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Wednesday, Jul 25, 2012 4:14 PM UTC

Hipsters at the Louvre

Two French designers make Louvre sculptures hip, and other classic-meets-contemporary art projects

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Topics: Hyperallergic, Entertainment, France,

Hipsters at the Louvre
This article originally appeared on Hyperallergic.

Typically when I see the marble and stone statues of men in the Louvre, “cute” and “sexy” are not words that come to mind. But two designers from France, Alexis Persani and Leo Caillard, have photoshopped hipster outfits onto Louvre sculptures, all of men, and the results are pretty amazing.

Hyperallergic

Suddenly those classical hairstyles — the beards and mustaches; the cute, curly locks; even a garland, which is not my usual taste in male headgear — look completely contemporary. The models’ lunging or swaggering poses seem entirely of a piece with the half-buttoned denim jacket, the yellow-frame sunglasses, the plaid flannel shirt that Persani and Caillard have skillfully added. The images in the series, Street Stone, look like they could come straight out of a Brooklyn Industries catalogue.

An image from the “Street Stone” series, Alexis Persani and Leo Caillard

Behance Network is also hosting another project making its rounds on the internet that I adore, and which similarly blends classical and contemporary in a clever, playful way: Turkish artist and illustrator Murat Palta’s Classic Movies in Miniature Style. Palta creates ingenious posters for classic Western movies in traditional Ottoman illuminated manuscript style, so that Darth Vader becomes an Ottoman sultan clothed in black and carrying a rose, and the shot from Scarface’s gun transforms into a swirling bundle of gray smoke.

Murat Palta, "Scarface"

Murat Palta, “Scarface” (images via http://www.behance.net/gallery/Classic-Movies-in-Miniature-Style/4455311)

Part of what I love about Palta’s posters is his attention to detail, which is a clear characteristic of Ottoman miniatures, with their never-ending and incredibly intricate patterns and motifs. Palta adheres to that, as his details of the posters make clear, with amazing variations in everything from the clothes the characters wear to the floors and walls around them. He also extends his eye for detail to the movies themselves, picking specific, iconic scenes and depicting such characters as Vito and Michael Corleone in a way that makes them somehow look respectively like Marlon Brando and Al Pacino and classically Ottoman at the same time.

Detail of Murat Palta's poster for "The Godfather"

A detail of Murat Palta’s poster for “The Godfather"

Notably, almost all of the movies Palta has chosen are pretty high on violence, and he depicts gory moments in the posters; this seems fitting for the legacy of the Ottoman Empire. He also includes blotches and patches the color of aging paper, mostly around the edges but also bleeding into the middle of the posters, making them look like relics from another time. And it’s not too hard to imagine: The Shining, the epic tale of a pasha gone mad inside his palace.

Murat Palta, "The Shining"

Murat Palta, “The Shining”

Jillian Steinhauer

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Gripping photos: The people of the Turkey protests (slideshow)

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  • The protests take on a festive element as police forces move out of the park and square. Wearing a gas mask, this young man dances to traditional Turkish music in front of Taksim Square’s Ataturk Monument.

  • In Gezi Park since March 31st, this protester, originally caught off-guard by the Government’s teargas and water cannons, went out and bought a Russian army mask from WWII, preparing for what was to come.

  • This rambunctious boy seems to be enjoying the chaos. After taking this picture he threw a stone at the already destroyed building in the background.

  • Forming a line, the police face off directly with protesters in Taksim Square. After a while, they retreated and there was a general cheer – a back-and-forth dance that has been common since the beginning of this protest.

  • An elderly woman in Gezi Park reads the news. The tent community occupying the park was violently destroyed on June 16th.

  • Many different groups had set up booths to promote their cause in Taksim Square and Gezi Park. Standing in front of one, this man waves his flag while posing with conviction.

  • Many home-remedies are used to minimize the effects of tear gas. This woman has put a milky solution on her face, removing her mask after the tear gas dissipated. Before sunrise, the police came again for another round of teargasing.

  • People capitalize on the uprising -- selling flags, beer, gas masks, sky lanterns and spray paint to name just a few of the popular items.

  • On Monday morning, June 11, the police execute a strong offensive. Many plain-clothed police officers, like the ones seen here, clash with protesters in the side streets away from the main stand-off in Taksim.

  • The authorities seem to be most aggressive in the night, pushing protesters away from the square and park. After being teargassed this young woman catches her breath with other protesters on Siraselviler Street.

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