Kleinigkeiten Rund um Michael Jackson

    Kent Twitchell: Once, there were murals


    By Diane Haithman
    April 2, 2009



    Ann Johansson, For The Times
    ‘THRILLER’: Kent Twitchell sits among panels for his Michael Jackson mural that was never
    installed. Part of the Jackson mural will be displayed at LOOK Gallery.


    Some of Kent Twitchell's murals are best known because they no longer exist.


    His "The Old Lady of the Freeway" greeted travelers along the Hollywood Freeway from 1974 until it was painted out by a billboard company in 1986.


    More recently, "Ed Ruscha Monument," a six-story portrait of artist Ruscha on the side of a government-owned building in downtown L.A., was painted over, in June 2006.


    True, you can still see Twitchell's influence on the cityscape on the 110 Freeway past 8th Street, where his 1991 work "Harbor Freeway Overture," portraits of Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra musicians, looms on the parking structure at Citicorp Plaza.


    But the vulnerability of Twitchell's medium is one reason you'll find the 66-year-old, self-described "outdoor painter" hard at work indoors.


    It also explains the title of his new exhibition: "Thriller: The King of Pop Meets the King of Cool: Exploring the Lost Works of Kent Twitchell," which has its opening reception this evening and continues through April 27 by appointment only at the new LOOK Gallery in downtown's L.A. Mart Design Center.


    The exhibition will include sketches, photos and drawings for "lost" murals, as well as one that was completed but never installed or shown to the public: A 100-foot-tall, 60-foot-wide portrait of Michael Jackson, created in the early 1990s for the side of the former Barker Bros. building in Hollywood, now the El Capitan Theatre.


    "It's the most exquisite color I've ever done," the artist said in a recent conversation at his downtown studio, as he stepped around panels of the mural -- Jackson's dark eyes and chiseled nose beneath a wide hat brim -- on the floor.


    Pop king Jackson will be joined by "cool" king Steve McQueen, with a full-scale re-creation of Twitchell's first public work, a portrait of his favorite actor originally painted on a house in Hollywood.


    The Jackson project was launched under the auspices of the Hollywood Arts Council. Council President Nyla Arslanian said that the council was interested in a Kent Twitchell mural first; Jackson was selected later as the subject. Arslanian said that payment was to be arranged between Jackson and Twitchell.


    Twitchell said preparatory work had already been done on the building when the project was put on hold in 1993. "I was never told why," the artist says. "It was three years of my life, and no one ever saw it."


    That was the year that Jackson was investigated for allegations that he had molested a 13-year-old boy. Twitchell refused to speculate on the role the investigation and accompanying publicity may have played in scuttling the project, and Jackson did not respond to a request for comment. Twitchell did say it became difficult to reach Jackson because attorneys formed a protective circle around the pop star.


    Arslanian said that Jackson's legal problems had nothing to do with the project's cancellation. She attributed it to concerns about the safety of the required adhesive materials on a historic structure.


    Whatever the cause of the project's abrupt shutdown, Twitchell believes there is a new interest in the pop star, who was never charged after the 1993 allegations and was acquitted of a different set of child molestation charges in 2005. He cites Jackson's quickly sold-out series of concerts in London, which begin in July, as evidence that the he is experiencing a career renaissance.


    "He's surfacing out of that now, getting some good notice," Twitchell said. "We've all had our problems, we've all done things wrong or been accused of things we didn't do. It's not for me to judge."


    The Jackson mural is too big to display in full at the LOOK Gallery. Instead, the artist plans to mount part of it on a 20-foot wall, then roll out an additional 20 to 30 feet of it on the floor. The 150 sheets that make up the mural are painted on a synthetic, nonwoven material.


    For the mural, Twitchell shot more than 100 photos of Jackson dressed in the pastel suit from the video for "Smooth Criminal," a song from his 1987 album "Bad."


    "Originally when I talked to him, he wanted black leather, but I said I really thought the 'Smooth Criminal' outfit would be better because it really reminds you of Hollywood in the '30s, with the Fred Astaires and the Cary Grants, and he just loved that," Twitchell said.


    Twitchell said he worked on the preliminary concepts at Jackson's Neverland Ranch near Santa Barbara, then brought Jackson to a soundstage in Hollywood for more photos.


    "I wanted him to swing out so his coattails would be flying, I just wanted to get that one perfect shot -- I could always bring in a head from there, or a hand from there," said Twitchell, whose work allows the luxury of reassembling body parts from multiple photos.


    "Twitch," as Jackson called him, made "five or six" visits to Neverland, where the two played with Jackson's animals and discussed art and music. Jackson made him promise to make the mural "the best thing you've ever done."


    In the case of "Ed Ruscha Monument," Twitchell settled his lawsuit against the U.S. government and 11 other defendants in 2008, for $1.1 million, believed to be the largest amount ever awarded under the federal Visual Artists Rights Act or the California Art Preservation Act. Both laws prohibit desecration, alteration or destruction of certain works of public art without giving the artist 90 days to allow for the option of removing it.


    "I would have been a monster to let it go; the precedent that it would have set for public art would have been terrible -- we had to fight it," Twitchell said. He has until June to decide whether to remove the mural or try to restore it in its current location.


    Negotiations have begun to re-create "Ed Ruscha" on a side of the L.A. Mart. He also has plans to breathe new life into his Freeway Lady mural.


    Since 2004, plans have been in the works to re-create the mural on the side of the Valley Institute of Visual Art in Sherman Oaks, but the gallery's board president, Susan Kuss, said fears of vandalism led gallery officials to suggest re-creating it on an interior wall.


    Twitchell is amenable to the idea -- but also plans to make an outdoor statement by painting the Freeway Lady's afghan flowing out through high windows in the building.


    "And inside, we'll put the Freeway Lady in such a way that if we become more, I hate the word, more civilized, she can always be taken down and put up outdoors."



    http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et...0,6227244.story

    Blasphemie, Gewaltverherrlichung und viel nackte Haut: Seit der Erfindung der Musikvideos suchen Bands mit provokanten Clips den Skandal. Oft bekommen sie ihn - dann werden die Filmchen geändert oder ganz vom Bildschirm verbannt. Eine Band zensierte sich aber selbst - sie fand ihr Video zu heftig. Von Isabell Spilker



    Erfunden hat dieses wundervolle Instrument des Selbststilisierung kein geringerer als der ehemalige King of Pop, Michael Jackson. 1983 lief erstmals das Video zu seiner Single "Thriller", ein 13-minütiger Kurzfilm, in dem Jackson sich zum Zombie verwandelt. Der Clip erzählt die Geschichte eines Pärchens, das sich im Kino einen Horrorfilm ansieht - in dem Jackson selbst in einer Doppelrolle einen Werwolf mimt. Auf dem Heimweg vom Kino entpuppt sich der nette Junge dann als Zombie und versetzt seine Freundin in Angst und Schrecken. Als sie endlich aus ihrem Alptraum erwacht, steht Jackson über ihr gebeugt - aber er bleibt ein Zombie, mit bösen Augen wirft er einen letzten Blick in die Kamera.

    Mit der in sich geschlossenen Story begründete Regisseur John Landis ("Blues Brothers") eine völlig neue Gattung: der Musikclip als Kunstform. Aber er erreichte auch, dass das Video "Thriller" als erstes der Geschichte ins Nachtprogramm verbannt wurde. Die Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien befand das Video für zu gruselig, für damalige Verhältnisse womöglich zu Recht - ein junger Geselle soll beim Betrachten des Jackson-Videos vor Angst in Ohnmacht gefallen sein.


    Skandale im Fünf-Minuten-Takt - einestages

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    CW's Michael Jackson “barmy” update! This week, one of Jackson's former dancers cast some light on just what it's like being part of Jackson's world. “In South America,” he revealed, “[Jackson] invited us all to a local toy store. When we went inside, he asked the management to lock the doors. Then he bought a present for every single person there - whether he knew them or not.”


    Celebrity watch: Should Madonna adopt again? - Times Online

    Zitat von Smile31

    Was ja auch stimmt! Das erste Musikvideo war nähmlich "Can You Feel It" von The Jacksons und das war Michael´s Idee! :)


    Wie kommst du denn darauf?


    Erstens stammt "Can You Feel" ist von 1980. Da gab es bereits die 3 "Off The Wall"-Clips.


    Und zweitens haben bereits die Beatles Videos zu einigen ihrer Songs gedreht, die dann anstatt einer Live-Performance bei Top of the Pops gezeigt wurden:


    [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqOKvonLrH8]YouTube - The Beatles - I Am The Walrus[/ame]


    Und eigentlich sind die Tanz- und Gesangsnummern in vielen Hollywoodmusicals der 30er bereits eine Art Musikvideo.

    ach das ist doch ma ein cooler fake :D

    [CENTER][INDENT]ACHTUNG dieser Beitrag kann im Gesamten oder in Passagen Ironie und Sarkasmus beinhalten der ggf. auch nicht für die Allgemeinheit sichtlich gekennzeichnet sein muss.
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    Ich denke mal da hat jemand mit photoshop rumgespielt ;)
    Wenn das der echte Michael Jackson gewesen wäre, würden die Leute da nicht einfach vorbeilaufen^^
    Das wär ein Chaos auf der Straße, so wie hier:


    [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqEkCDYB-D0]YouTube - Michael Jackson: People go nuts + interview (2001)[/ame]

    mich wundert es immer wieder dass michael zu den künstlern gehört nach dem noch nichts geworfen wurde... da mach ich mir jedes mal aufs neue sorgen wenn ich solche bilder sehe... :sad



    noch beunruhigender find ich seine extrem ausgebeulte hose... wenn ich das auf dem video richtig erkannt habe ... erschreckend dieses ausmaß :sneddi
    :kicher :umfall

    Michael beherrscht sogar die HipHop-Szene. Hier zeigt uns ein HipHop-Intructor, wie der typische Michael-Schritt im HipNop-Style funktioniert. Ich find's geil: :top


    [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TRxSV6o4Wo&translated=1]YouTube - Hip Hop Dance Moves for Men : Hip Hop Dance Moves for Men: The MJ Step[/ame]

    Zitat von Supergirl_Katie

    noch beunruhigender find ich seine extrem ausgebeulte hose... wenn ich das auf dem video richtig erkannt habe ... erschreckend dieses ausmaß :sneddi
    :kicher :umfall



    haha :kicher .. das habe ich gerade auch wieder bemerkt ;D

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