Roy Lichtentein - Shipboard Girl (detail)   Patterns carry an incredible visual force. They can communicate cultural differences: for example, consider the variance between houndstooth, camouflage, and kente cloth patterns. They can adjust your mood, like the chipper polka dot or the rather sober pinstripe. Because patterns have such a strong effect on us, they are an essential element in the world of art. By bringing in repeating shapes, artists can create their own rhythm. They can also mix

Keith Haring - "Best Buddies"   Have you ever been so angry that you see red? Have you ever felt blue? Have you ever read prose that seemed purple? Color is one of the most powerful elements of our world. It affects us deeply on a visceral level. And for that reason, it is a crucial element to art. Art is able to bring colors together — sometimes in surprising ways — to create emotional and intellectual effects in

Kehinde Wiley - Tomb of Pope Alexander VII   “Everything that I do is a self-portrait, everything I do as a way of assuaging that sense of smallness, insignificant-ness…the sense of being that poor kid from South Central Los Angeles who feels like he doesn’t quite matter as much as all those fancy kids from the fancy schools. You gotta be yourself. You gotta show up giving the world who you really are otherwise no one

Mr. Brainwash - Juxtapose   “I’m just following my heart. I even sign my name with a little heart. I’m not here to judge myself, or to judge anybody. What I want to do is to give love, and bring positive messages.” - Mr. Brainwash Mr. Brainwash creates art that merges stencils, graffiti styles and a wry sense of humor into his own style. While the rumor mill continues to whisper about just who exactly it is really

Alex Katz - Orange Hat   “Paint faster than you can think.” — Alex Katz Alex Katz was born in Brooklyn on July 24th, 1927 at the very beginning of the Depression. His Russian émigré parents were both interested in the arts and supported his evident talent as a boy in Queens. He then received a scholarship to study art at the legendary Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture on a rural farm in Maine. It was there

Ed Ruscha - Sin   “I like the idea of a word becoming a picture, almost leaving its body, then coming back and becoming a word again.” — Ed Ruscha Ed Ruscha is an artist who never stands still. After helping solidify Pop Art as a defining movement of the 20th century, he continues to change his methods and experiment with his style. Now in his 80s, the artist is still producing work that is as haunting and

Helen Frankenthaler - Skywriting   "Technique determines aesthetic as much as one's aesthetic determines a new medium." — Helen Frankenthaler Few artists have made as enormous a contribution to the development of abstract expressionism as Helen Frankenthaler. This icon of the post-war American scene stands as one of the most important voices of the 20th century, helping to birth a new visual language into the culture. Her influence still makes an impact on contemporary art today, and while she

David Hockney - Lithograph of Water Made of Thick and Thin Lines, A Green Wash, A Light Blue Wash, and A Dark Blue Wash   “If you see the world as beautiful, thrilling and mysterious, as I think I do, then you feel quite alive.” — David Hockney David Hockney has defined and redefined the artistic landscape in the many decades of his career. He is noted as perhaps the most important and influential British artist of the

Los Angeles Mural - Shepard Fairey   “Art has power… I’m interested in using art to raise awareness for the important political and social issues of our time. Power has many forms and is embraced or feared depending on who that power benefits, who it oppresses, who it uplifts, and who wields it.” — Shepard Fairey Street artists are a different breed. They are made up of rebels — a group of creative spirits that counter society’s mores in

Andy Warhol - "Liz"   “Human beings are born solitary, but everywhere they are in chains - daisy chains - of interactivity. Social actions are makeshift forms, often courageous, sometimes ridiculous, always strange. And in a way, every social action is a negotiation, a compromise between 'his,' 'her' or 'their' wish and yours.” ~ Andy Warhol Andy Warhol né Andrew Warhola - (1928 - 1987). Andy Warhol would probably like that the world still idolizes, imitates and loves him. Legendary