Magical caricatures
July 10, 2009 7:31 AM Subscribe
British mentalist Derren Brown has a hobby - painting some rather excellent caricatures.
Derren previously on Metafilter: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Derren previously on Metafilter: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
I'm just happy that caricature of Queen Elizabeth didn't go any lower. Yeech.
posted by kbanas at 7:55 AM on July 10, 2009
posted by kbanas at 7:55 AM on July 10, 2009
Ah, I see the trick. Those people are already carictures.
posted by mhoye at 7:55 AM on July 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by mhoye at 7:55 AM on July 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
I am getting forbidden errors for the "painting some rather excellent caricatures." link.
posted by idiopath at 8:11 AM on July 10, 2009
posted by idiopath at 8:11 AM on July 10, 2009
I liked most of these, but they seem a little over-produced. Obviously, they are supposed to be caricatures, I'm not talking about the likenesses. I guess I'm more used to caricatures being cartoons or sketches. These seem too "filled in".
posted by DU at 8:13 AM on July 10, 2009
posted by DU at 8:13 AM on July 10, 2009
I am getting forbidden errors for the "painting some rather excellent caricatures." link.
Yeah, it actually went down while I was viewing it...
posted by Nattie at 8:14 AM on July 10, 2009
Yeah, it actually went down while I was viewing it...
posted by Nattie at 8:14 AM on July 10, 2009
Derren Brown's UK site has the gallery, idiopath. It looks like it was inspired by old Rolling Stone Magazine cover art.
posted by Smart Dalek at 8:19 AM on July 10, 2009
posted by Smart Dalek at 8:19 AM on July 10, 2009
It's like he's got a Kai's Power Goo filter built into his brain.
posted by quin at 8:34 AM on July 10, 2009
posted by quin at 8:34 AM on July 10, 2009
What's with almost everyone having huge ears (Leonardo Dicaprio and Marlon Brando are notable exceptions)?
posted by MuffinMan at 8:48 AM on July 10, 2009
posted by MuffinMan at 8:48 AM on July 10, 2009
Excellent is not the word I would use. The Eddie Izzard is kind of interesting, and so is Rufus Wainwright, but in general they're very same-y same-y. Like he's almost doing a caricature of caricatures, rather than a caricature of the specific person.
posted by marginaliana at 8:52 AM on July 10, 2009
posted by marginaliana at 8:52 AM on July 10, 2009
Yeah, those are pretty sweet. In particular, I like how the...
*drops pants*
*flaps arms*
*runs around in circles*
BAWK!! BAWK!! BAWK!!
posted by Atom Eyes at 8:54 AM on July 10, 2009 [6 favorites]
*drops pants*
*flaps arms*
*runs around in circles*
BAWK!! BAWK!! BAWK!!
posted by Atom Eyes at 8:54 AM on July 10, 2009 [6 favorites]
I shouldn't say this, because being an artist I admire creative efforts and know how much time, heart and soul was probably put into each image... but I'm going to. Because I've got a big mouth and that's how I roll. So here goes. His caricatures kinda bug me... actually feels more like he hit "Kai's Down's Syndrome Filter" button on everyone. They kinda creep me out.
posted by miss lynnster at 8:58 AM on July 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by miss lynnster at 8:58 AM on July 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
Derren Brown strikes me as an example of what you could become if you really spent all your time working on getting better at stuff. Rather than just screwing around on the internet.
posted by smackfu at 8:59 AM on July 10, 2009 [4 favorites]
posted by smackfu at 8:59 AM on July 10, 2009 [4 favorites]
Yeah, hypnosis never works on me either.
posted by miss lynnster at 8:59 AM on July 10, 2009
posted by miss lynnster at 8:59 AM on July 10, 2009
Oooh! I just realized what they remind me of! That might be why they bug me... those puppets always creeped the Hell out of me.
posted by miss lynnster at 9:03 AM on July 10, 2009
posted by miss lynnster at 9:03 AM on July 10, 2009
Saves his best/worst for politicians. GW + John Major are worth the price of admission.
posted by philip-random at 9:04 AM on July 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by philip-random at 9:04 AM on July 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
Having tried my hand at caricatures on Worth, I can appreciate just how hard it is to make an exaggerated persona but still have a likeness. I think many of Brown's are terrific but I think he threw in a couple that were not so great (Humphrey Bogart, Tom Cruise) just to show how good the others are.
posted by digsrus at 9:05 AM on July 10, 2009
posted by digsrus at 9:05 AM on July 10, 2009
They're nice, but they look a bit like the sort of caricatures sold on the street near leicester square
posted by doobiedoo at 9:07 AM on July 10, 2009
posted by doobiedoo at 9:07 AM on July 10, 2009
I'm so jealous of this man right now. The George Bush portrait is pretty funny.
posted by daHIFI at 9:08 AM on July 10, 2009
posted by daHIFI at 9:08 AM on July 10, 2009
The Jack Lemmon looks more like Oliver Stone, and the Woody Allen is shockingly sub-par (how do you mess that up?), but the Ed Norton more than makes up for them.
posted by Sys Rq at 9:28 AM on July 10, 2009
posted by Sys Rq at 9:28 AM on July 10, 2009
I was impressed with Billy Joel and Jack Nicholson. And Tom Cruise wasn't bad at all.
posted by Malor at 9:29 AM on July 10, 2009
posted by Malor at 9:29 AM on July 10, 2009
I never saw it before, but...
"Give it to us raw and wriggling!"
posted by nosila at 9:37 AM on July 10, 2009
"Give it to us raw and wriggling!"
posted by nosila at 9:37 AM on July 10, 2009
I'm just happy that he's using jQuery, and that his site isn't an unnavigable, un-linkable Flash mess.
posted by fnerg at 9:47 AM on July 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by fnerg at 9:47 AM on July 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
They kinda creep me out.
That's part of the reason that I like them. They are quite grotesque, even ugly.
They're nice, but they look a bit like the sort of caricatures sold on the street near leicester square
They strike me as having a lot more detail and texture.
posted by Edgewise at 10:15 AM on July 10, 2009
That's part of the reason that I like them. They are quite grotesque, even ugly.
They're nice, but they look a bit like the sort of caricatures sold on the street near leicester square
They strike me as having a lot more detail and texture.
posted by Edgewise at 10:15 AM on July 10, 2009
Others have commented that they are somehow over-caricatured, detailed, or grotesque; it's the monotone ones that stand out the most to me, seemingly more sincere and hard-boiled, emotive, or just zombie-like.
posted by paulesque at 10:34 AM on July 10, 2009
posted by paulesque at 10:34 AM on July 10, 2009
Derren Brown strikes me as an example of what you could become if you really spent all your time working on getting better at stuff.
Yeah, I guess his family was kidnapped by Colombian drug lords and he devoted his life to...
wait, wait, nevermind.
posted by Pope Guilty at 10:35 AM on July 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
Yeah, I guess his family was kidnapped by Colombian drug lords and he devoted his life to...
wait, wait, nevermind.
posted by Pope Guilty at 10:35 AM on July 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
These are great.
posted by lazaruslong at 10:52 AM on July 10, 2009
posted by lazaruslong at 10:52 AM on July 10, 2009
He's very, very good at upper lips. Gets the set of the mouth just right, and that's half your work done for you. Decent eyes as well. Judi Dench, say. Brings out the hawkish intensity beneath the soft, wrinkled apple surface that gives her so much of her effect.
posted by Diablevert at 11:19 AM on July 10, 2009
posted by Diablevert at 11:19 AM on July 10, 2009
Like he's almost doing a caricature of caricatures, rather than a caricature of the specific person.
He appears to be strongly influenced by the approach of Sebastian Kruger. The same heightened detail in the folds of a face, the same need to push the exaggerations to their limits. Sometimes that works in capturing character, and at other times it ends up making the subject repulsive. Caricature loses meaning when the only statement it makes is that people are ugly.
I like the Edward Norton, not so much for the likeness, but because something about the pose makes me think I can see a Modigliani lurking behind it. I looked for the painting that would fit this silhouette, but was unable to find one. I don't know what similarity to a Modigliani model would say about Edward Norton.
posted by TimTypeZed at 11:46 AM on July 10, 2009
He appears to be strongly influenced by the approach of Sebastian Kruger. The same heightened detail in the folds of a face, the same need to push the exaggerations to their limits. Sometimes that works in capturing character, and at other times it ends up making the subject repulsive. Caricature loses meaning when the only statement it makes is that people are ugly.
I like the Edward Norton, not so much for the likeness, but because something about the pose makes me think I can see a Modigliani lurking behind it. I looked for the painting that would fit this silhouette, but was unable to find one. I don't know what similarity to a Modigliani model would say about Edward Norton.
posted by TimTypeZed at 11:46 AM on July 10, 2009
The book version would be a fun coffee table book, but I can't imaging who would hang most of these on their wall.
posted by smackfu at 11:47 AM on July 10, 2009
posted by smackfu at 11:47 AM on July 10, 2009
Hell with the art. I like the gallery code and the shopping cart. Brilliant and simple. I want me some of that action for my own stuff.
I like the art, too.
posted by seanmpuckett at 12:00 PM on July 10, 2009
I like the art, too.
posted by seanmpuckett at 12:00 PM on July 10, 2009
These are great.
@smackfu: I agree that I wouldn't want them on my wall, but I'd love a coffee table book of them.
I like the Eddie Izzard and Dame Judi Dench ones. A lot of the others really push the edge of creepiness, but that's why they're great. Particularly Madonna: she looks positively soulless.
posted by spitefulcrow at 12:01 PM on July 10, 2009
@smackfu: I agree that I wouldn't want them on my wall, but I'd love a coffee table book of them.
I like the Eddie Izzard and Dame Judi Dench ones. A lot of the others really push the edge of creepiness, but that's why they're great. Particularly Madonna: she looks positively soulless.
posted by spitefulcrow at 12:01 PM on July 10, 2009
Those are the two that I picked up on too, spitefulcrow.
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 1:03 PM on July 10, 2009
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 1:03 PM on July 10, 2009
Coming from someone who is the farthest thing away from being a fan of the immediate past president of the US, I was totally into the gallery, thinking the portraits were at least interesting (Cameron Diaz), if not good (Dame Judi and Ed Norton), until the GWBush. That is lazy, unoriginal, and pointless. I stopped and didn't go any further.
posted by yiftach at 1:08 PM on July 10, 2009
posted by yiftach at 1:08 PM on July 10, 2009
@philip-random: Yeah, the whole series is worth it just for the Bush and Major pictures.
Also, I think that's just a photo of Oscar Wilde.
posted by Hello Dad, I'm in Jail at 11:46 PM on July 10, 2009
Also, I think that's just a photo of Oscar Wilde.
posted by Hello Dad, I'm in Jail at 11:46 PM on July 10, 2009
A lot of these are really good. Clint Eastwood in particular.
posted by Ingenting at 12:56 AM on July 11, 2009
posted by Ingenting at 12:56 AM on July 11, 2009
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