Will Cotton
Encyclopedia
Will Cotton is an American painter. His work primarily features landscapes composed of sweets, often inhabited by human subjects. Will Cotton lives and works in New York City.
Quick bunny - directly referencing visual modes aimed at evoking desire. Cotton described his early works in a 2008 interview, saying "My initial impulse to make these paintings really came out of an awareness of the commercial consumer landscape that we live in. Every day we're bombarded with hundreds, if not thousands of messages designed specifically to incite desire within us."
In 1996, Cotton began to develop an iconography in which the landscape itself became the object of desire. The paintings often feature scenery made up entirely of pastries, candy and melting ice cream. He creates elaborate maquette
s of these settings from real baked goods made in his Manhattan studio as a visual source for the final works. Since about 2002, nude or nearly nude pinup-style models have occasionally populated these candy-land scenes. As in the past, the works project a tactile indulgence in fanciful glut. The female characters are icons of indulgence and languor, reflecting the feel of the landscape itself. "These paintings are all about a very specific place," says Cotton, "It's a utopia where all desire is fulfilled all the time, meaning ultimately that there can be no desire, as there is no desire without lack."
board game and ginger-bread 'ouses to pinup art and cotton candy, to be part of our pop-culture lexicon. Cotton’s work also builds upon and updates the idea of the land of milk and honey
in European literature and art. Cotton states “The dream of paradise, of a land of plenty, is a thread that runs through all of human history, not just in the affluent times but in fact very often in the lean as well.” He has also been inspired by painters Frederic Edwin Church
, François Boucher
and Fragonard, the photographer Carleton Watkins
, as well as pin-up painters such as Gil Elvgren
. Of his landscape painting influences, Cotton says,
In 2004 he received the Princess Grace Foundation award for contemporary art
in Monaco
. This is a prize given out annually to an artist under 40 years old.
's 2010 music video, California Gurls
, which was based on themes and imagery from his paintings. Perry approached Cotton with an interest in his work, which subsequently became a central visual reference for the video. Cotton created original props for the set, including a three-dimensional Candy Land game board using real baked goods and sweets. He worked closely with the video’s director, Matthew Cullen of Motion Theory, and creative team from the music production company EMI
to recreate life-size scenery from his paintings. Imagery from Cotton's works "Candy Stick Forest" and "Sugar Beach", among several others, were used as inspiration for scenes in the video. Cotton's work Cotton Candy Katy, a painting of Perry reclining amid cotton candy clouds, was also featured as cover art on the California Gurls album, Teenage Dream
.
Work
Cotton's works from the 1990s depicted pop icons sourced from contemporary advertisements such as the NestléNestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
Quick bunny - directly referencing visual modes aimed at evoking desire. Cotton described his early works in a 2008 interview, saying "My initial impulse to make these paintings really came out of an awareness of the commercial consumer landscape that we live in. Every day we're bombarded with hundreds, if not thousands of messages designed specifically to incite desire within us."
In 1996, Cotton began to develop an iconography in which the landscape itself became the object of desire. The paintings often feature scenery made up entirely of pastries, candy and melting ice cream. He creates elaborate maquette
Maquette
A maquette is a small scale model or rough draft of an unfinished architectural work or a sculpture...
s of these settings from real baked goods made in his Manhattan studio as a visual source for the final works. Since about 2002, nude or nearly nude pinup-style models have occasionally populated these candy-land scenes. As in the past, the works project a tactile indulgence in fanciful glut. The female characters are icons of indulgence and languor, reflecting the feel of the landscape itself. "These paintings are all about a very specific place," says Cotton, "It's a utopia where all desire is fulfilled all the time, meaning ultimately that there can be no desire, as there is no desire without lack."
Influences
Always interested in cultural iconography, Cotton harnesses the common language of consumer culture shared across geographical boundaries. He considers the visual threads in his work, drawn from imagery ranging from the Candy LandCandy Land
Candy Land is a simple racing board game. The game requires no reading and minimal counting skills, making it suitable for young children.-Gameplay:...
board game and ginger-bread 'ouses to pinup art and cotton candy, to be part of our pop-culture lexicon. Cotton’s work also builds upon and updates the idea of the land of milk and honey
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
in European literature and art. Cotton states “The dream of paradise, of a land of plenty, is a thread that runs through all of human history, not just in the affluent times but in fact very often in the lean as well.” He has also been inspired by painters Frederic Edwin Church
Frederic Edwin Church
Frederic Edwin Church was an American landscape painter born in Hartford, Connecticut. He was a central figure in the Hudson River School of American landscape painters...
, François Boucher
François Boucher
François Boucher was a French painter, a proponent of Rococo taste, known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories representing the arts or pastoral occupations, intended as a sort of two-dimensional furniture...
and Fragonard, the photographer Carleton Watkins
Carleton Watkins
Carleton E. Watkins was a noted 19th century California photographer.Carleton Emmons Watkins was born in Oneonta, upstate New York. He went to San Francisco during the gold rush, arriving in 1851...
, as well as pin-up painters such as Gil Elvgren
Gil Elvgren
Gil Elvgren , born Gillette Elvgren, was an American painter of pin-up girls, advertising and illustration. Elvgren was one of the more important pin-up and glamour artists of the twentieth century. Today he is best known for his pin-up paintings for Brown & Bigelow...
. Of his landscape painting influences, Cotton says,
When I started working with this subject matter about ten years ago, I made a very conscious decision to compose the pictures in a way that referenced the grand tradition of American landscape painting and to do so without irony. [...] I was initially drawn to the Hudson River SchoolHudson River schoolThe Hudson River School was a mid-19th century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by romanticism...
when I learned that many of the paintings were made specifically to incite a feeling of awe and a desire to experience the new frontier. This struck me as a particularly American kind of propagandist message that I wanted to reference in my paintings. I love the idea of showing someone a picture of a place they've never seen before that might inspire them to want to go there, to force them to imagine what it might be like to experience such a place.
—Will Cotton
Career
Will Cotton has exhibited throughout the United States and Europe. He is represented by Mary Boone Gallery, New York; Baldwin Gallery, Aspen, Colorado; Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles; Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris, France, and Jablonka Galerie, Cologne, Germany. His works have also been exhibited at the San Francisco Museum of Art (2000); the Seattle Art Museum (2002), the Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Germany (2004); the Hudson River Museum (2007); the Triennale di Milano, Italy (2007) the Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris (2008) and the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana. His work is in the collections of the Seattle Art Museum, Washington and the Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio, as well as many prominent private collections.In 2004 he received the Princess Grace Foundation award for contemporary art
Contemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
in Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
. This is a prize given out annually to an artist under 40 years old.
Projects
Will Cotton Bakery
Cotton installed a pop-up French bakery at Partners & Spade in Manhattan, New York. Confections and baked goods the artist uses for reference in his paintings were baked on site and were for sale over three weekends in November 2009. Bakery staff were fitted with custom-made tiaras of the kind Cotton paints atop the heads of ladies that grace his paintings. His idea was to let the public experience the painting process as he does, surrounded by the aroma of freshly baked sweets, adding yet another layer of sensation to the experience of viewing the work.California Gurls music video
Will Cotton was the Artistic Director for Katy PerryKaty Perry
Katy Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...
's 2010 music video, California Gurls
California Gurls
"California Gurls" is an electropop song by American singer-songwriter Katy Perry and is the lead single of her third studio album, Teenage Dream. The song features rapper Snoop Dogg, and was produced by Dr. Luke, Max Martin, and Benny Blanco. According to Perry, the song is an answer song to...
, which was based on themes and imagery from his paintings. Perry approached Cotton with an interest in his work, which subsequently became a central visual reference for the video. Cotton created original props for the set, including a three-dimensional Candy Land game board using real baked goods and sweets. He worked closely with the video’s director, Matthew Cullen of Motion Theory, and creative team from the music production company EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
to recreate life-size scenery from his paintings. Imagery from Cotton's works "Candy Stick Forest" and "Sugar Beach", among several others, were used as inspiration for scenes in the video. Cotton's work Cotton Candy Katy, a painting of Perry reclining amid cotton candy clouds, was also featured as cover art on the California Gurls album, Teenage Dream
Teenage Dream (Katy Perry album)
Teenage Dream is the third studio album by American recording artist Katy Perry. It was released on August 24, 2010, through Capitol Records. The album's inspiration came from dance, pop, and rock by 1980s artists, including ABBA and The Cardigans. Perry worked with several writers and producers on...
.
External links
- Will Cotton's homepage
- Pace Prints video of Cotton working on monoprints in his studio
- Mary Boone Gallery Website
- 2005 New York Times article by Maura Egan
- 2009 Artforum review by David Frankel
- 2008 Artcritical.com interview by Greg Lindquist
- Will Cotton Bakery slideshow at Partnersandspade.com
- Katy Perry - California Gurls (The Making Of) on Youtube.com
- California Gurls music video on Youtube.com
- Creative Time benefit and launch of limited edition pajamas designed by Will Cotton