“…the power to charm...”
David Bowie has been named Britain’s most influential artist of the last 50 years for his ability to transcend music, film and fashion.
Bowie topped the Sky Arts list of 50 influential artists which recognises renowned artists across the categories of visual arts, literary arts, performing arts, music, film and TV.
The judging panel, led by broadcaster and DJ Lauren Laverne, were challenged by TV channel Sky Arts to create the list and crowned Bowie for his ability to transcend a variety of mediums.
Laverne said: “I was honoured to be chosen to take part in this judging day for Sky Arts, as working with such a respected group of judges, I knew their conversations would be fascinating, and they were. The judges took so much time and care with their scoring to ensure the Top 50, Top 20 and Top 10 lists were truly the best of the best in terms of influence, and the final list are artists that are so deserving of their places. David Bowie coming in at number one was the cherry on top of a brilliant judging process, and it was great to be a part of it.”
A unique portrait of Bowie has been made from individually placed guitar plectrums - each featuring a cut-out shape to symbolise all the artistic disciplines Bowie influenced.
Artist Joe Black, who created the two-metre tall piece, said: “This portrait was created to celebrate David Bowie being named the most influential artist of the last 50 years. His visual representation had a huge impact across all of the arts worldwide. The idea was to use thousands of specially designed plectrums, with each design representing one of the five artistic areas of Bowie's creative life and influences - music, film, fashion, literature and art. Bowie was a maverick and a global icon who initiated a new Bowie era in popular culture.”
Philip Edgar-Jones, director of Sky Arts, said: “As our number one artist, we wanted to honour David Bowie in a way that would feel fitting to the scale of his influence. The artwork that has been created by Joe Black honours the ways that Bowie's influence transcends genres, through guitar picks with cut-out designs of music, art, stage and screen.”
Crafted using 8,610 3-D printed plectrums reflecting the art forms he influenced with one design depicting the Aladdin Sane lightning bolt, the artwork took over six weeks to make and will be donated to a school in Bowie’s hometown of Brixton.
Watch a video of Joe Black creating the image here,
Meanwhile, we’ll leave you with the top ten in the list...
01 - David Bowie - songwriter, performer and actor
02 - Sir Steve McQueen CBE - director, producer and writer
03 - Russell T Davies OBE - TV screenwriter and producer
04 - Dame Vivienne Westwood - fashion designer
05 - Caryl Churchill - playwright
06 - Michael Clark - dancer and choreographer
07 - Angela Carter - feminist writer
08 - Stormzy - rapper and political activist
09 - Muriel Spark - novelist
10 - Michaela Coel - actress, writer and director
#BowieMostInfluential #BowieSkyArts