THE DAMNED AND THE BEAUTIFUL

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alternativefictions
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Somehow, yesterday evening, I ended up on Charing Cross Road looking at dusty art books while waiting for a friend who does not seem to own a watch. Her lack of punctuality resulted in a very interesting rediscovery: the American artist Terry Rodgers. Known for his hyper realist depictions of American culture and notably Hollywood's privileged youth, his vision of the super glossy exclusive night life of VIPs, familiar top models and celebrities is like a social reportage into the world of the damned and the beautiful. The empty excesses and tensions emanating from the scenes he paints have always made me feel uncomfortable. His characters seem to live in a disillusioned world of depravation, money, sex, beauty and fashion where models crank out lustful poses in lacy Prada while sipping champagne. Characters are fully engaged in their own complex little bubbles while never interacting with each other, highly reminiscent of front row seats at shows where everyone is looking at each other while pretending that they're not ... There is also a sense of hellish dislocation in his work. A sense of frustration that fascinates me. 

I hope you'll check out his work
http://www.terryrodgers.com/

9 comments:

Vertiginoso said...

Je l'ai découvert il y a trois ans dans un numéro de "Citizen K": Ou le versant "mélancolico-Trash" de la Haute-Société . . .

A Bientôt, Antoine

Singapore Lab said...

pour etre honnete je trouve ca derangeant, j ai un peu de mal...

E said...

I love this. I have an obsession with pop-culture and how people view it. Excellent find!

Kenza said...

Je n'ai jamais accroché...

July Stars said...

Stiletto: Tiens, le grand retour! Mes billets ne t'on pas inspire jusqu'a maintenant? Hehehe ... je ne savais pas que Citizen K avait publie qqchose sur lui.

Alice: Je suis d'accord avec toi, ses personages ne sont absolument pas chaleureux mais il y'a aussi qqchose d'etrangement fascinant, tu ne trouves pas?

e: Yes, pop culture is definitely one of my obsessions too!

Kenza: Decidement, pas de reactions tres positives!

Dotti said...

You described so nicely what I just felt when looking at those paintings. Thanks for doing so. As I never would have been able to in English.
And also thanks so much for sharing, they're indeed scary and fascinating at the same time.

July Stars said...

Dotti: Hello lovely Dotti, I'm so happy that you enjoyed this post. I've been checking your blog regularly but your updates are slightly less frequent than before: it must be love!

Singapore Lab said...

fascinant par le travail effectue oui ca c est sur et surement facsinant car cela peut deranger ou attirer...

Anonymous said...

Moi j'aime ! Derangeant mais attirant ! je pense meme que je me dois d'ecrire a son sujet...
Merci pour le tip :) and really cool blog