Cool Things
“Jay,” artist Lance Turner’s mural depicting Memphis garage-rock hero Jay Reatard, is being installed this week as a part of the “Mosaic” public art project sponsored by the Downtown Memphis Commission. Turner, a photo realist of sorts, likes to show viewers the pixel grid because he thinks painting is an inherently self-referential form. This mural —like the musician who inspired it — goes in and out of focus depending on your point of view. If you’re standing right in front of the mural, it looks like this.
The farther away you move, the more things come into focus. It’s a nifty addition to the neighborhood, and just one part of the ambitious mural project.
Neverending Elvis
Speaking of art inspired by Memphis musicians, who wants to buy three 7-foot-tall Elvises? Andy Warhol’s “Triple Elvis” depicts the King (three times) as a gun-slinging cowboy and hits the auction block at Christie’s on November 12th. “Triple Elvis” is being offered for sale alongside another of Warhol’s celebrity portraits, “Four Marlons,” which depicts Brando as he appeared in the film The Wild One. The estimated combined price is $130-million, which really isn’t bad for seven of the 20th century’s biggest stars.
