Artist Spotlight: Alan Macdonald
The commercialization of heaven, or what 17th century painters know about Diet Coke that we don’t.
Many have criticized the commercial burden of modernity, but few have done it with such quiet, haunting precision as painter Alan Macdonald.
His portraits populate the world of 17th century oil paining with contemporary brands, creating a sense of uncomfortable anachronism that drives us to such existential questions as the purpose of our modern lives and the void we’re all looking to fill with consumerism.
The paintings often feature lyrics from pop culture’s most iconic songs, immaculately chosen to deepen the impact of the imagery.
Much of his work is an explicit social commentary on vice culture, exposing drugs and alcohol as the true Mephistopheles of modernity.
And while some of his work has a sense of humorous sarcasm about it, perhaps the most unsettling thing about is the reverse Woody Allenesque comic distress that oozes from it — we may be making a mockery of it all, but deep down we know we’re still headed straight to the very peril we are laughing at.
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Amazing. I’ve always thought that modern graphic design was much like religious paintings in that they’re both commissioned by the most powerful institutions of their time. I was unfamiliar with Alan Macdonald. Thank you for bringing his work to my attention.
What an interesting point about design, I never thought of it this way. I guess it’s even more true of fashion photography, which – just like the religious paintings of the past – depicts social and gender roles in their most typified extremes, perpetuating the culture of hegemony in a way analogous to how the Medieval church did.