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Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
2024
30 × 30 in.
Acrylic on Canvas
Who Wants to Get Famous? looks like an advertisement for the Hollywood dream until you actually pay attention to what is happening.
Everything about the scene is supposed to feel like Hollywood. There is a movie camera, a clapperboard, palm trees, the Hollywood sign, and a smiling man who looks like he is ready to make somebody a star. Then you look down and realize his pants are open and suddenly “Who Wants to Get Famous?” becomes a very different question.
The painting is a stupid joke, but there is some truth hiding underneath it. Hollywood has always sold the idea that fame is this incredible prize waiting for anyone willing to chase it. People move across the country, sacrifice relationships, spend years struggling, and sometimes put themselves into uncomfortable situations because they believe there might be an opportunity on the other side.
I wanted to take that idea of “What are you willing to do to become famous?” and make it as literal and ridiculous as possible.
What makes the character funny to me is how friendly he looks. He is not hiding in some dark alley looking evil. He is smiling directly at you in a cowboy hat with an entire movie set behind him like this is just another completely normal day in Hollywood. The ridiculousness of his expression makes the situation even more uncomfortable.
It is crude. It is inappropriate. It is stupid.
But so is the idea of selling your dignity for fifteen minutes of fame.
2024
30 × 30 in.
Acrylic on Canvas
Who Wants to Get Famous? looks like an advertisement for the Hollywood dream until you actually pay attention to what is happening.
Everything about the scene is supposed to feel like Hollywood. There is a movie camera, a clapperboard, palm trees, the Hollywood sign, and a smiling man who looks like he is ready to make somebody a star. Then you look down and realize his pants are open and suddenly “Who Wants to Get Famous?” becomes a very different question.
The painting is a stupid joke, but there is some truth hiding underneath it. Hollywood has always sold the idea that fame is this incredible prize waiting for anyone willing to chase it. People move across the country, sacrifice relationships, spend years struggling, and sometimes put themselves into uncomfortable situations because they believe there might be an opportunity on the other side.
I wanted to take that idea of “What are you willing to do to become famous?” and make it as literal and ridiculous as possible.
What makes the character funny to me is how friendly he looks. He is not hiding in some dark alley looking evil. He is smiling directly at you in a cowboy hat with an entire movie set behind him like this is just another completely normal day in Hollywood. The ridiculousness of his expression makes the situation even more uncomfortable.
It is crude. It is inappropriate. It is stupid.
But so is the idea of selling your dignity for fifteen minutes of fame.