Art Metropole

#11537

Visionaire No. 64: Art, Baldessari Blue Edition

Date

2014

Publisher

Visionaire Publishing and LLC.

Format

Multiples

In Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman’s short film A Brief History of John Baldessari, the world-renowned conceptual artist suggests that he will be best remembered as “the guy who put dots over people’s faces.” Baldessari recalls: “I felt like it [the dot] leveled the playing field”—surely an ironic claim to fame in an age of self-obsession and self-celebration. Especially from the early Renaissance, when mirrors became more readily available, through today—an age of constant surveillance in which nearly every pedestrian carries some form of camera—the auto portrait has become an inevitability that, to varying degrees, finds its way into the practice of many working artists. For its 64th issue, Visionaire invites a roster of contemporary actors, entertainers and personalities to contribute a self-portrait. The participants include artists Ai Weiwei and Ed Ruscha; models Gisele Bundchen and Kate Upton; actors Scarlett Johansson and James Franco; singer Miley Cyrus; filmmaker Pedro Almodovar; fashion designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy (Rodarte) and Riccardo Tisci (Givenchy); athlete Lionel Messi, and many more. Their self-portraits are printed in black and white, and then silkscreened with shapes and colors created by Baldessari. The resulting collection of images offers a snapshot of contemporary iconography, bridging technology and craftsmanship, high art and pop culture, digital and analogue, new and old. Visionaire No. 64: Art is available in three different editions, each themed by a color, and featuring a different selection of contributors. All of the editions are presented in a beautifully printed cloth box. The blue edition includes contributions by Lupita Nyong’o, Ai Weiwei, Kate Upton, Dustin Hoffman, Psy, Kirsten Dunst, Kate and Laura Mulleavy with Catherine Opie, Cameron Diaz, Michael Stipe and Kaws.