Introducing Rakewell, Apollo’s wandering eye on the art world. Look out for regular posts taking a rakish perspective on art and museum stories. Follow @Rakewelltweets.
When ex-Spice Girl Victoria Beckham contributed a guide to contemporary art to the Vogue website last year, Rakewell practically jumped out of his skin. The listicle in question was a selection of Mrs Beckham’s 15 favourite modern art pieces, featuring works by the likes of Takashi Murakami, Damien Hirst and Sam Taylor-Wood. While a cynic might stoop to suggest that Posh’s choice reflected a pretty standard taste in plutocratic bling, their criticisms are rendered irrelevant by the incisive comments she gave on the works.
With characteristic insight – Anish Kapoor was described as ‘hugely inspiring’, Tracey Emin as ‘bold and tender at the same time’ and Andreas Gursky as ‘really interesting’ – Posh Spice blew the critics out of the water, and gave some interesting perspective on showbiz collecting while she was at it:
‘I was at Elton John’s years and years ago and he had a beautiful piece of Julian [Schnabel]’s that I fell in love with and ever since I’ve been a collector. Julian is one of my favourites.’
Critical thinking is so 19th-century. After all, who needs scholarship when you can just namedrop the legend behind Candle in the Wind?
But it seems that Mrs Beckham’s tastes have now alighted on a name beyond the usual suspects. Step forward Dom Pattinson, ‘artist to the stars’. This week, Pattinson – a ‘street artist’ – is staging an event in glamorous Bournemouth, in which a work bought by Beckham (described, rather ambiguously, as a ‘barbed wire love’ painting) is to be displayed in public for the first time.
And Posh isn’t the only big name on Pattinson’s list of clients. According to a release Rakewell has received, the artist has sold work to stars including Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, Davina McCall and Liam Gallagher. Why, you might ask? As ever, Rakewell is on hand to explain.
Apparently, Pattinson ‘smelts carefree, audacious attitudes and sassiness with Street Art influences to produce his own style’.
‘Dom creates sassy, provocative imagery’, the blurb continues, ‘…Experimentation with printmaking, stenciling, spray-painting, collage and acrylics help (sic) him to capture his muse, which is nothing more than everyday life.’
And there was silly old Rakewell, thinking Pattinson’s works looked like a load of trite Banksy knock-offs.
Street Art is big celeb currency, and other famous fans include Johnny Depp, who reportedly owns works by London-based wall botherer Pegasus, and Coldplay conscious-uncoupler Chris Martin, who allegedly got into a bidding war with Charlize Theron over a Banksy painting. In any case, the showbiz vogue for so called ‘Street Art’ is perhaps somewhat unsurprising; the Rake imagines that the only place one is likely to see graffiti in the gated communities of Beverley Hills is on the walls of their residents’ sitting rooms.
As for us mere mortals, Rakewell has a word of advice for anyone considering investing in this tosh: to quote Posh’s old band, Stop.
Got a story for Rakewell? Get in touch at rakewell@apollomag.com or via @Rakewelltweets.
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