Graham Coxon 2000

Julian Opie's portrait of Graham Coxon simplifies the face to a series of bold lines and flat planes of colour. It's not dated, but we can assume it was created in the early 2000s, when Opie began his ongoing series of portraits. Opie is an English artist whose style draws heavily on pop art, and you can see this in the image’s striking graphic style. The cultural reference point here is Andy Warhol, who elevated the celebrity portrait to an art form in the 1960s. However, Warhol's portraits often captured something of the sitter's inner life, whereas Opie's image is more surface than depth, making it highly contemporary. The effect is deadpan and cool. The interpretation of art always depends on the social and institutional context in which it's made. If we want to dig deeper into this image, we might explore how celebrity culture works and the role of the media in shaping our perceptions of famous people. We could also consider the way Opie's work is marketed and consumed within the art world.