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Though the back streets of the art world may be cold for Brody, they are not lonely.
Whilst the art world is celebrity obsessed in its own way, it tends to like to anoint its own heroes from within its own ecosystem.
It seems as though any pop icon worth their salt these days has identified the power of aligning themselves with artists of a more highfalutin ilk.
[Katy Perry] predicted [...] that it might be her last album to be physically packaged.
We fail to consider how often those we hail as creative geniuses were in fact working to a brief.
Art for art’s sake is actually a much rarer commodity than we think.
The hallowed hallways of schools have been home to some of the most iconic music videos of all time.
The director wears his influences on his sleeve [...] school boy drama Blue Spring and the controversial 2006 anti-bullying themed video game Bully.
He uses a striking combination of unsettling violence and mesmerising dance to comment on the contradictions of the teenage boy experience in 2026.
Culture columnist Gary Grimes examines why established film and music celebrities often struggle to gain critical respect when they exhibit visual art. Using Adrian Brody, Jack White and Ed Sheeran as recent examples, the article considers criticism of celebrity vanity projects, gallery economics, class and art-world gatekeeping, while noting exceptions such as Brad Pitt, Sharon Stone and Lena Dunham.
In this cultural column, Gary Grimes explores how major female pop stars are increasingly commissioning fine artists to create their album artwork, merging pop culture with high art. The article highlights collaborations such as Olivia Rodrigo with Chloe Wise, Lily Allen with Nieves González, and Katy Perry with Will Cotton, showing how these partnerships elevate pop musicians’ cultural prestige. Grimes argues that these crossovers reflect a growing desire among pop icons to be seen as part of the fine art canon.
Gary Grimes explores the blurred line between 'fake' and 'real' art through the film The Christophers, which features 16 prop paintings created by artist Barnaby Gorton. The article argues that art made for film, though functional, shares the same creative rigor and historical lineage as gallery art. Gorton’s process and reflections reveal how commissioned art has always been central to artistic practice.
In this cultural column, Gary Grimes analyzes Romain Gavras’ new two-part music video 'Storm' for Gener8tion featuring Yung Lean. Set in a dystopian Leeds school, the film explores teenage masculinity, violence, and rebellion through striking visuals and choreography by Damian Jalet. Grimes situates the work within Gavras’ provocative filmography and broader pop-cultural references, praising its hypnotic blend of aggression and artistry.