Elvis in Art:

The EIN Archives

 

While many fans enjoy Elvis simply for his music, his appeal is in fact much broader than that. Elvis is one of our most recognisable socio-cultural icons.......his name, image and likeness appearing far more often in everday life and the mass media than it does in the music media.

One aspect of Elvis' socio-cultural appeal is artworks devoted to him. While the "Velvet Elvis" icon, Thomas Kincade painting of Graceland and works of artists like Nate Giorgio (Elvis collector plates) are well known, there are many other artistic bodies of work celebrating his life and times.

Over the years, EIN has presented a number of articles and interviews about Elvis art:

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Elvis' cultural influence highlighted by Midsumma Exhibition artwork: The gunslinger pose of Elvis in Flaming Star was imortalised by Andy Warhol in a series of iconic images now showing in various art museums around the world. That Elvis transcends artistic media and culture is again signified by the following archival image and story sent to EIN recently.

I have been blown away by a Midsumma exhibition… which is a statement in itself. Gayme at the Counihan Gallery in Brunswick, is perhaps one of the most significant curated Midsumma shows I have seen in a long time in terms of the daring, innovative curatorial content and the quality of artworks on display. (https://artsdiary365.wordpress.com/tag/aboriginal/, 2010)

The second room of the exhibition displays photographs by Dianne Jones and Gary Lee, both of whom are breaking traditional gendered stereotypes of indigenous men and women. In her near-life-size photographs, Dianne Jones seemingly effortlessly re-imagines herself as an American preacher, Elvis, Audrey, or the Fonz.

She boldly explores her androgyneity to convincingly transform herself into characters of either gender without the recourse to the Sherman-style facial prosthetics. While the photographs are good quality works of art in their own right (in terms of the composition and technical attributes), this is perhaps the first time an attention has been focused on the America-centric, Hollywood influence of Anglo, Italian, and Hispanic stereotypes on the indigenous (or urban indigenous) culture. Gary Lee continues Jones’s breaking with the stereotypes in his sexualised and homo-eroticised photographs of indigenous and pan-Asian youths. If Brooke Andrew has explored in his Sexy and Dangerous series the objectification of the indigenous male within the context of anthropological photography, this is perhaps the first time that an Aboriginal male has been openly viewed as a contemporary pin-up, let alone a gay pin-up model. (News, Source: Amber Smith)

Visit EIN's "Elvis in Art" archives...........

including a narrative-visual article on Andy Warhol's Elvis imagery


New Betty Harper "Elvis" artworks: Hundreds of artists worldwide find their inspiration in Elvis for the creation of their artwork. Among the most famous, we know Joe Petruccio and Betty Harper. Their work is used very often on official Elvis merchandise. Betty has just published a series of new artworks on her website. You can take a look at these stunning creations here (News, Source: Elvis Matters)

Read EIN's interview with Betty Harper


Click to view: "Elvis Pencil Sketch" by Harry Magruder


Now on eBay - THE VIRGIN ELVIS: One of the more unusual Elvis art items we've seen.

New Mexican Retablo influenced art from W.D. HARDEN. Made from recycled sheet metal, bottle caps, vintage cigar boxes, glass "gems", punched metal flashing & plywood. ( Source: eBay, 19 Nov 2008)



Million Dollar Elvis Artworks

Thomas Kincade

Kata Billups

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most Popular 7 June 2008
EIN's Best of Elvis YouTube
Spotlight on the King
Interview: Lamar Fike
FTD Review: I Sing All Kinds
Spotlight: An Elvis 'folk' album?

Almost Elvis

Interview: Chris Matthews (The Name Code)
CD Reviews
 
Reviews
Book: Presley - Movie Icon
CD: High Voltage
Book: Elvis' Secret Legacy
'Wild In the Country' FTD Soundtrack -
FTD: An American Trilogy
Book: Growing Up With The Memphis Flash
Book: Ancestors of Elvis Aaron Presley
Book/FTD: Live In L.A.
 
Articles (Spotlights)
An Elvis 'folk' album?
New Elvis sculpture
Is the new 'T.T.W.I.I' Classic Album release just a rehash of the 30th Anniversary BMG issue?
Spotlight:The '68 Special - 40th Anniv Celebration
The Night Elvis Reclaimed His Crown:
Breaking down Presley & Beatlemania
Why can't Elvis compete on album sales??
Is Britney today's Elvis?
 
Interviews
Interview: Chris Matthews (The Name Code)
Joseph Pirzada (Pt. 2)

Lamar Fike

Michael Hoey (Hollywood producer & director)
Mark Bego: co-author of Fike: An Uncommon Journey

Jerry Schilling

The Dangerous World of Elvis Bootlegging; Vic Colonna reveals all!
Lorina Bolig, Elvis Genealogist
 
Audio-Visual
Best of Elvis on YouTube
Graceland cam
Charmaine's Elvis Graphics
EPE's Multimedia Elvis Gallery
Sirius Elvis Satellite Radio
Elvis Radio (ETA's)
Elvis Express Radio
Elvis Only Radio
"Images in Concert" PhotoDatabase
Sanja's Elvis Week 2007 Photo Gallery
'EIN's Best of Elvis on YouTube'
 
Reference
All about Elvis
All about Elvis Tribute Artists
All about Graceland
All about Lisa Marie Presley
Ancestors of Elvis
Contact List
Elvis and Racism
Elvis as Religion
Elvis Books in 2007-08
Elvis CDs in 2007
Elvis DVDs in 2006
Elvis Film Guide
'2007 New Releases'
Elvis Presley In Concert "downunder" 2006
Elvis Online Virtual Library
Elvis Research Forum
Elvis Rules on Television
Graceland - The National Historic Landmark
How & where do I sell my Elvis collection?
Is Elvis the best selling artist?
Links to Elvis' family & friends
Links to other Elvis sites
Online Elvis Symposium
Parkes Elvis Festival 2008 (Australia)
Presleys In The Press
Sale of EPE (Archives)
6th Annual Elvis Website Survey
Spotlight on The King
"Wikipedia" Elvis biography
 
Did You Miss?
How did Elvis get turned into a racist?
Online Elvis Symposium
The most controversial Elvis article ever!