Image via Complex Original
While lots of artists are known for their the art they make, others become known for a greater narrative that surrounds their work. Oftentimes, that includes a style they pioneer or repeat, through clothes, accessories, and hairstyles. From Terry Richardson's aviators and flannels to John Baldessari's beard, these trademark have become staples of these artists, their personas, and ultimately "the art world."
Whether it be something adopted with a purpose, like Banksy's hoodie, or a look that was natural, such as Frida Kahlo's unibrow, the result is the same—these iconic looks have become inseparable from the artist. The looks that these artists proudly display have become iconic and representative of who they are. This list of 25 Iconic Looks from the Art World celebrates those looks as definitive parts of the artists and their work.
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25. Terence Koh's All-White Ensembles and Sunglasses
Year originated: Unknown
Multimedia artist Terrence Koh, who was also known at one point under the pseudonym "asianpunkboy," makes the list with his outrageous all white everything. This internationally well-regarded artist may wear all white for fashion purposes, but it seems that his achromatic clothing is a part of a larger philosophy that Koh has been sculpting throughout his artistic career (and maybe his entire life). What is most extraordinary is that Koh immerses himself in all white interiors. He is even known to have removed the black keys from his piano and wrapped the covers of his books in white paper. For Koh, his white uniform is not a trendy fashion statement; it's a lifestyle.
24. Edie Sedgwick's Chandelier Earrings and Panty Hose
Year originated: 1965
Despite being born into a family of wealth and status, Edie Sedgwick had an uneasy childhood. She and her siblings had grown up estranged from their abusive father, who frequently had affairs with other women. It was only when Sedgwick moved to New York that she met Andy Warhol and began her indulgent lifestyle, partying and starring in Warhol's films at The Factory. Pretty soon, Sedgwick caught the mainstream media's attention for her unconventional fashion taste, black tights, and large chandelier earrings. What began as an act of rebellion and freedom for Sedgwick has now become an iconic look, channeled by both designers and celebrities looking to replicate the '60s-it-girl style.
23. Julian Schnabel's Yellow Sunglasses
Year originated: 2000s
Julian Schnabel does what he wants. "I'm the closest thing to Picasso that you'll see in this fucking life," he apparently once proclaimed, and perhaps it's true. Artist and filmmaker Schnabel launched into success and fame after debuting his famous "broken plate paintings" at the Mary Boone Gallery in 1979—the broken plates were very much reminiscent of Picasso's analytic cubism. As both the modern-day Picasso and an award-winning director (he's done Basquiat, Before Night Falls, The Driving Bell and the Buttery), Schnabel walks around New York in his pajamas, and he could not care less what you think. As for the yellow sunglasses? When asked about his choice in eye wear, he replied, "The world is pretty blue, don't you think? It looks much better through this shade of yellow." That, and he's Julian Schnabel.
22. John Baldessari's Beard
Year originated:1970s
As a conceptual artist, John Baldessari is not too concerned with impressions projected from mere physical appearances. He made this very clear in some of his earliest works like the provocative Pure Beauty, which compels viewers to question their aesthetic judgments of what is beautiful and what's depicted on canvas and in real life. After burning everything he'd painted from the '50s to the late '60s, Baldessari began his exploration of images, excavating subjects captured in photography out of their original frame and juxtaposing them alongside text and other materials—challenging viewers to rethink all that they see. As an artistic genius constantly engaged in innovation, Baldessari shifts his focus away from the superficial and exterior world. His beard is just another iconic embodiment of his mindset and wisdom.
21. Chuck Close's Glasses and Patterned Outfits
Year originated: 1969
Chuck Close became something of a household name after he sold his very first painting Big Self-Portrait in 1969. The photorealist painter worked meticulously and experimented with a variety of painting techniques like finger-painting to create life-like, massive portraits based off of photographs. By layering grids on photographs, Close would then reproduce the image onto canvases, painting cell by cell. One of Close's many paintings created through this method is the now legendary Big Self-Portrait, which depicts the artist smoking a cig and donning glasses similar to the ones he wears today. After suffering a spinal artery collapse in 1988, Close became paralyzed and reliant on a wheelchair. Despite his misfortunate, Close continues to paint today. He's often seen in patterned clothes, which have also become a part of his iconic look.
20. Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon Bright Red Hair
Year originated: Unknown
Jeanne-Claude and husband Christo make up the collaborative art duo responsible for large-scale environmnetal work. The artists insist that the only meaning behind their incredible work is the immediate aesthetic effect, inspiring viewers to see the familiar landscapes in a new light. In order to achieve this impact the artists use bold colors and the sheer volume of their projects. Their work includes wrapping the Reichstag in Berlin with silver fabric and blue ropes in 1995 and surrounding 11 islands in Miami with bright pink fabric in 1983.
19. JR's Sunglasses and Fedora
Year originated: Unknown
French street artist JR uses photography to provoke thought and discussion about art and global issues. Beginning as a graffiti artist, he got accustomed to using the streets as a platform. He later transitioned into photography but never abandoned the idea of accessible art on the streets. He is known for pasting large black and white photographs in different locations around the world addressing different social issues. He was quoted in his TED talk saying, "Art is not supposed to change the world, to change practical things, but to change perceptions. Art can change the way we see the world. Art can create an analogy." In the spirit of anonymity he wears a signature fedora and sunglasses, obscuring much of his face.
18. David Lynch's Hair and Buttoned Up Collar
Year originated: Unknown
Filmmaker, visual artist, musician, (occasional) actor, as well as Transcendental Meditation advocate David Lynch has awesome hair; literally causing the effect of awe in sight of his coiffure. It waves, it flips, it swirls, and it dips in all the right places, and never the same way twice. His undone hairdo is somehow photogenic, usually perceived as creative—not crazy. And posed below this epic, ever-changing landscape of hair is an anchor: the fully buttoned dress shirt. It is a simple and understated gesture of style that creates a sort of symbiotic balance with his shifting hairstyles.
17. Gilbert and George's Suits
Year originated: 1970
Gilbert and George are a collaborative art duo known for their colorful photo-based work and formal appearance. The pair is rarely seen separate or without their signature suits. Claiming to be living sculptures, they insist that everything they do is art and are therefore always in character. The suits have become iconic for Gilbert and George and inseparable from their art.
16. Erwin Wurm's Folded Trench Coats
Year originated: Unknown
Thanks to Austrian artist Erwin Wurm, display plinths have never looked so well-dressed. Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, it seemed that Wurm's work parted into three distinct practices—one of which consisted of creating hand-drawn instructions on how to fold particular articles of clothing, such as the trench coats mentioned onto an exhibition podium. This work predates some of the more recent sculptural works by Wurm, like the Big Kastenmann standing adjacent to the Standard Hotel and High Line Park in New York City. The work seems to not only be about direct routes to sculpture and easy reproduction, but may also be a kind of forcible humanizing of display mechanisms and the space of the gallery.
15. Dash Snow's Hair and Hat Combo
Year originated: Unknown
Dash Snow is remembered for his graphic photography and art through which he vehemently channeled the counter-culture world that he was a part of. Snow died of a drug over dose at 27, but he left behind powerful pieces of art, exposing the New York nightlife scene with a sense of radical authenticity and unapologetically displaying his displeasure with the government and social norms. Snow stated that he began taking photos to document the parts of his nights that he would not remember the following day, giving outsiders a window into the crazy alternative lifestyle that Snow lead. He was often seen with a black top hat perched on top of his long hair.
14. Banksy's Hoodie
Year originated: Unknown
In an effort to keep his identity a secret, Banksy adopted the black hoodie early on in his career. He began his career in the street art world as a freehand graffiti artist in the 1990s. Sometime in the mid-'90s he transitioned into primarily stenciled work, developing the style he is recognized for today. This notorious artist uses strong anti-establishment themes throughout his thought provoking work. His powerful social criticisms have grabbed the attention of the world, making him one of the most famous living artists of our time. However, the popularity of Banksy's work has not swayed him to reveal his identity, the artist remains hidden beneath the black hood, including during the documentary he made titled Exit Through the Gift Shop.
13. Jeffrey Deitch's Glasses
Year originated: Unknown
Jeffrey Deitch is a former banker turned art dealer turned museum director. While in recent days his name has made Los Angeles headlines in regards to the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), his directorship is not a concern here; we're more focused on his eyewear. In a 2012 New York Times interview, Deitch was questioned about his "Signature Specs." His response: "They've become a trademark. They're an adaptation of the classic, Modernist architect's glasses, two circles connected by a line." This man of ostensibly simple eyewear gets his buffalo-horn frames custom-made by a workshop in Germany. If you were considering purchasing a similar pair to channel the art world magnate, you'll be hard pressed since he designed them for himself nearly 20 years ago.
12. Jean-Michel Basquiat's Dreads
Year originated: Unknown
Hailed as the prodigal son of Neoexpressionism, Brooklyn-born Basquiat began as a graffiti artist in Manhattan's Lower East Side in the late 1970s and was exhibiting in the galleries of Larry Gagosian by the early 1980s. His paintings served critical jabs at societal issues such as racism and colonialism, and history writes that Basquiat's appearance only contributed to the complexity of multiculturalism in the '80s Euro-American art world. Perhaps unintentionally, Basquiat's (now) trademark dreads have come to define the silhouette of the artist and have gone on to become a hallmark style for dread-heads to work towards.
11. Salvador Dali's Moustache
Year originated: Unknown
A 2010 poll found Salvador Dali's flamboyant facial hair to be the most famous moustache of all time, which is (to say the least), unsurprising. Rightly so, the famed Surrealist painter took his facial hair more seriously than most. Dali was once quoted as saying "Since I don't smoke, I decided to grow a moustache—it is better for the health." And while Dali's oeuvre consists of a variety of gruesome and sumptuously-detailed imagery, his melting clocks and gravity-defying facial hair have now become some of his most recognized associations. Even decades after his death, Dali's 'stache has continuing influence as a standardized category of the World Beard & Moustache Championships. The perfect Dali moustache is described as: "Slender with the tips curled upward. Hairs growing from beyond the corner of the mouth must be shaved. The tips may not extend above the level of the eyebrows. Styling aids permitted."
10. Louise Nevelson's Hats and Head Scarves
Year originated: 1930s
Sculptress Lousie Nevelson was born Leah Berliawsky in Kiev, Ukraine in 1899. At the age of five she emigrated to Maine with her family where she remained until she married Charles Nevelson, after which she left her son and husband and jaunted off to Munich to study with Hans Hofmann. After schooling, she returned to New York City where she worked briefly as an assistant to mural painter Diego Rivera.
Her wardrobe reflected the dynamism her life experiences: custom-made brocade coats and suits, Inca-style necklaces, ruffled collars, boas, bold graphic earrings, and headwear ranging from a simple headscarf to a distinctive wide-brim hat. Regardless of what Nevelson was wearing, there was a lot of it (much like the layers of her sculptural work); all the textures and individual pieces melded together to create some sort of eccentric and stylish harmonious chaos.
9. Frida Kahlo's Unibrow and Dresses
Year originated: 1929
It goes without saying that Mexican painter Frida Kahlo is much more than her looks. Her paintings convey powerful, visceral images that have been aligned with celebrating the indigenous culture of Mexico, conveying the experience of women and the perspectives of feminism, as well as engaging in the legacy of Surrealism. Kahlo was no less colorful, vibrant, and tumultuous than her paintings. Her wardrobe was a collection of traditional Mexican clothing that was as intricate and bold as she was: Tehuana dresses with geometric and floral embellishments, delicate white lace underslips and all. And while dressing in the regional style was popular throughout Mexico in the 1920s and 1930s, few women entertained the number of variations and combinations as Kahlo. At the time of her death in 1954, her husband Diego Rivera ordered that her clothes be locked away in a trunk for 15 years. They remained there until they were released in 2004, still holding onto the scent of Kahlo's perfume and cigarette smoke. Her iconic wardrobe was later published as a book titled Self Portrait in a Velvet Dress: The Fashion of Friday Kahlo, and is currently on view as an exhibition in Mexico City at the Museo Frida Kahlo until November 22, 2013.
8. Andy Warhol's Blonde White Coif
Year originated: Mid-1960s
It might be best to just come right out and write it: Andy Warhol's silvery hair is a wig—a hairpiece—and one of over forty. According to the Warhol Museum's information, Warhol's original hair color was dark brown, and he began to wear a hairpiece beginning in the mid-1950s as he began to bald. Apparently it was in the mid-1960s that Warhol adopted the white blonde-topped look that has now come to be so recognizable. The wigs were not disposable items either. Warhol never threw one away, and each was hand sewn by a New York wig maker with hair imported from Italy. Further proving that everything Warhol touched becomes a commodity, in 2006, one of his hairpieces sold for over $10,000 at a Christie's auction.
7. Joseph Beuys' Felt Suits
Year originated: 1970
German-born artist Joseph Beuys was a member of an avant-garde group of artists known as Fluxus (of which Yoko Ono was at one point affiliated). As a child, Beuys had dreams of becoming a doctor, and as an adult he served in the military as a combat pilot in World War II. His military service altered his life, as he decided to pursue art, rather than medicine, upon his return. Beuys' approach to art was rather radical—it was a thing of immense power and should be attended to with a sense of absolute social responsibility. Perhaps this stems from Beuys' claim that his plane was shot down on the Crimean front, from where he was rescued by the Tartar tribesman who wrapped him in fat animal felt to heal him. His Felt Suit from 1970 was initially created as a form of protest against the Vietnam War, and within the context of the myth of his rescue. The suit (and the subsequently created felt hat) then became a part of Beuys' everyday look—clothing imbued with the power and pathos of Beuys' life and the metaphor of shamanistic heali
6. Yoko Ono's Sunglasses and Hat
Year originated: Unknown
Yoko Ono is over 80 years old and is still keeping up with the quick and youthful currents of pop culture without getting carried away. Since the inception of her relationship with The Beatles' John Lennon, Ono has been a force in both fashion and popular culture in general. Images of her and Lennon continue to permeate a collective consciousness and nostalgia of the 1960s and '70s, but certainly do not define her. Later her penchant for sunglasses (especially of the Porsche shield kind, as in her Rolling Stone cover) and designer hat became more apparent. And in most recent years, Ono has found a more reserved (but equally stylish) uniform of custom-made black suits still donning her ever-present sunglasses and hat.
5. Marina Abramovic's Red Dress Worn During "The Artist is Present"
Year originated: 2010
Belgrade-born Marina Abramovic is often referred to as "the grandmother of performance art." Her name and position in art history were reaffirmed by her spectacular retrospective at New York City's Museum of Modern Art in 2010. Among the notable re-performances carried out for the duration of the exhibition, Abramovic herself also sat unmoving and silent for the entire run of the show. For such a feat, she asked tailor and costume designer Stina Gunnarsson to collaborate with her vision in creating a dress for her epic performance. The result was a robe—like gown with a pooling train that received as much time in the spotlight as Abramovic. The heavy funnel neck dress was made in three colors: Red (in March), blue (in April), and white (for her finale in May).
4. Knight Landesman's Suits
Year originated: Unknown
Knight Landesman is always smartly-dressed in public and is perhaps more notably is known as the publisher of Artforum magazine. He began with Artforum just over 30 years ago as a part-timer, eager to make some extra money so he could paint on his days off. Decades (and many promotions) later, Landesman is still with the magazine, and has developed an international reputation for his tailored jewel-toned suits and hats. Few men can wear such things, and even fewer men should; but regardless, Landesman does with such conviction that his style can be labeled iconic.
3. Yayoi Kusama's Polka Dot Ensemble
Year originated: Unknown
Of all those mentioned on this list, Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama might win the award for most recognizable wardrobe—everything she wears has polka dots. Her artwork, which began as painting, and later on expanded to include sculpture, collage, photography, filmmaking, and large—scale indoor and outdoor installations all feature varying scales of polka dots. The dots, which first appeared to Kusama in the form of a hallucinatory coping mechanism, have now been canonized as an icon of her historic practice and has left (what seems like) no part of her life untouched. Kusama's dedication to both polka dots and her breathtaking artistic practice has earned her international fame and recognition.
2. Terry Richardson's Plaid Shirts and Aviators
Year originated: Unknown
After ticking through what feels like hundreds of photographs online of celebrities sporting Terry Richardson's glasses, we still can't figure it out. The man has had some 21st-century cultural greats step in front of his lens, from President Obama to Lady Gaga, Kate Moss, and Lil Wayne. Somehow Richardson has made what otherwise feels like a costume prop an undisputable part of his face. Even eyewear line Moscot created 350 pairs of limited edition frames inspired by the man who has "spent countless hours creating magic behind the lens." Either way, it can be determined with confidence that Terry Richardson is one rare aviator-clad and plaid-flanneled beast of recognizable style.
1. Bill Cunningham's Suit
Year originated: 1970s
Thanks to the 2010 release of the documentary Bill Cunningham New York, the face and work of 84-year-old photographer Bill Cunningham has gained new heights of fame in popular culture (e.g. it has become a fashionable Halloween costume suggestion). A refreshing sense of "credit where credit is due" has finally arrived for (the rather discreet) Cunningham, who has apparently sported his blue coat since the 1970s. Since then, he has cycled the streets of New York City (29 different bicycles over his career—to be exact) capturing the candid beauty of street style.
Cunningham's blue work jacket tagged along on his iconic ascent as a trend-resistant fixture in the fashion world; his outerwear is straightforward and confidently understated—both tailored and utilitarian—making for an iconic style that has only become more distinguished with more wear. If nothing else, Michael Bastian paid homage to Cunningham's look at his New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2014 show.