Exhibition explores Michael Jackson as artists' inspiration

A new art exhibition in London depicts Michael Jackson as a savior, a saint, an entertainer, an icon, a monarch, a mask and a mystery.

The National Portrait Gallery show, opening Thursday, reveals the extent to which contemporary artists have been drawn to the late King of Pop, as an artistic inspiration, a tragic figure and a fascinating enigma.

A woman looks at an artwork by Donald Urquhart called 'A Michael Jackson Alphabet' on display at the Michael Jackson: On The Wall exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London, Wednesday, June 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Gathering work by 48 artists from around the world, the show includes Jackson-inspired paintings, photographs, videos, textiles and ceramics. It ranges from 1980s pop portraits by Andy Warhol and Keith Haring to David LaChapelle's depictions of a Christ-like Jackson and Kehinde Wiley's vast portrait of the entertainer as a king on horseback.

Acrylic and silkscreen ink on linen portraits by Andy Warhol on display at the Michael Jackson: On The Wall exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London, Wednesday, June 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Curator Nicholas Cullinan said Wednesday that, nine years after Jackson's death, the show explores "how he could mean so many different things to so many people."

Jackson had already been a child star when he became an international icon in 1983 with the release of "Thriller," one of the best-selling albums of all time. His music, moves, style and innovations in staging and video had a huge impact on popular culture. He also struggled with the limelight, and died in 2009 of a prescription drug overdose at age 50.

A woman looks at an artwork by Keith Haring called 'Untitled' on display at the Michael Jackson: On The Wall exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London, Wednesday, June 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

The exhibition includes works that reflect on what Jackson meant to his fans, his place in African-American culture, the way he manipulated fame — and the way fame manipulated him.

U.S. artist Todd Gray, who worked for Jackson as a photographer in the 1970s and 80s, recalled him as a sweet-natured youth — "If he stepped on an ant, he would cry" — but also someone keenly aware of his image. He remembered Jackson refusing to change his mismatched socks for a photo shoot, saying: "'People will talk. That's what I want."

Gray has reworked his old photos by layering other pictures over Jackson's face, including images from Ghana, where the artist has a home.

A woman looks at artworks by Todd Gray on display at the Michael Jackson: On The Wall exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London, Wednesday, June 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

"It's my way to place Michael in the African diaspora," he said.

The show has the support of Jackson's family, though not all the works are flattering. American artist Jordan Wolfson shows nothing but Jackson's darting, blinking eyes, taken from a 1993 TV interview in which the star denied child molestation allegations.

Several works depict Jackson in a mask, most famously Mark Ryden's cover art for the "Dangerous" album. Isaac Lythgoe has turned that image of Jackson's masked eyes into a plush headboard.

Visitors look at an artwork by Hank Willis Thomas on display at the Michael Jackson: On The Wall exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London, Wednesday, June 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Other images are heroic. German artist Isa Genzken juxtaposes Jackson and Michelangelo's David. Wiley — who has also painted Barack Obama's official portrait — depicts Jackson in armor on horseback, in a painting modeled on Peter Paul Rubens' portrait of King Philip II of Spain. The portrait was the last one Jackson commissioned, and was completed after his death.

One work, filling a whole room, focuses not on Jackson but on his fans. South African artist Candice Breitz filmed 16 German-speaking Jackson fans of myriad ages and races, singing "Thriller." It's an engaging and moving work that shows just how much Jackson means to those who love his music.

Scottish artist Donald Urquhart, who created an illustrated Michael Jackson alphabet for the exhibition, thinks Jackson's "manipulation of fame" has inspired many artists. But he says Jackson will be most widely remembered for his boundary-crossing music.

"I've been to tiny villages in Sumatra where they just play Michael Jackson all day long," Urquhart said. "They don't speak English, but there's something in his music that is beyond language."

"Michael Jackson: On the Wall" runs in London from Thursday until Oct. 21. It moves to the Grand Palais in Paris from November to February, then travels to the Bonn, Germany and Espoo, Finland.

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A selection of South African artworks produced during the country’s apartheid era which ended up in foreign art collections is on display in Johannesburg to mark 30 years since the country's transition to democracy in 1994.

Most of the artworks were taken out of the country by foreign tourists and diplomats who had viewed them at the Australian Embassy in the capital, Pretoria. The embassy had opened its doors to Black artists from the townships to be recognized and have their artworks on full display to the public.

The artworks, which reflect the daily struggles of the country’s Black majority during the apartheid era and the effects of racial segregation policies, are on display alongside works by some of South Africa’s exciting contemporary artists.

The exhibition creates a blend of perspectives on South Africa through the eyes of artists who lived during and after the country's most difficult period.

It is a culmination of efforts to repatriate African artworks, artifacts and valuable cultural items to Africa by organizations such as the Ifa Lethu Foundation, which is hosting the exhibition.

The organization has repatriated more than 700 pieces, including works by South African artist Gerard Sekoto, who died in Paris in 1993.

Similar efforts have been made across Africa, including in Benin and Nigeria.

Some of the highlights of the exhibit are an undated piece titled “For the Children” by renowned South African artist and sculptor Dumile Feni, who died in New York in 1991 before he could return to South Africa to witness the end of apartheid.

A 1987 piece titled “Mineworkers” by South African artist Mike Khali which addresses the plight of migrant workers in South African gold mines is also part of the exhibition, which is being held at the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg.

Michael Selekane, a contemporary artist whose work is part of the exhibition, pointed out some of the technical hurdles faced by artists who came before him.

“The use of material was limited for them. That is why most of their work is black and white, and it is prints. Painting was an expensive medium to work on, their conditions were tough,” he said.

Selekane's “Rosy Future” and “Shattered” are part of the exhibition.

“We need to reflect on the fact that we did not just magically emerge as artists, there were people who laid the way forward regardless of whether their context was difficult, complicated, undoable, they were resilient in what they were doing,” said Lawrence Lemaoana, a contemporary artist whose work is also on show.

“In this period, art by black artists was not considered worth including in South African museums, galleries or corporate or private collections,” notes exhibition curator Carol Brown.

“With the exception of a few outliers — including workshops such as Polly Street in Johannesburg and the Evangelical Lutheran Centre at Rorke’s Drift, established by foreign missionaries in the former province of Natal — art education for black artists was minimal."

“For much of their lives, art materials, books and exhibitions were denied to them,” Brown writes in her curator’s statement.

The works have been grouped thematically, she says: Suffering and Conflict, Dreams of the Future, Leisure and Culture, City of Gold, Whose Land Is It? and The Beginning.

“These themes invite contemplation of the socio-political landscape of present-day South Africa, but also allow us to see how the past influences and shapes the present — and how contemporary visions can highlight the modernity in the overlooked and undervalued art produced under the terrible constraints of apartheid,” she said.

The exhibition runs until July 31.

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Artist Lawrence Lemaoana at an exhibition at the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. A selection of artworks which were produced during the country's apartheid era and ended up in foreign art collections are on display to mark 30 years since the country's transition to democracy in 1994. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

An work by artist Lawrence Lemaoana at an exhibition at the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. A selection of artworks which were produced during the country's apartheid era and ended up in foreign art collections are on display to mark 30 years since the country's transition to democracy in 1994. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Visitors view an art exhibition at the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. A selection of artworks which were produced during the country's apartheid era and ended up in foreign art collections are on display to mark 30 years since the country's transition to democracy in 1994. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Artist Michael Selekane takes a photograph of his work at an exhibition at the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. A selection of artworks which were produced during the country's apartheid era and ended up in foreign art collections are on display to mark 30 years since the country's transition to democracy in 1994. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Artist Lawrence Lemaoana at an exhibition at the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. A selection of artworks which were produced during the country's apartheid era and ended up in foreign art collections are on display to mark 30 years since the country's transition to democracy in 1994. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)