Banksy

Banksy is a graffiti artist, who generally has very politically compelling pieces of artwork, but nobody knows who he really is. Some even consider him to be one of the most compelling and mysterious artist of our time. Most of his pieces of work are displayed on publicly visible streets and walls of some of the largest cities in the world. In 2010, Bansky made it in the list of the world’s top 100 most influential people, based on his artwork. One of his most recent pieces of work, better out than in, was actually quite disturbing, but got the public to think about a cause important to him. It is a piece of sculpture art where he filled a meat delivery truck stuffed animals that popped there heads out of the truck, as the truck drove around major cities (check posted link for more details). What was the political message he was trying to convey? He was clearly trying to comment on the food industry and the cruelty involved in it for the animals. Although this piece of art is very extreme, he often has more subtle pieces that are still sending a message. For example, his piece included in this blog is a compelling one done in 2010 in Boston shows a lower middle class worker, or painter, who has “canceled” his path to follow his dreams. 

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-story-behind-banksy-4310304/?no-ist

This is a good website outlining who Bansky is, and how he had become so well-known as a graffiti artist. It also exemplifies much of what he is trying to convey with his work.

http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/banksy-stuffed-animals-truck

This is a link of one of Banksy’s exhibits where he filled a truck with stuffed animals and had it drive through major cities. It includes many photos and a video at the end that is very interesting to watch for peoples’ reactions to his art.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mystery-solved-scientists-reveal-banksys-identity_us_56ddb078e4b0000de4053837

Trying to figure out the identity of Bansky has been hard, however some people believe they know who he is. This article shows that London may have tracked down his identity using a technique used to track criminals. There have been many attempts to identify the famous graffiti artist, so is this one believable?

Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jeane Mortenson)

Most people are familiar with Marilyn Monroe, an American actress as well as a well-known model. Monroe was born on June 1st, 1926 in Los Angeles, California living a short life. On August 5th, 1962, Marilyn, age 36, passed away from a barbiturate overdose. What several people do not know about the talented actress and model is that growing up, Monroe was placed in numerous amounts of fosters homes as well as an orphanage. When she was only sixteen years old, Marilyn married her first husband, James Dougherty but sadly was divorced just 4 years later. It was in 1944 while working in a factory as part of the war effort when Monroe met a photographer and began her successful modeling career. This led to two short-live film contracts with Columbia Pictures as well as Twentieth Century-Fox where Marilyn was able to sign a contract in 1951 with fox as an actress. Some of her popular role were in As Young as You Feel, Monkey Business and Clash by Night. By 1953, Marilyn Monroe was known as one of the most "Bankable Hollywood Stars"where she was the lead actress in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and also How to Marry a Millionaire. This is where Monroe got her reputation as a "dumb blonde". Marilyn's struggles behind the scene were pretty serious, including her addiction to drugs, depression and also anxiety which is what many people believe led her to here death. 

I chose Marilyn Monroe because I have always looked up to her and her outlook on life. Although she took her own life and didn't think it was worth living anymore, she was able to still share why life is so great and gave such great advice to women all around the world who were struggling. Not only is her beauty well known but also her character. I wish I would have been able to be alive when she was.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgBEI_VPjuw

This video above is an audio of Marilyn Monroe being interviewed about her happiness and how she feels about life. Listening to this short, 3 minute interview makes you really think about life in general but also feel like you can somewhat get a better understanding of who she was as not only a popular actress and model but as a unique individual. 

http://mariylnmonroenhd.weebly.com/social-affect.html

Marilyn's impact on society wasn't only impacted on women but also men. It goes to talk about how she may not have been skin and bone but she was still attractive because of who she was which makes it so that men all around the world can see that beauty isn't always in size, it goes way beyond that. 

http://immortalmarilyn.com/how-did-marilyn-monroe-change-the-world/

As we grow and our world grows, we notice that things become more complex and "unacceptable" such as showing off too much skin if you aren't a size zero or talking about sexual topics or sexuality. Marilyn Monroe made it so that less people were to jump to judge. I have a lot of respect for Monroe and the impact she has had on the women and men around the world. 

Priyanka Chopra

Priyanka Chopra born July 18, 1982 is an Indian actress, singer, and also the winner of Miss World pageant of 2000. At the age of thirteen, she moved to the United States to study, and attend school in Newton. During her teenage years in America, she faced racial issues sometimes and was bullied for being Indian by one of her classmate and for that in one of her interview she has said, " I was a gawky kid, had low self-esteem, came from a modest middle-class background, had white marks on my legs..But I was damn hard working. Today, my legs sell 12 brands." These words by Priyanka just inspired me to not to give up. She's one of the highest paid actress and most popular worldwide. She has received so many awards like National Film award, fourth highest civilian award and recently Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.  Even though, she was already very famous in India, but in 2015 she make her county proud when she began starring as Alex Parrish on the ABC drama series Quantico, becoming the first South Asian woman to headline an American network series. In addition her acting career, she has also released three songs. Her First single, "IN My City", debuted in the US on September 13, 2012 but she gained the fame when she released her second single in July 2013, "Exotic" featuring American rapper Pitbull. She supports various causes related to the girl child through her foundation "The Priyanka Chopra Foundation for Health and Education". Shes a believer in feminism, also speaks about women's rights, gender equality, and gender pay inequality.

http://www.popsugar.com/celebrity/Priyanka-Chopra-Interview-Glamour-Magazine-April-2016-40602764
This is a link to her interview where she described the moment her father helped her find confidence.
In this interview when she got asked by media about on being bullied in Hugh school, she said, "It broke my spirit, It made me question who I was? Why was it so uncool being Indian?

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/feb/28/priyanka-chopra-interview-bollywood-us-tv
Another link to her interview which inspired me most because in this interview she stated, "I'm not arrogant, I'm self-assured.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2015/10/27/priyanka-chopra-india-abc-quantico-star/74598088/
This website talks about her ongoing TV series "Quantico" which made her famous in the United States.

 TUPAC AMARU SHAKUR (1971-1996)  

         Tupac Shakur was more than just a rapper. During his short 25 year life he tackled the music industry, activism, government and police injustice, and even movies – which catapulted him to cultural icon status. Often referred to as the greatest rapper of all time, 2Pac’s versatility and deep messages influenced people all around the world. While the subject matter in his music contained drugs, violence, and plenty of profanity, it was just a reflection of his reality. He painted stories of his life through his music and his art revealed the realities of hardship in the inner cities and social problems. Some of his deepest songs inspired revolutions across the country. “Keep Ya Head Up”, which is an ode to respecting women became the anthem for the feminist movement. “Changes” highlights the struggles and injustices living as a young black man. Shakur’s untimely death (he was shot and killed in Las Vegas) in 1996 is still discussed today. Some believe he faked his death, while others say the police have been hiding what really happened. Some even believe his murder was orchestrated by Puff Daddy (also known as Diddy), manager of his East coast rival The Notorious B.I.G. (who was also killed soon after). Regardless, to this day he has sold over 75 million albums and is one of the most important figures of our time. His art still resonates today and he is often cited as the biggest influence for today’s popular rappers such as Eminem, Kanye West, Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar. His messages and voice are still relevant today, 20 years after his death. A major motion picture biopic on his life is currently in the works.

2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G. (also known as Biggie Smalls) before they became sworn enemies

2Pac hologram at the 2012 Coachella music festival (joining Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg on stage) 

Keep Ya Head Up (1993)

"And since we all came from a woman
Got our name from a woman and our game from a woman
I wonder why we take from our women
Why we rape our women, do we hate our women?
I think it's time to kill for our women
Time to heal our women, be real to our women
And if we don't we'll have a race of babies
That will hate the ladies that make the babies
And since a man can't make one
He has no right to tell a woman when and where to create one
So will the real men get up
I know you're fed up ladies, but keep your head up"

California Love (feat. Dr. Dre) [1996]

Why Tupac Is Still the Most Important Rapper Of Our Generation

http://mic.com/articles/90471/why-tupac-is-still-the-most-important-rapper-of-our-generation#.lTYpJac2A

This article remembers the importance of Tupac's life, art. His influence spans not only in the hip-hop world, but into other facets of society such as Maya Angelou's work.

"Whatever He Was Rapping About, It Was Urgent" - Eminem

http://www.papermag.com/whatever-he-was-rapping-about-it-was-urgent-eminem-on-the-genius-of-tu-1427655162.html

Eminem, the most successful rapper of all time and the most successful music artist of the past few decades, shares how 2Pac was his biggest influence. He reflects on the importance of the issues 2Pac talked about and how his legacy still lives on to this day.

Who Killed 2Pac Shakur?

https://www.yahoo.com/news/killed-tupac-shakur-4-theories-174600683.html?ref=gs

2Pac's unsolved murder case has become a cultural phenomenon and there have been countless theories on the incident. These are the four most popular theories on what happened on that tragic night in Las Vegas September 13, 1996.

Judy Chicago

Judy Chicago is a Chicago, Illinois born and raised women's rights activist, feminist artist, and writer.
Initially name Judy Cohen, Judy changed her name to Judy Chicago because she felt a connection to the city, as well as breaking traditional standards of taking her father's last name. I found Judy Chicago's work so compelling and worth sharing because of her role in the art world of trying to break stigma's surrounding femininity. She was raised in a family that encouraged her feminism, which is the main topic surrounding her work. I was first introduced to her work in high school when I studied her art piece titled "The Dinner Party". This piece represents 999 women in history, with a place set at 39 seats. The place set contains a ceramic plate that embodies a female vulva. This piece was created in 1979, when feminism wasn't as well known as it is today. This piece also toured the world, and is now permanently stored in the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum. I hope to see it one day. Her art, along with many other great feminists, inspired a movement to accept a woman's body, as well as a woman's rights in the United States.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/20/AR2007042000419.html
This website has an article written by a viewer of The Dinner Party piece done by Judy Chicago. Not only does the article describe the art piece, but it provides an insight as well as opinion and thoughts of it. It goes on to describe femininity in context to the writers life. She goes into a detailed story with her own experiences with becoming a feminist, and the reactions of others.

http://www.theartstory.org/artist-chicago-judy.htm
This website gives a biography of Judy Chicago, as well as a description of this specific piece, The Dinner Party, which is one her most well known works. The website also goes into the art style Chicago takes, and how that came to be.

http://www.throughtheflower.org/projects/birth_project
This website gives a deeper look into Judy Chicago's other works of art. It focuses on The Birth Project, which is a collection of images inspired by birth. Chicago travelled around the world to work with 150 other artists that all contributed to this piece of art.

Fernando Botero

Born in Medellin, Columbia, Fernando Botero will always be known for his eye raising paintings and sculptures. Botero’s work is like one of no other artist which is why there is actually style of art named after him, Boterismo. I feel that Botero’s work is so incredibly unique that not only art fans but everybody should see at least one of his works. His work on still-life and landscape figures all carry one specific quality about them that right away can be depicted as one of his pieces. Botero is known for his style of painting and sculpting his figures to be “fat”. His abstract work includes choosing specific colors, shapes, and especially sizes of objects he is working with. I feel that Botero’s work is compelling because there was never really anything like it before. His robust and inflated art pieces are often created for a humorous purpose, however some of his works give important political and social criticisms. One of my favorite pieces from him is the Mona Lisa. Botero takes arguably one of the most influential works of art coming from one of the most influential artist in history and simply paints a more voluptuous/fat version. Fernando Botero is an artist who truly goes against the grain when creating his art. Known as “the most Colombian of Columbian artists” Botero was able to bring a new style of art to the table that everyone needs to see. 

"An artist is attracted to certain kinds of form without knowing why. You adopt a position intuitively; only later do you attempt to rationalize or even justify it." – Fernando Botero 

The website: http://www.fernandobotero.com/biography.shtml gives about everything you need to know about Fernando Botero. This includes a biography, Art Pieces, books, films, ect. The page talks about his “distinctive style of smooth inflated shapes with unexpected shifts in scale…” Botero is represented as a great influential artist whose paintings, sculptures and drawings are exhibited all around the world.

https://www.artsy.net/artist/fernando-botero/works The website posted here goes further into the works of art Botero has created. This includes all of his sculptures, paintings, drawings, and even his work on paper. The website gives detailed descriptions on the time the piece was made, the exact name of the piece, and also what gallery the work of art is located in.

This last article http://theculturetrip.com/south-america/colombia/articles/the-art-of-fernando-botero-colombia-s-most-colombian-artist/ talks more in depth of the style Botero uses. The article mentions how Botero was influenced by the naturalist portraiture Diego Velasquez’ work. Botero developed a style that was both an artistic tradition altered to his specifications. The page talks about his importance in contemporary art and how he made his own clean, distinct and unwavering style of art with both substance and meaning. 

Taylor Swift-

Taylor swift is an artist who continues to grow in popularity every year. She has been in the media spotlight since she was only fifteen years old. While her style has changed from country to country pop to basically the pop sensation of the last two years. She not only comes out with amazing albums she is able to connect with so many people. From the obvious boy drama to just being your self and "shaking it off." She also loves her fans and truly believes that she can not live the life she does without their support. Taylor  goes out of her way to invite fans to her house for parties and sends gifts to those that she knows live for taylor swift. She also does a lot of charitable work. She is generous and kind and wants nothing for the best for this world. When it comes to being a pop celebrity she still makes time for family and the people that support her. Her music is empowering and fun to listen to and can be for anyone, young old, male or female there is probable a song on one of her albums that you can't get out of your head after hearing it. 

http://taylorswift.com
 This website is her official website and you can find anything you need to know about Taylor Swift. It has her biography her music and even merchandise, it even has links to fan blogs. 

https://twitter.com/taylorswift13?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
This is a link to Taylor's twitter. In this generation you can find out a lot about a person by looking at their social media. 

http://www.vogue.com/13421986/taylor-swift-may-cover-maid-of-honor-dating-personal-style/
This website that leads to Taylor Swifts Vogue article is a great article to read if you want to know about what she is up to now and how her crazy road to being one of the biggest pop singers has helped shape who she is today.