Friday, September 18, 2009

Study for Sculpture (Coke and Marilyn)



Study for Sculpture is a screen print by Clive Barker. Barker used one of the most iconic images of Marilyn Monroe from the film Seven Year Itch. This print brings together two of the most iconic symbols of that time, a Coca-Cola bottle and Marilyn Monroe. It is "emphasizing similarity between marketing and pop culture." That's saying that people were starting to use iconic figures, such as Marilyn Monroe, to help sell their products. I think because she is inside the coke bottle, it tells the viewer she was also a product just like Coca-Cola. She became an American icon just as much as Coke did. Once all of her 'use' of an icon was used, or she was passed in the pop culture era, she died. This print caught my eye because the background is very dull and it makes Marilyn and the coke bottle stand out.

9 comments:

  1. I'm wondering, when was this art work created? You mention "that time"--Monroe's time, Barker's. What an interesting image--the mix of advertising and art. Also, she seems really vulnerable in the pink dress. Not powerful at all

    ReplyDelete
  2. Like you said, "It is "emphasizing similarity between marketing and pop culture,"" I totally agree. It is points out the point where advertising and art collide. It shows an artist and a product that are united which suggests that each might need the other to survive.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This print was made in 1969, a few years after Monroe's death. It could be saying how even after she died she was still being put out as an object.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm wondering if they actually use this image for advertising or was it that the artist wanted a piece of artwork with two very powerful images?

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love this picture and i agree with Z about how they used the picture after she died. Because even after she died she was still an american icon.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I agree that it is mixing marketing with pop culture. I think that they were just trying to sell coca-cola by using Marilyn Monroe as an icon who drinks it. They probably thought that if she drank it then everybody should drink it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I agree with z. I belive that Monroe was powerful and well known icon and was used to sell the coke product.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I don't think the artist was using her to sell the coke product, I think he was just stating how much of an icon and object she was just like Coca-Cola.

    ReplyDelete