USA: Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, Dita Von Teese and Salma Hayek amongs celebrities to pose for artist Bob Wilson's High Definition video portraits in New York

Some of Hollywood's A-listers like Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp and Dita Von Teese posed still for hours for avant-garde artist Robert Wilson who attempted to push the boundaries of High Definition television with vivid video portraits with a new exhibition in New York. It is a practice as old as art itself -- posing still for hours for an artist to capture the perfect portrait -- An exhibition by avant-garde artist Robert Wilson in New York utilizes new High Definition video technology to give the tradition a modern twist. VOOM Portraits Robert Wilson draws upon the artist's over career which spans over three decades and his fascination with stillness to bring to life his creations. He recruited the likes of Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, Isabella Rosselini, Dita Von Teese and other world renowned faces to put together the collection. The artist attempted to find innovative ways to showcase the scope and power of High Definition video, which executives at VOOM HD network, which sponsored the exhibition, said were still in its infant stages. Each of the the thirty-six portraits had its own musical composition including works by Tom Waits, Lou Reed, and Tschaikovsky, amongst others. Johnny Depp is set against a pink background and shrouded in fur, eyeliner and jaunt hat. The portrait is based on the 1921 Man Ray photograph of Duchamp in drag as Rose Selavy. Robert Downey Jr's portrait was modelled after Rembrandt's "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp". The portrait starts with Downey's eyes closed as he undergoes an autopsy, only when the viewer looks back at Downey's face do they realize he's alive and awake throughout the whole procedure. The HD video portrait of Brad Pitt in white boxers and white socks with rain pouring on him was the subject of a legal battle with magazine Vanity Fair. The actor said the magazine was unauthorized to use the picture on its December 2006 cover. The magazine told celebrity website TMZ.com that Wilson sent a letter to Pitt's lawyers informing him of the cover. Pitt said he never received the letter. Burlesque performer Dita Von Teese swings on a trapeze. The ex-wife of goth singer and producer Marilyn Manson showed off her petite frame with little more than tassels, sexy lingerie and sequinned stilettos. Legendary actress Isabella Rosellini is barely recognizable as an anime character, complete with blonde hair, blue dress and red stockings. Wilson said his background in theatre and opera has always attracted him to the idea of stillness. "It's like the classical theatre of Japan, the Noh theatre. If one cries on stage, one does it inwardly. It isn't portrayed outwardly. So it is in stillness that we become deeply aware of our feelings and emotions," he said. Actress Salma Hayek was given a special room onto herself with her collection of a dozen portraits. Wilson portrayed her as the "Frieda" actress as a 1930s starlet in black and white. Dancer and actor Mikhail Baryshnikov posed as St. Sebastian in his moment of martyrdom. His body is pierced by arrows and attempts to sway the barrage of arrows by looking at the heavens for resignation. Gao Xingjian won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2000. The Chinese-born French citizen was noted by Wilson as "the dignity of the ages, and of resistance, and of art, weighs upon a porcelain face". VOOM Portraits Robert Wilson will next travel to Los Angeles before beginning a European tour.

ITN Source | February 15, 2007

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