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Shepard Fairey Selected As Official GRAMMY Artist

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THE GRAMMYs
Recording Academy
Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

Graphic designer and contemporary artist creates official artwork for the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards

GRAMMY.com

(For a complete list of 52nd GRAMMY Award winners, please click here.)

Innovative illustrator Shepard Fairey has been selected to create the official artwork for the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards. The piece, which brings together traditional GRAMMY iconography with Fairey's unique approach to design, will be used as the official artwork for the world's premier music event and will grace the cover of the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards program book, telecast tickets, promotional poster, and 2010 GRAMMY Nominees CD.

"The Academy is always looking for ways to engage the creative community, and commissioning the official GRAMMY show art is always a great opportunity to recognize how all creativity intersects," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. "Shepard Fairey is as much a music fan as he is an artist, and his piece captures the tradition and timelessness of the GRAMMYs, while bringing a fresh and contemporary perspective to represent our 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards."

Fairey, a contemporary artist, graphic designer and illustrator, has spent the last 20 years creating unique and innovative art. A Rhode Island School of Design graduate, he was first recognized for his "Obey Giant" campaign, which was rooted in the counterculture of punk rock and skateboarding. In 2003, Fairy founded Studio Number One, and today it has become one of the top boutique creative design agencies in the country. The agency has produced artwork for a number of musical projects including the CD cover art for the Black Eyes Peas album Monkey Business and the poster art for the film Walk The Line. Fairey has also designed album covers for such artists as Anthrax, Flogging Molly, Led Zeppelin, and the Smashing Pumpkins.

In 2008, Fairey gained national attention when his "Hope" portrait of Barack Obama became an iconic image of the presidential campaign. In January 2009, the original image was acquired by the U.S. National Portrait Gallery and is on display in the Smithsonian Institution as part of its permanent collection.

In addition, Fairey has donated artwork to a number of charitable organizations including the ACLU, Feeding America, Hope for Darfur, Hurricane Katrina relief, and the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation. He also sits on the advisory board of Reaching to Embrace the Arts, a not-for-profit organization that provides art supplies to disadvantaged schools. This year the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston honored Fairey with a full-scale solo retrospective of his work entitled Supply And Demand, which is also the name of his career-chronicling book. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife and two daughters.

The 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards will be held on Jan. 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast live on the CBS Television Network at 8 p.m. (ET/PT). For updates and breaking news, please visit The Recording Academy's social networks on Twitter and Facebook.

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Todd White Named Official Artist

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THE GRAMMYs
Recording Academy
Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

White's official 49th Annual GRAMMY Awards artwork was unveiled at the nominee press conference

GRAMMY.com

Highly-regarded artist Todd White was selected to create the official artwork for the 49th Annual GRAMMY Awards, and his captivating work was unveiled today at the press conference announcing the nominations for the upcoming ceremony. The vibrant oil-on-canvas painting depicts a lively, colorful scene that celebrates music and the wide recognition of the GRAMMY Awards. The piece will be used as the official image for the world's premier music event, as well as grace the cover of the 49th Annual GRAMMY Awards program book and promotional poster.

"From its ability to connect people and transform individuals through its attitude, color and mood, music is powerful and ever-evolving. The Recording Academy is proud to have a unique artist of Todd White's caliber and passion involved in capturing this canvas of emotions in our 49th GRAMMY Awards artwork," said Recording Academy President Neil Portnow. "Todd's paintings are infectious, and his official GRAMMY piece truly captures the unique spirit and allure of Music's Biggest Night."

White's oil-on-canvas paintings have been described as "art with a twist." Whether capturing timeless scenes with contrasting colors or stolen moments in dominant colors of red, khaki, black and white, each tells a story of passion between lovers, friends, patrons and co-workers. Scenes depict intimate evenings filled with wine, martinis, coffee, cigarettes, cigars, cameras, and most importantly, the human spirit. Physiques are exaggerated and texturized to illustrate the subject's story, whether it is masked masculinity, flowered femininity, humor or elusive mystery. Details and backgrounds are manipulated to captivate the viewer's eye and transplant him into the scene. Each painting is asymmetrical in nature yet confident and strong.
 
White's rat-pack-meets-Picasso style results, in part, from his desire to reveal his characters' innermost thoughts and emotions. In addition to more obvious influences, such as Austrian expressionist Egon Schiele, White credits Frank Sinatra, Audrey Hepburn, Bridget Bardot, Nat King Cole and the style and feel of "the age of cool." His original oil-on-canvas paintings and limited edition prints have enjoyed considerable success in art galleries in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada.
 
Reminiscent of the German Expressionists, White seems to have captured an international trend in attitude, color, and mood. NBC's "Extra!" recently named him the "hot new artist" most sought after by high-profile celebrities. Collectors of his work include Vin Diesel, Michael Douglas and Hugh Hefner, among others.
 
"I wanted to celebrate the fact that all these people are together for a special occasion," says White of his GRAMMY piece, "and they're thinking, 'This isn't a competition.' But they’re also clearly thinking, 'I want that GRAMMY.'"

The 49th Annual GRAMMY Awards will be held on Feb. 11, 2007, at Staples Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast live on the CBS Television Network at 8 p.m. (ET/PT).

 

News

Phil Hansen Named Official Artist

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THE GRAMMYs
Recording Academy
Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

Multimedia artist created official 51st GRAMMY Awards artwork and accompanying performance video

GRAMMY.com

Innovative artist Phil Hansen has been selected to create the official artwork for the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards. The imaginative and unique piece will be used as the official artwork for the 51st GRAMMY Awards and will grace the cover of the awards program book, telecast tickets, and promotional poster. Additionally, a unique and entertaining time-lapse "making of" video is available on YouTube and will also be featured on GRAMMY.com, CBS.com and numerous social networking sites.

"We are so proud to have Phil Hansen, who has a truly one-of-a-kind vision, create this year's vibrant artwork," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy." By creating not only a physical work but also a video companion piece with a musical element, Phil combines many of the artistic disciplines The Academy strives to celebrate and puts a unique stamp on our annual artwork as the GRAMMY Awards head into the next 50 years. This piece truly exemplifies the spirit of the music industry's most coveted award."

Hansen has been on the cutting edge of online distribution and using the Web as a virtual museum for his paintings, videos and multimedia pieces. His approach has allowed audiences to connect with his artwork in creative new ways. His work often incorporates surprising media (eggs, Oreo cookies, matchsticks) and often has a video component. With some of his most daring work, the video is the only remaining evidence of the art.

For "Jimi," Hansen constructed an image of guitar great Jimi Hendrix in performance mode out of matchsticks, and then lit the piece on fire as a fitting tribute to Hendrix's own legendary guitar-burning performances. His piece "Destruction" used graphite on eggs, the latter of which were then broken one-by-one.

Hansen's creative approach of utilizing the Web to connect individuals with his art has been featured on "Good Morning America," CBS' "The Early Show," "The Rachael Ray Show," CNN, and on the CW's Online Nation as well as internationally in South Korea, Canada and England. His "Bruce" creation, which he submitted to CNN via its iReport site, has been viewed more than 3 million times on YouTube, Break and MySpace combined. 

Hansen, a self-taught artist, grew up in Shelton, Wash. He began his artistic career evolving the craft of pointillism but soon discovered that time-lapse videos capturing the process of creating his art was an art in itself. He continues to improve his technique and currently lives in St. Paul, Minn., where he creates most of his art in the basement of his home. To learn more about Hansen and to experience some of his work, please visit www.philinthecircle.com.

The 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards will be held on Feb. 8, 2009, at Staples Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast live on the CBS Television Network at 8 p.m. (ET/PT).

 

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2009 GRAMMY Nominees CD Released

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THE GRAMMYs
Recording Academy
Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

Collection features hits from 51st GRAMMY-nominated artists

GRAMMY.com

(For a complete list of 51st GRAMMY Awards winners, please click here.)

The Recording Academy's GRAMMY Recordings has partnered with Rhino Entertainment for the 2009 GRAMMY Nominees CD, the 15th edition of the best-selling series highlighting artists and songs nominated for the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards. The 20-song collection will be available Jan. 27 and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the CD will benefit the MusiCares Foundation and the GRAMMMY Foundation, two charitable organizations established by The Recording Academy.

The disc contains many of the most widely recognized GRAMMY categories. The 20 tracks from the 2009 GRAMMY Nominees CD represent nominees from the Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Best New Artist, Song Of The Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals categories. The nominees CD is made possible by a special arrangement with all of the major music distribution companies and rotates labels from year to year.

The artists featured on the release are Adele, Sara Bareilles, Coldplay, Duffy, Eagles, Estelle (featuring Kanye West), Gnarls Barkley, Jonas Brothers, Lady Antebellum, Leona Lewis, Lil Wayne (featuring T-Pain), Maroon 5, M.I.A., Ne-Yo, OneRepublic, Katy Perry, Pink, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Radiohead, and Jazmine Sullivan.

"This GRAMMY Nominees CD compilation represents some of the great songs and artists that make up this year's remarkable crop of nominees," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. "We thank Rhino Entertainment for its collaboration on this project, which will once again help fund the vital work of MusiCares and the GRAMMY Foundation, and we look forward to another successful, chart-topping year."

"We are thrilled to be working with The Recording Academy to present the best music from this past year," said Rhino Entertainment President Scott Pascucci. "The collection's dynamic range represents a great value for music fans. We are so proud to support the efforts of MusiCares and the GRAMMY Foundation."

The 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards will be held Feb. 8 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, and will be broadcast live in high-definition TV and 5.1 Surround Sound on the CBS Television Network at 8 p.m. (ET/PT). The show also will be supported on radio via Westwood One worldwide.

GRAMMYs
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National Governors Association Conference

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The National Governors Association Conference was held in Biloxi, Miss. on July 18 with 25 U.S. governors in attendance.
THE GRAMMYs
Recording Academy
Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

The National Governors Association Conference was held in Biloxi, Miss. on July 18 with 25 U.S. governors in attendance. At the invitation of conference host and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, Recording Academy President/CEO Neil Portnow was invited to address the attendees prior to a musical showcase of Mississippi artists including GRAMMY-winners Brandy and Paul Overstreet. Portnow spoke on the importance of state funding for music education. Other performers that participated in the salute to Mississippi music included Beatrice, Eddie Cotton, and the Williams Brothers.