Image via Complex Original
In November 2012 alone, the contemporary art market made $1.068 billion, proving that it won't be crashing anytime soon. Prices and skeptics aside, there has been an overwhelming abundance of work that will undoubtedly stand the test of time. It may be too soon to call work from the past 10 or even 5 years iconic, but we aren't hesitating to do so. From work by RETNA to Maurizio Cattelan, Shepard Fairey, and Takashi Murakami, enjoy The 50 Most Iconic Artworks of the Past Five Years and let us know if you agree.
50. Francis Alys, "Tornado," 2000 - 2010
50. Tornado by Francis Alÿs, 2000-2010
Former architect Francis Alÿs spent a decade on the film Tornado, where he runs after huge tornadoes in Northern Mexico. Both a daring and meaningful move, the work has since inspired a number of interpretations, including an homage to the Russian Suprematist, Kazimir Malevich. Regardless of its true meaning, Tornado is fundamentally compelling—the anxiety of the chase, the chaos, and the silence following somehow make one feel both invincible and utterly human at the same time.
49. Tino Sehgal, "This Progress," 2010
49. This Progress by Tino Sehgal, 2010
This Progress is a performance-based piece that took place in the Guggenheim's rotunda for six weeks in 2010. The performance-experience was succinctly described in the New York Times: visitors were ushered up the infamous spiraled ramp by a series of guides, "first a child, then a teenager, then an adult, and finally an older person = who asked them questions related to the idea of progress." The show itself sold over 100,000 tickets. We'll have to wait and see if it prompts the progress its title presupposes.
48. Superflex, "Bankrupt Banks" banners at Peter Blum Gallery, 2008
48. Bankrupt Banks by Superflex, 2008
The three-man Danish art collective installed this critical tribute to the fallen banks of the Great Recession. It was 24 banners total that were painted with logos of banks declared bankrupt and acquired by other banks, governments, or private entities. The work forever marks a change in symbolism that encapsulated this time in American history—the once powerful companies were suddenly rendered powerless.
47. Miranda July and Harrell Fletcher, "Learning to Love You More," 2002 - 2009
47. Learning to Love You More by Miranda July and Harrell Fletcher
This seven-year crowdsourced web project, started by Miranda July and Harrell Fletcher in 2002, eventually yielded over 8,000 participants and thousands more entries. The work was not made directly by July and Fletcher, but rather by the general public in response to assignments posted by the duo on their website, learningtoloveyoumore.com. Assignments ranged from "Make a child's outfit in an adult size" to "Take a picture of your parents kissing" to "Climb to the top of a tree." Although it officially concluded in 2009, the website remains as an archive for the work.
46. Glenn Ligon, "Ruckenfigur," 2009
46. Ruckenfigur by Glenn Ligon, 2009
Glenn Ligon, known for his artistic explorations of race, sex, and identity, created this piece as America's name in lights. The term "rückenfigur" typically refers to a figure in a painting, seen from behind, who is usually contemplating a landscape. Ligon's neon sign infers that AMERICA has turned its back on the viewers, which was a powerful moment for the arts in 2009.
45. Christopher Wool and Richard Hell, "PSYCHOPTS," 2008
45. PSYCHOPTS by Richard Hell and Christopher Wool, 2008
Artists Christopher Wool and Richard Hell created PSYCHOPTS to remind us of the tension between words and their aesthetic similarities, which has been continually explored throughout art history, but hardly in such a genius way. Wool and Hell pair words that transform into graphic, linguistic, and semantic puzzles. They are both playful and unsettling, defining the landscape for the future of textual art-making.
image via
44. Jaume Plensa, "Dream," 2009
44. Dream by Jaume Plensa, 2009
Plensa's monumental Dream is a 20-meter-tall stark, white, elongated head that sends a surreal cast unto the landscape around it. It is located in the North West region of England and was initially commissioned as a part of "The Big Art Project" supported by the Arts Council England. The sculpture itself deserves a double-take and strikes somewhere between serene and surreal.
43. Mike Kelley, "Mobile Homestead," 2011
43. Mobile Homestead by Mike Kelley, 2011
Mike Kelley's final work, Mobile Homestead, is a project that has become somewhat of a hybridized installation-cum-community center. The object itself is a full-size replica of Kelley's childhood suburban Detroit home that was initially meant to travel to his actual childhood home. Kelley's Homestead is now managed by the Museum of Contemporary Art in Detroit.
42. El Anatsui, "Many Moons," 2009
42. Many Moons by El Anatsui, 2007
The West African artist El Anatsui first showed this work at UCLA's Fowler Museum in 2007 for his exhibition titled Gawu. Anatsui's work takes on a tapestry-like form in the way that he stitches together bottle tops and scraps of paper wrappers with copper wire. His work becomes more delightfully complex with each unique installation of his work—as each one is uniquely draped for the respective exhibition space. Anatsui's cloths have made their debuts in exhibitions around the world, and received their well-due nod. New Yorkers finally get their chance to view the breadth of his work in his first New York museum solo exhibition: Gravity and Grace: Monumental Works by El Anatsui, open from February 8 to August 4, 2013 at the Brooklyn Museum.
41. Meleko Mokgosi, "Pax Kaffraria: Sikhuselo Sembumbulu," 2012
41. Pax Kaffraria: Sikhuselo Sembumbulu by Meleko Mokgosi, 2012
For an article in Art in America magazine, Meleko Mokgosi spoke to writer Brian Boucher on the origins of this work's title: "Pax Kaffraria is a term I made up...'Khaffraria' comes from a settlement established by the British in the early 19th century for mostly Xhosa people," he explains. "'Kaffrar' is the equivalent of 'n***er' in Afrikaans. So the project deals with issues of nationalism, anticolonial sentiment, and resistance, not only to the physical violence but the financialization of global capital." The work has become a milestone piece in studies of African politics and globalization, and Mokgosi explains it best.
image via
40. Taryn Simon, "Contraband," 2009
40. Contraband by Taryn Simon, 2009
Taryn Simon's well-known work Contraband features 1,075 photographs taken at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Federal Inspection Site and the U.S. Postal Service International Mail Facility at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. They were taken over a span of five days and five nights in November 2009, where Simon photographed all objects confiscated by TSA and Airport security. Items ranged from narcotics to apples and animal skeletons. They provided, according to the artist, "a look at an attempt to control what is considered threatening to economies, to personal safety, and to a nation."
39. Iwan Baan "The City and the Storm," 2012
39. The City and the Storm by Iwan Baan, 2012
The city: New York, New York. The storm: Hurricane Sandy. Dutch architectural photographer Iwan Baan captured the front cover of New York Magazine's November 12 issue with an aerial image of Manhattan in an almost unreal state—half lit due to a five-day power outtage in downtown. The image found its fair share of notoriety and helped Baan get representation by Perry Rubenstein gallery. His first show, The City and the Storm, opens in February in Los Angeles.
image via
38. Swoon, "Swimming Cities of the Switchback Sea," 2008
38. Swimming Cities of the Switchback Sea by Swoon, 2008
Swoon's fantastical 2008 work Swimming Cities of the Switchback Sea is a work that is, according to Judy Bloom of the New York Times, "part floating artwork, part performance, and part mobile utopia." The whimsical vessels were all made of purposefully eco-friendly, salvaged materials. The voyage would begin in Troy, New York and end in Long Island City, with five stops in between. Each boat held anywhere between 9 to 13 people and with seven boats in total, the project was a collaborative effort as much as it was a tremendous feat. It also required permits obtained for camping and docking, in addition to writing, acting, and rehearsing that went into the performances that took place at each stop along their journey. Swoon's legacy as a multi-faceted artist beyond this type of installation is set, but Swimming Cities of the Switchback Sea will forever set her apart.
37. Tom Sachs, "Space Project: Mars," 2012
37. Space Program: Mars by Tom Sachs, 2012
At the Park Avenue Armory, Mr. Sachs played on our curiosity for space and recent extraterrestrial explorations in connection to commercialized systems. Sach's Space Project: Mars found itself as somewhat of a hybridized project—somewhere between imitation of reality and authentic artistic investigation. Pulling from the fundamental human characteristic of curiosity and our yearning to discover, Sachs's created a world within a world for his Space Project, which enabled regular civilians to get in on the NASA-esque action.
36. Olafur Eliasson, "New York City Waterfalls," 2008
36. New York City Waterfalls by Olafur Eliasson, 2008
In 2008, Olafur Eliasson was able to create something very unusual in New York City—four man made waterfalls. At first, a typical urbanite might get swept away with the beauty of such a powerful natural force. Upon rounding the corner of the waterfall, construction reveals the scaffolding and industrial innards of the waterfalls. Eliasson's waterfalls remind us of the unavoidable relationship between nature and culture, but eventually all ends in complete awe and delight at these remarkable temporary landmarks.
35. Jonah Freeman & Justin Lowe, "Black Acid Co-op," 2009
35. Black Acid Co-op by Jonah Freeman, Justin Lowe, and Alexander Singh
Black Acid Co-op was a bizarre experience. The work filled the entire space of Deitch Projects in Soho, and transformed it into, as Roberta Smith puts it, a "warren of some dozen rooms, interiors, and passageways; it includes a burned-out home methamphetamine lab, a red-carpeted gallery of pseudo-artworks and a hippie haven." While walking from room to room in the chaos, the strange psychology of the world outside of the Black Acid Co-op begins to build and becomes nearly convincing, which makes the exit from the maze so much stranger.
34. Shirin Neshat, "Women Without Men," 2010
34. Women Without Men by Shirin Neshat, 2009
Iranian artist Shirin Neshat is known for her elegant work about the role of women in Islamic society. The breadth of her work ranges from photographs to film pieces, and her latest work Women Without Men was no exception. Neshat's latest production is an adaptation of Shahrnush Parsipur's novel of the same name, and follows the stories of five women in their intertwining tales of humanity, courage, and perseverance, making this an iconic work beyond the confines of just Islamic art.
33. Portraits of Hope, the Taxi and Limousine Commission and the Design Trust for Public Space, "Garden in Transit," New York City, 2007
33. Garden in Transit," New York City by Portraits of Hope, the Taxi and Limousine Commission and the Design Trust for Public Space, 2007
"Garden in Transit" is the kind of work that brings enrichment to everyday routine. The project was collaboration between 23,000 children and adults across New York City who painted the flowers on weatherproof panels that were applied to the thousands of taxis in the autumn of 2007. When else is a better time to stop and savor the flora than when hailing your cab?
32. William Powhida, "How the New Museum Committed Suicide with Banality," 2009
32. How the New Museum Committed Suicide with Banality by William Powhida, 2009
Powhida dished out a blatant indictment of the curatorial practice of New York City's New Museum. It was direct and unabashedly satirical. The caricatures of major art-world players look like MAD magazine illustrations posed playfully next to Powhida's biting criticisms. He chops the museum's programming up to personal connections, but one has to wonder how similar the structures of the New Museum are to other museums in the United States. Powhida's piece set a new standard for institutional critique from that point forward.
image via
31. Jon Rafman, "9 Eyes of Google Street View," 2009
31. 9 Eyes of Google Street View by Jon Rafman, 2009
Google has done a lot for our lives. It has provided us with a powerful search engine, social media accounts, breaking news, and even a new verb. But in the world of art, Google has found itself as an accessory to another cultural addition—Jon Rafman's 9 Eyes of Google Street View. In Google's attempt to photograph the streets of the world, they sent out a fleet of vehicles armed with nine-eyed cameras (nine cameras attached to single pole). Beginning in 2008, Rafman began to gather images of fleeting moments from Google Street View's collection of snapshots. The concept is simple, but its implications are far-reaching. Rafman highlights the pointed representation that Google gives to our contemporary society: faces, landscapes, moments of unplanned joy, destruction, and obscurity have their moments.
image via
30. Retna, "Houston Bowery Mural," 2012
30. Houston Bowery Mural by Retna, 2012
Retna a.k.a. Marquis Lewis has invented a now well-known alphabetic script, influenced by Egyptian hieroglyphs, graffiti, and calligraphy. Retna's unmistakable script is not just a pretty pattern—most works can be decoded by those in the know. This particular mural reads, "Watch the heartbeat of your wrist/a precise pulsing beat/of Life's drum. With a loss of timing, you are ill." The Houston Bowery Mural location has a long history with street art; work from artists such as Keith Haring, Os Gemeos, Barry McGee, and Shepard Fairey have donned the same wall in the past, making Retna's work a special piece defining the contemporary moment.
29. Maurizio Cattelan, "All," 2011
29. All by Maurizio Cattelan, 2011
Clearly the most practical thing to do for a retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum in New York is to hang all of the work in the center of the 92-foot atrium...and that is exactly what Italian artist, Maurizio Cattelan, did. The unconventional installation titled All was a feat in itself and its presentation made for a strange and altogether intriguing exhibition experience reminding us that art and artists will work without limitations.
image via
28. Wade Guyton "Untitled," 2008
28. Untitled by Wade Guyton OS, 2008
Guyton's work reconsiders elements of abstract art and appropriation through the lens of 21st-century technology. His main tools consist of Microsoft Word, Adobe Photoshop, a flatbed scanner, and an Epson Stylus Pro 4000/9600 inkjet printer, which he mainly uses for large-format printing onto canvas and linen. His body of work acknowledges qualities in machines that we usually only attribute to unique artistic genius. As early as 2004, Guyton has acknowledged the painterly potential of technology: "There is often a struggle between the printer and my material—and the traces of this are left on the surface—snags, drips, streaks, mis-registrations, blurs." Many contemporary artists and art historians would agree that Guyton's work is the most important among those examining our increasingly digital lives.
27. Damien Hirst, "The Complete Spot Paintings 1986 - 2011," 2011
27. The Complete Spot Paintings: 1986-2011 by Damien Hirst, 2011
Perhaps more fascinating than Damien Hirst's 300 spot paintings themselves was their concurrent exhibition at the infamous Gagosian galleries across the globe. Hirst's spots filled Gagosian spaces in Manhattan, Beverly Hills, London, Paris, Geneva, Rome, Athens, and Hong Kong. With this sensational global exhibition came a challenge: to visit all 11 Gagosian locations during "The Complete Spot Paintings" exhibition. Upon such a miraculous completion, one would be awarded with an original spot print from Mr. Hirst himself. While the exhibition inspired criticism over the elitism and privilege required to do the challenge, it also reminded us why Hirst remains an iconic, daring artist, never shy of doing something impractical or unbelievable.
26. Michael Heizer, "Levitated Mass," 1969 - 2012
26. Levitated Mass by Michael Heizer, 1969-2012
Known colloquially as "the Rock," Michael Heizer's latest project wooed Southern California residents on its 105-mile journey from the Riverside rock quarry to LACMA. The closely-documented tow lasted almost two weeks, because it's top transport speed was recorded at five miles per hour. Despite its tedious haul, Heizer's boulder attracted followers, reception crowds at pit stops, and full newspaper spreads over the course of the installation. Its notoriety in recent news is only a testament to the social and art historical parallels that are exposed, as Angelenos now gather around a massive rock akin to an ancient megalithic monument.
25. Patrick Martinez "Less Drake More Tupac"
25. Less is More by Patrick Martinez, 2011
Patrick Martinez, also known as Complex's Man of the Next Year in Art & Design, created the brilliant neon piece Less is More (also known as Less Drake More Tupac). The minimal blue and green neon sign certainly made waves upon its unveiling in 2011. Martinez found further notoriety when Drake bought the neon piece from Los Angeles' Known Gallery. As neon continues to rise in contemporary art trends, we're certain that art historians will look back at both Martinez's light work and paintings and see him as one of the forerunners of our time.
24. Ryan McGinley, "Ann (Slingshot)," 2007
24. Ann (Slingshot) by Ryan McGinley, 2007
Ryan McGinley's photographs are images that conjure up feelings of long road trips and a drifting, free-wheeling lifestyle that exists without passports, bank accounts, and clothes. McGinley's intimate snapshots reflect a distinct sense of fleeting whimsy and actions without consequence. His rise to fame in the art world was quick—one that has become as historical as his work itself—yet he continues to innovate, with Ann (Slingshot) being a definitive image in his vast, thought-provoking portfolio.
23. Catherine Opie, "Football Landscape #1," 2007
23. Football Landscape #1 by Catherine Opie, 2007
Catherine Opie's Football Landscape #1 is among a series of photographs that investigate the formation of identity in culture, in this case: masculinity in America. Taking football as a constant in American male culture, Opie proceeds to examine representations of gendered masculinity and its connection to this truly American activity. Among both art that studies culture and Opie's portfolio as a whole, Football Landscape #1 is a piece that will be forever remembered.
image via
22. Cory Arcangel, "Photoshop CS" series, 2008-present
22. Photoshop CS" series by Cory Arcangel, 2008-Present
Cory Arcangel's Photoshop CS gradient series makes us ask ourselves why we didn't think of it first. Even the titling of Arcangel's gradients reveals all the information necessary to (potentially) recreate the same gradient through any Photoshop program (e.g. the work featured above is titled Photoshop CS: 84 by 66 inches, 300 DPI, RGB, square pixels, default gradient 'Spectrum,' mousedown y=22100 x=14050, mouseup y=19700 x=1800). The mode of production is simple, seamless, and perhaps too much so. Regardless, the gradients have their own sort of magnetism and movement that engages us in a whole set of new yet familiar ways.
21. Marc Quinn, "Siren," 2008
21. Siren by Marc Quinn, 2008
Marc Quinn seems to have a fascination for when beauty meets its uncomfortable opposite. Siren finds itself in similar territory; Quinn presents a sculpture like a golden icon. After overcoming the gold-induced-blindness, we can begin to recognize the face among the provocatively tangled limbs: Kate Moss. Quinn gives her the name Siren after the deadly seductresses of the ocean that so often find their place in stories of Greek mythology, reminding us of the mesmerizing power that Moss has. While many artworks attempt to unite mythology with contemporary icons and iconography, Quinn's Siren marked a new way to do this sculpturally.
image via
20. Maurizio Cattelan, "L.O.V.E.," 2010
20. L.O.V.E. by Maurizio Cattelan, 2010
Cattelan's work often carries with it a sense of humor, and L.O.V.E. is no different; the pointed gesture pulls on the deep history of Italian Renaissance sculpture and the pathos of monuments. The statue itself is installed at the front of the Italian stock exchange building, which casts an entirely new light on Cattelan's tribute. Cattelan said of his work, "Officially its name is 'L.O.V.E.,' so it stands for love, but everyone can read between the lines and take away the message they see for themselves." As far as site-specific sculptures go, L.O.V.E. is one that will never be forgotten.
19. Francesco Vezzoli, "24-hour Museum," 2012
19. 24-hour Museum by Francesco Vezzoli, 2012
Vezzoli's temporary institution stimulates conversation on the relationship between commercial interest and purely cultural ones. Using the format of the pop-up shop, a popular form of more-than-a-booth, but less than brick-and-mortar, the Italian conceptual artist brings us the 24-hour Museum. Vezzoli's temporary reign over the Palais d'lena in Paris was funded by Italian fashion house Prada, and the venue was designed by AMO (also known as the alter ego of architect Rem Koolhaas' practice OMA). The grand opening began with a private dinner, then the space transformed into a nightclub. By dawn, the venue transitioned into a more demure, tempered museum setting "complete with school trips and a press conference," according to the Guardian article written by Alex Needham. While Francesco Vezzoli has had many experiential artworks throughout his career, in the form of performances, photographs, films, and more, 24-hour Museum is as much about institutional critique as it is about viewing museums in alternate ways, per the fast-paced 21st century we live in.
18. Chris Burden, "Urban Light," 2008
18. Urban Light by Chris Burden, 2008
Since the installation of Burden's Urban Light at LACMA in 2008, the work has become an easily recognizable landmark of the museum. Burden began collecting streetlamps from the 1920s and 1930s beginning in 2000. Eventually, Burden's collection became Urban Light, an assemblage piece of 202 restored streetlamps that brought a new feeling of illumination to LACMA's Wilshire Boulevard facade. As long as it is there, and even when it's not, the piece will be remembered as transformative and beautifying, even as it exists outside the museum itself.
17. Ai Weiwei "Grass Mud Horse Style," 2012
17. Grass Mud Horse Style by Ai Weiwei, 2012
Ai Weiwei continually finds a way to turn culture in on itself as a means of critique. This time, Weiwei dug his fingers into South Korean Pop singer Psy's latest international sensation "Gangnam Style." Weiwei's version is clearly a low-production knockoff of the original "Gangnam Style," and it is so on purpose. The short video features himself and a handful of others singing along and dancing while linked in handcuffs within the walls of his Beijing studio. In trend with other works by the notorious Weiwei, the video was banned by Chinese authorities shortly after its release. The blatant act of censorship has prompted a strong response, and a video collaboration between Amnesty International, dancer Akram Khan, and artist Sir Anish Kapoor was made as a gesture of support for Ai Weiwei and freedom of expression. While Weiwei has plenty of pieces that could be considered iconic in years to come, this parody engaged culture beyond China and the art world in its understanding of politics being embedded into pop culture.
16. David Hockney, "iPhone Drawing," 2009
16. iPhone Drawing by David Hockney, 2009
The touchscreen interface of Apple's iPhone was fascinating upon its debut in 2007 and was full of untapped potential. While some were ecstatic about organizing voicemails and music, artist David Hockney chose to indulge the technology in a much more fanciful way. His series of iPhone drawings in 2009 carry the same sort of painterly quality of his prior works, and show that Mr. Hockney is continually apt at producing work that is both pertinent and enjoyable.
image via
15. Takashi Murakami, Installation at Chateau de Versailles, 2010
15. Installation at Chateau de Versailles by Takashi Murakami, 2010
Although this intervention comes two years after the Koons version, Murakami's work takes on a personality all its own within the walls of Versailles. The smiling flower sculptures tangle with the floral arrangements of their Baroque backdrops and his Oval Buddha seemed to be at home by the gardens and main fountain. The Murakami-Versailles culture clash produced strange but invigorating relationships between the historical chateau and its eclectic inhabitants.
image via
14. Dan Colen & Dash Snow, "Nest," 2007
14. Nest by Dan Colen & Dash Snow, 2007
In the summer of 2007, 30 volunteers spent three days tearing up 2000 New York City telephone books to recreate Dash Snow and Dan Colen's famous, maniacally playful "hamster nest" in the Soho space of Deitch Projects. According to the Deitch Projects' press release, the infamous Nest has had multiple incarnations in "hotel rooms all over the world, existing only in occasional Polaroids, video, and the memories of exasperated hotel staff." While it may be a grim way to look at the piece, it certainly underscores the way its ideas were thought to last and pervade culture, as they still do today.
13. Christian Marclay, "The Clock," 2010
13. The Clock by Christian Marclay, 2010
The Clock is a 24-hour single-channel montage made of thousands of excerpted moments from television and cinema, depicting the passage of clock time. Marclay sifted through an innumerable number of sources to thread each moment together into a seamless functioning timepiece. The Clock vacillates between being a functional timekeeper and distorter, while consistently reminding us of the abstract nature of time itself.
12. Pussy Riot, Punk Rock Prayer, 2012
12. Punk Prayer - Mother of God, Chase Putin Away! by Pussy Riot, 2012
The Russian feminist punk rock collective Pussy Riot, founded in 2011, was known for their provocative performances in public locations both in and out of Moscow. In February, five members of the group carried out a performance at Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Their performance was mainly directed at Church leadership, and the echoes of their cries were heard as the performance made its way through the Internet. Global support amassed around the sentenced members Maria Alyokhina (24), Nadezhda Tolokonnikova (23), and Yekaterina Samutsevich, (30), who were sentenced in August.
image via
11. Ryan Trecartin, "Any Ever," 2009 - 2010
11. Any Ever by Ryan Trecartin, 2009-2010
Ryan Trecartin's films give us a distant mutation of reality. Regular parameters of space, time, and divisions (such as gender) soften their rigid structures to remind us of their truly arbitrary nature. Consequently, as the latter structures melt, we are left with a high-concentrate version of a reality full of anxiety. The seemingly uninhibited dialogue and hyper-imagery is not unlike the endless stream of information and images we receive everyday through our devices. These films and their relationship to contemporary experience remind us of how hysterical reality actually is.
image via
10. Rob Pruitt, "The Andy Monument," 2011
10. The Andy Monument by Rob Pruitt, 2011
The Andy Monument stands as a tribute to the late artist who changed the art-making paradigm in the 1960s, making his infamous studio, "The Factory" in NYC, the epicenter for his influence. Nicholas Baume, Director and Chief Curator of the Public Art Fund, said about the work, "Like so many other artists and performers and people who don't fit in because they're...different, Andy moved here to become who he was, to fulfill his dreams and make it big. He still represents that courage and that possibility." While Pruitt has been vocal about feeling unaccepted in the art world, The Andy Monument uniquely positioned him to accept praise from critics and affirmed his legacy as an artist in years to come.
9. Gilbert & George, "London Pictures," 2011
9. London Pictures by Gilbert & George, 2011
Everyday, tabloids print extravagant stories that flaunt the ostensible downfalls and triumphs of our society, and for the last six years, English duo Gilbert & George have been collecting them. London Pictures makes use of the cover stories in London's newspapers posters as a means to decrypt and catalog the woes of contemporary society. Many artists have been interested in the negativity throughout the media, but Gilbert & George depicted it in their signature, memorable way that will be remembered in years to come.
image via
8. Damien Hirst, "For the Love of God," 2007
8. For the Love of God by Damien Hirst, 2007
Hirst's momento mori comes in the form of a smiling human skull encrusted with 8,601 diamonds. The staggering 8,601 number includes the large pink pear-shaped diamond (fittingly known as the Skull Star Diamond), set in the center of the skull's forehead. For the Love of God was eventually sold for the $100 million asking price, making both its price and face thoroughly iconic.
image via
7. The Phantom Street Artist a.k.a. Joey Krebs, Leo Limon, Todd Moyer & others, Protest Performance at MOCA Geffen Contemporary, 2011
7. Protest Performance at MOCA Geffen Contemporary, Los Angeles by Joey Krebs, Leo Limon, Todd Moyer & others, 2011
As a part of the 2011 exhibition Art in the Streets, MOCA Los Angeles Director Jeffrey Deitch commissioned Italian street artist Blu to paint a mural. Upon completion of the mural, Deitch felt the content (rows of military-style coffins each draped with an oversized dollar bill) inappropriate and the mural was whitewashed within 24 hours. A debate ignited—was this a case of sensitivity or censorship? In an act of protest, a group of artists, activists, and passersby gathered at the former site of Blu's mural, armed with a projector and laser graffiti gun programmed to imitate the look of dripping paint. Needless to say, this fearless reaction to a mural's whitewashing reminds us all to remember our freedom of speech and reclaim our public spaces, especially tied to the rise of street art and discusssions of censorship within the medium.
image via
6. Barbara Kruger, "Untitled (Human History)," 2012
6. Untitled (Human History) by Barbara Kruger in collaboration with the Los Angeles Fund for Public Education and ForYourArt, 2012
Any billboard that announces catastrophe is designed to grab one's attention, and while sitting in everyday traffic on another 72º day in Los Angeles, Barbara Kruger reminds us of the crisis in the midst of all Americans: "SUPPORT PUBLIC EDUCATION OR FACE CATASTROPHE." Kruger's opportunity inspired the excitement of thousands of Angelenos, who see the billboards and buses on their daily commute, and the campaign becomes an inescapable interrogation.
5. Cecilia Gimenez, Restored version of Elias Garcia Martinez's "Ecce Homo," 2012
5. Restored version of Elias Garcia Martinez's 'Ecce Homo' by Cecilia Gimenez, 2012
The Cecilia Gimenez amateur restoration of Martinez's Ecce Homo has proven to be the most popular image of Jesus Christ for 2012. Though this rendition of Ecce Homo looks nothing remotely like Jesus or any human man, Cecilia Gimenez reminds us that unabashed pride in one's work can potentially bring you fame, memes, and a legacy that will last forever.
4. JR, "Women Are Heroes," 2008-2009
4. Women Are Heroes by JR, 2008-2009
Women Are Heroes by French "urban artivist" JR is an unrivaled and unprecedented work. His project took place around the globe, and with the help of over 100 people was able to complete this beautiful (and at times haunting) feat. The project began with a set of intimate portraits of women from a variety of places: Sierra Leone, Cambodia, Brazil, Kenya, Sudan, and India. All of the women he photographed had endured extreme trauma and hardship in their lifetimes, and some as young as 13 years old were featured. The photographs of these women were then printed in monumental scale and pasted on the public spaces of the world: the favela walls and stairwells in Brazil in addition to rooftops and train cars in Kenya.
image via
3. Shepard Fairey, "HOPE," 2008
3. H.O.P.E. by Shepard Fairey, 2008
Shepard Fairey, in his usual method of transforming figures into icons, did just the same with Barack Obama. He turned a single photograph into a dominating graphic force during the 2008 Presidential Election. "Hope" not only became a buzzword that November, but the image was emblazoned on everything from posters to coffee mugs and T-shirts. While Fairey got into a lot of legal trouble for the piece, it still marks the most memorable piece of political artwork America has had in the last 10 years, at least.
2. Ai Weiwei, "Sunflower Seeds," 2010
2. Sunflower Seeds by Ai Weiwei, 2010
Thanks to Ai Weiwei's iconic installation at Tate Modern in 2010, no sunflower seed will ever look the same again. Weiwei's critique on systems of production and the global economy temper to a poetic gesture that becomes just as much about artisanal qualities of originality as it is about strengthening communities. In Ai Weiwei's many works, Sunflower Seeds stands out as the moment that the art world and beyond began to understand his message and its relatability to all cultures.
1. Marina Abramovic, "The Artist Is Present," 2010
1. The Artist is Present by Marina Abramovic, 2010
Abramovic's performance The Artist is Present reads like life itself. Everyday from March 14 to May 31, 2010, as the museum awoke, Abramovic would be perched firmly on the second floor mezzanine of the MoMA in New York City. She would remain motionless in the same seat for the duration of the day until the museum closed and slipped into dormancy. The piece included viewer participation in which museum guests could sit opposite from Abramovic for as long as they desired. The Artist is Present performance accumulated to an unprecedented 736 hour and 30 minute performance. Staging the piece at MoMA was ambitious on the part of all involved. This piece, especially accompanied by the surrounding exhibition, will forever be remembered for reminding us of performance art's continued relevancy, in its ability to elevate the artist to a new level and allow art to exist within a museum in such an important way.