Russell Young

"Pig Portraits" at the Keszler Gallery

Last Saturday, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos hosted the opening of Russell Young's "Pig Portraits" at the Keszler Gallery in Southampton. It was almost ironic that Kelly Ripa was hosting the event because I doubt she would ever be featured in one of Young's "Pig Portraits" which include celebrity mug shots and other "anti-celebrity" moments.

According to the artist, Russell Young, "Pig Portraits is about the glamour in the dark side of crime, fame, sex, drugs and rock 'n roll."

These blown up black and white photos are silkscreened onto large canvases. The photos are then washed with a single bright color including yellow, hot pink, blue, green and orange. Or the photos are blown up and tinted a single color like pink or blue.

Young was a celebrity photographer and music video director for fifteen years, which enabled him to "see how, and at what points the world and the underworld rub up against each other." It was then that the idea of combining celebrities and criminals came to him.

"Because I'd been engaged in creating and glamorizing a person's image, finding portraits of these people in their worst possible moments, drunk, high, beaten, stripped bare, was very attractive to me."

The images used in Pig Portraits were collected from newspaper cuttings, eBay, long correspondence with police departments throughout the world and some were even given to Young by celebrities themselves. These anti-celebrity portraits were Young's reaction to his former career. "My art is a sort of soundtrack to my life, loves, experiences and influences. These would be my heroes that are missing from Art History," he said.

A very young Frank Sinatra's grey tinted mug shot from his 1938 arrest in Bergen County, New Jersey is also in the show. Old Blue Eyes was charged with carrying on with a married woman although the charge was later changed to adultery and then later dismissed.

Steve McQueen's yellow tinted mug shot from his 1972 drunk driving arrest in Anchorage, Alaska is included as well. As the story goes, McQueen was drunk driving up and down 4th Avenue at high speeds when police finally aprehended him. Then, during the field sobriety test, he somersaulted down the white line.

Jane Fonda's mug shot displays her with her fist raised high in a power-to-the-people type-stance. This pink tinted mug shot is from her 1970 arrest in Clevland for kicking a police officer who was arresting her for carrying a large amount of pills. Later it turned out they were just vitamins. My favorite was the mug shot of a young Al Pacino from his 1961 arrest for carrying a conceled weapon. This black on silver photo literally sparkles because it is covered with silver glitter making it all the more glamorous.

Elvis Presley is also prominently featured in several faux mug shots. These photos were taken during his visit to the FBI headquarters in Washington D.C. sometime in the 70's. Although the details of why these photos were taken are unknown, we do know they were not used in any official capacity because his sunglasses are still on.

Larry Samuel, PH.D. said, "Ironically it recalls the innocence of bad boys in the past compared with celebrities now."

However, the show is not all mug shots. Another one of my favorites is a huge hot pink and black photo of Marilyn Monroe durring her 1954 U.S.O. visit to South Korea. Her back is to the camera and she is on stage, in a signature pose, next to a piano looking out into a huge crowd of soliders who are surrounded by mountains.

Jim Morrison dominates the show. His tan washed black and white mug shot is from his 1969 arrest for indecent exposure and lewd and lascivisious conduct after he exposed himself to his audience durring a performance at Miami's Dinner Key. There is also a three series (black with either yellow, orange or lime colored background) of him on stage singing at the microphone in all his fringed glory.

Maybe I'm just too young to fully appreciate this series, because I shamefully admit I had to ask who was in some of the photos. I think my friend Stephanie Collins put it best when she said "Where's Paris?