* In which no man is ever loath to sit for his portrait.
Sandro Kopp painted portraits of his friends via Skype. They’re lovely, gestural and glow that ethereal - though equally unflattering - computer screen luminescence we’re all too familiar with in this digital age. But coupled with traditional oil portraiture, it’s dichotomous and anachronous and wild to think how sitting for a portrait has progressed (or regressed).
“I use media technology to create an old-fashioned art form,” he explained. “Skype allows you to get very intimate. These portraits are all about being present.”
And how lucky for Sandro to have such famous friends, a fact that probably works in his and Lehmann Maupin’s favor. I like them because I like how tired they look. I don’t, however, think you can get any more intimate with Skype than you can painting someone who is sitting directly opposite you, in the flesh. So on that point Mr. Kopp, I disagree.
But thumbs up, nonetheless.
