Career
Culture jamming is one aspect of English's work, involving 'liberating' commercial billboards with his own messages. Frequent targets of his work include Joe Camel, McDonald's, and Mickey Mouse. Ron English can be considered the "celebrated prankster father of dollar-pop", who wrangles carefully created corporate icons so that they are turned upside down, and are used against the very corporation they are meant to represent. Ron English is considered one of the fathers of modern street art and has initiated and participated in illegal public art campaigns since the early eighties. Some of his extralegal murals include one on the Berlin Wall's Checkpoint Charlie in 1989 and one on the Palestinian separation wall in the West Bank in 2007, with fellow street artists Banksy and Swoon (artist).
English has also painted several album covers including The Dandy Warhols album cover "Welcome to the Monkey House". He painted the cover of the new Slash. He later painted the cover for American superstar Chris Brown's Album (F.A.M.E). Some of his paintings are also used in Morgan Spurlock's documentaries Super Size Me and POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold. Following the credits, he receives special thanks and is credited as "The Greatest Living Artist."
English is as well known for his photorealist technique and inventive use of color and comic book collage as he is for his unique cast of characters, including sexualized animals, skeletal figures, Marilyn Monroe with Mickey Mouse breasts, the corpulent fast food spokesman MC Supersized, and one of his most significant creations, Abraham Obama, a fusion of America’s 16th and 44th Presidents. During the 2008 Presidential Election, he combined the features of Barack Obama and Abraham Lincoln for a popularly-distributed image entitled "Abraham Obama."
Songs In English is the world's first blog-as-you-go recording project. It is based on the lyrics of World Renowned Ron English and Brooklyn songwriter Jack Medicine. The project is being arranged and produced by the high energy rock stylings of Velvet Rut.
English has also collaborated with Daniel Johnston and Jack Medicine in the Hyperjinx Tricycle project. English most recently created the artwork for Art Nouveau Magazine's first print issue.
English is the subject of a Pedro Carvajal documentary entitled Popaganda, named after one of his art books. He is also a subject of "The Art Army" action figures by Michael Leavitt.
On the March 4, 2012, episode of the television program The Simpsons, “Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart” English (along with fellow artists Shepard Fairey, Kenny Scharf and Robbie Conal) appeared as a guest star, having earlier recorded his voice for the cartoon's animated version of himself.
Read more about this topic: Ron English (artist)
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