manhattan after losing his struggle with heroin addiction.

By Editorial Team, Oct 14, 2023

Should You Invest In Andy Warhol?

Almost everyone is aware of Andy Warhol and his impact on pop and postmodern art. From the Exploding Plastic Inevitable multimedia touring show, which introduced the world to the music of The Velvet Underground, to his iconic silkscreen depictions of Marilyn Monroe, there seemed to be no limits to Warhol’s experimentation and genius. And though he has been gone for over 30 years, Warhol’s art continues to inspire people to this day.

By Editorial Team, Oct 14, 2023

Behind The Lens Of Vogue: How Fashion Photographer Helmut Newton Defined The Magazine’s Aesthetic

To say Helmut Newton was expecting the worst when he arrived at British Vogue in the late 1950s would be an understatement. “The Vogue studios in Golden Square were depressing and dusty, with terrible old wooden floors,” he wrote in his autobiography. “I was told that under the grassy square were the bodies of people who had died during the black plague. It was indicative of my whole feeling for the place.”

By Editorial Team, Oct 9, 2023

How To Start Your Art Collection

People get into collecting art for a variety of reasons, whether in the name of investment, aesthetics, or simply taking a keen interest in the career of one particular artist. Sadly, there are a huge number of factors which will put budding collectors off starting altogether, and the insider nature of dealers and galleries can make it especially daunting for newbies. But that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to get your start, and no matter what level of expertise you have, there are a few easy pointers that anyone who wishes to learn how to collect art should be able to pick up. Read on for our beginners’ guide to collecting art.

By Editorial Team, Sep 29, 2023

The Met Gala 2019: Camp

One of the most exciting events of the year in popular culture occurs on the first Monday of May in New York City. This spectacular event is known as the Met Ball. Flocked with A-listers accompanied by the fashion industry’s most influential designers, the fundraiser is one of the most grandiose and exclusive meetings of art and fashion in the world. The gala generates massive funds to support the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art each year.

By Editorial Team, Oct 2, 2023

Top 5 Recent Contemporary Art Auction Sales

The art world has been turned on its head thanks to the coronavirus, and just one of the things impacted by the pandemic is the auction process. Lockdowns and social distancing measures have forced auction houses to close, preventing potential buyers from viewing and purchasing art in person as many normally would. This, paired with the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, means a fall in demand seems almost inevitable. However, some changes to the industry have enabled it to thrive in spite of the challenges.

By Editorial Team, Oct 3, 2023

A Plagued Relationship: Art And Pandemics

People often think that artists must live troubled lives in order to create truly great art. Whether or not the myth of the “tortured artist” is true, the fact remains that many of the world’s most brilliant artists lived through turbulent periods in history. If you try to imagine the perspective of artists who’ve experienced war, famine, pandemics, and other atrocities, it actually makes a lot of sense. After all, when the world seems to be crumbling around you, why not create something beautiful for future generations? The close connection between art and larger crises may not be evident at first glance. Artistic periods and movements often transcend individual events and are not always easy to define. That said, some catastrophic health crises had a profound impact on their time, compelling many artists to portray these events with their own unique styles and artistic vision.

By Editorial Team, Oct 14, 2023

Why Art Is An Attractive Alternative Asset In Uncertain Times

Though no one knows how long the Coronavirus pandemic will go on, it has managed to rattle investors in the short-term. The longest bull market in US history came to a screeching halt as the deadly virus spread across the globe in late February. With markets and financial institutions teetering on the edge of a recession (or worse), it’s no mystery why many investors are looking for alternative assets, including art, to counter the volatility.

By Editorial Team, Oct 9, 2023

Four Reasons Why You Need Art In Your Office

Art does more than enhance the space it’s in — a carefully curated collection defines the mood and ambience of an environment. This is why office spaces are ideal places to hang works of art, with your employees able to feel their benefits almost immediately. After all, a successful workforce isn’t just about the people in it, but the space itself, and art can help create a happy, inviting place to do business. Having a well-designed office which incorporates decorations and art can be beneficial for a range of reasons — here are four of the most significant.

By Editorial Team, Oct 2, 2023

What Is Superflat?: A Guide To Takashi Murakami’s Art Movement

Takashi Murakami is known as one of the most important living contemporary artists today. With original artworks selling for millions of dollars and continuing to rise in value, if you don’t know him for his paintings and sculptures, you’ll almost certainly recognize some of his commercial ventures in fields such as fashion, merchandise, and animation. Reaching fans and collectors all over the globe, he was the only visual artist named one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” in 2008.

By Editorial Team, Sep 29, 2023

Jean-Michel Basquiat – The Artist Who Broke Barriers

When looking at Jean-Michel Basquiat’s The Ring (1981), one can’t help but see a revelation, a self-portrait of sorts ushering in a new era for black artists the world over. There, standing in a bold, red boxing ring is a polka-dot-shorts-wearing athlete holding a spear high above his wild-haired head. The image of boxing alone naturally leads one to conjure up images of struggle, challenge, resistance, and undoubtedly victory and strength. Without question, these would become the unmistakable touchstones of Basquiat’s work. They defined him not only as a breaker of cultural and professional barriers but as the first contemporary black art star.

By Editorial Team, Oct 2, 2023

Art And Anatomy: Exploring Who We Are And What We're Made Of

Art and science are often seen as two distinct disciplines, but when it comes to human anatomy, they can’t always be so easily separated. For example, artists are responsible for the drawings of organs, bones and tissues in textbooks, while also bringing these scientific insights to how they depict the body in their own work. And like scientists, artists throughout the ages have literally looked inwards to explore who we are and what we’re made of. Here we will examine some of the key points where art and anatomy have overlapped, from the detailed drawings of Leonardo da Vinci, to the bold urban dissections of Nychos.

By Editorial Team, Sep 29, 2023

Graffiti Art: Why Graffiti Is Art And Not Vandalism

Although graffiti is generally considered to be a contemporary artform, it actually originated thousands of years ago. The earliest examples are things like cave paintings and inscriptions on ancient buildings in Egypt, Greece and the Roman Empire, with the word ‘graffiti’ itself stemming from the Italian word graffiato, meaning ‘scratched’. Yet as the art form has evolved, so have the connotations surrounding it, and at present, turning walls into canvases remains nothing more than vandalism according to US law.

By Editorial Team, Oct 3, 2023

Andy Warhol’s Top 10 Paintings

Fondly referred to as the ‘Pope of pop art’, Andy Warhol was responsible for many of the most famous works in art history. Coming to prominence in the 1960s, he focused on distinctly American objects, advertisements and celebrities, producing work in mediums including silk-screening, photography, film and sculpture. Some of his creations are among the most expensive artwork ever sold, and in this piece, we’ll be looking at Andy Warhol’s top 10 paintings.

By Editorial Team, Oct 3, 2023

Money Talks: 6 Artists Creating Art About Money

Art has always been a source of social commentary, and nothing screams critique more than the human relationship with money. From the original Christian artists discussing greed as a sin, to the contemporary artists exploring capitalist culture, money was and continues to be a focal point of many artworks. But what makes it such a compelling subject, and which artists have made names for themselves by creating Money Art?

By Editorial Team, Oct 2, 2023