| Weight | 1 kg |
|---|---|
| Print Size/s | A2 Portrait (420 x 594 mm) |
| Specifications | 250gsm Gloss Coated Art Paper, Giclée Print |
This is a pre-order item – ETA for shipping 10/01/2022
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Marilyn’s physical and spiritual beauty lives in the hearts of many, so much so that I needn’t mention her surname for everyone to understand: there is only one Marilyn who instantly and graciously takes shape in our minds when we hear that name. Phillip Butah’s latest work celebrates Marilyn’s eternal charm as Old Hollywood meets Art Nouveau. Her beauty is representative of a particular era and yet it transcends time.
The series of photos which is remembered as the “Playboy Photoshoot” had actually nothing to do with the famous magazine. In 1949, Marilyn posed nude for a Phillip photographer Tom Kelley for only 50$ because she needed the money for a car payment, asking him to make her look unrecognizable as she hoped to become famous. And famous she became.
Four years later, Hugh Hefner bought the rights to Marilyn’s photos for 500$ and decided to ride the wave of her fame in order to launch his magazine. You guessed it, Marilyn’s photos established the great success of that specific number and of the magazine as a whole, making Huge Hefner’s rise to fame immensely smoother. Her image was used against her consent, and she never received a dime or a thank-you, she even had to buy a copy of the magazine to see herself in it.
Despite being told to deny that she posed nude, Marilyn decided to admit it and the photos ended up helping her career instead of destroying it, against everyone’s expectations. The unfortunate story of exploitation, despite being such, became one of the many moments in which Marilyn Monroe took the reins of her life in ways that were forbidden to women at the time. She decided to hold her heads high and show everyone that, in her words, “Nudity and sex are the most commonplace things in the world”.
Over the years, she ended up ironizing the incident, thus taking back the bodily autonomy that she was robbed of. “It’s not true I had nothing on. I had the radio on” she said. She even autographed dozens of those photos even through one of her bosses had ordered to buy them up. Marilyn’s declarations about nudity and physical freedom will never be forgotten as everyone remembers her among the great women who started the sexual revolution, making sexual liberation a possible reality for women everywhere.
I am proud to collabroate with Phillip Butah, an incredibly talented artist who worked for the Prince of Wales as well as for Ed Sheeran, and offer all of my followers a special discount on his magnificent, unique work of art which celebrates Marilyn’s sexual liberation. Simply follow my Insta to gain access to the discount code.
Retrosspection
Instagram @retrosspection
His ultra realistic portraits present the viewer with not only an honest study of the subject but also a deeper connection with them. Phillip tends to punch right through the barriers and show what lies beneath.
Phillip Butah is the youngest ever artist to win the Prince of Wales Young Artists' Award, and studied at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design. He lives in London, UK.
Butah, whose portrait of Ed graced the cover of the singer's + album, provided the artwork for this project -- nearly 50 images drawn with pencil, pastels, charcoal and graphite.
His ultra realistic portraits present the viewer with not only an honest study of the subject but also a deeper connection with them. Phillip tends to punch right through the barriers and show what lies beneath.
Phillip Butah is the youngest ever artist to win the Prince of Wales Young Artists' Award, and studied at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design. He lives in London, UK.
Butah, whose portrait of Ed graced the cover of the singer's + album, provided the artwork for this project -- nearly 50 images drawn with pencil, pastels, charcoal and graphite.
