The reviews from the streets are in and word has it that Chris Brown‘s “F.A.M.E” is a banger, well on its way to reaching platinum heights. What’s also banging is the album artwork made by provocateur, trickster, painter and designer, Ron English.
English painted Brown in a rainbow of oil colors dripping onto the album’s title “F.A.M.E,” which looks like some slimy ooze. Behind Brown’s portrait are smaller portraits that act as pins flanking the main one. In the smaller images, tiny green creatures, some with pumped muscles, are crawling on Brown. The creatures are motifs from some of English’s obsessions.
The fact that they and Brown’s image are repeated reflects a commentary and technique often used in art, particularly when fame is the subject of discussion. There are questions the images conjure up. Are we looking at the inner workings of Brown’s psyche, or are we seeing English’s deconstruction of how fame has affected him?
Long-deceased artist Andy Warhol used this repetitive visual technique to comment on excessive consumerism and identity as produced by the entertainment industry factory. English is doing the same with Brown’s “F.A.M.E.” and is, in a sense, asking us to find the real Chris Brown. Is the real Chris Brown the conflicted young man depicted in the center of the album cover? Or is he the one repeated endlessly?
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Brown and English have worked together before. Brown even has a Ron English tattoo on his forearm. Back in November 2010, the two collaborated on the “Underbelly” Project, a secret and exclusive subway art project. There was industry outcry against the pairing, but English was not fazed.
In an interview with AnimalNewyork.com, English said Brown, “had a lot more in common with my daughter than us. They talked about high school. He’s a young guy. He’s a kid. All night he had old and prominent people rushing up to him and gushing. That must be major social distortion for him. You can really lose your bearings.”
Above: English and Brown in 2010.
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English has been causing headaches for corporations for years and is known for remixing famous icons and logos in order to express his displeasure with corporate and consumerist culture. The billboard is his chosen medium. Often working with his assistants, in broad daylight, he repurposes billboard meanings to express new frustrations or ideas. English is a culture jammer, a son of Andy Warhol as well as a son of Texas, where he was born.
His most famous and memorable targets are Ronald McDonald, Marilyn Monroe and Disney. In earlier works, English painted Jesus holding a bottle of Budweiser with the words: “The King of The Jews, For The King of Beers. There is always humor implicit in his work.
After the break, check out additional works by Ron English, some of them from New Jersey, where he now resides.
Above: Ron English’s “Marilyn.”
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“The King Of Beers” by Ron English.
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English installing an inaugural Obama billboard in 2008.
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Ron English, 2005.
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English’s Barack Obama/Lincoln portrait from 2008.
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English’s John McCain billboard from 2008.
