Iconic image/ celebrity

when I made this lino cut it was intended as a simple mono tone print of Byron to add to the character/ icons of the Abbey series of prints I had started to generate some images/ ideas for the project, the emphasis on his brooding, poetic image.

When I pulled up the print it reminded me of James Dean( or maybe even Elvis),  in researching this image I discovered James Deans middle name is Byron! Spooky! They both have this bad boy image that is perpetuated by the media.

So it got me thinking about image and celebrity. The portraits in the house made at the discretion of the artist, the original photo shop and a way for a person to control their image from a position of privilege.

Post photography we now have so many black and white photo portraits, that are the iconic and enduring image of celebrities, etched into the public conciseness long after the person has aged and changed and died.

The idea of preserving something/ someone in a moment of time and it being dated by its aesthetics.

Byrons reputation as a bad boy and one of the first celebrities of his time.I like the idea of playing around more with his image, he is the poster boy for Newstead as its most famous resident 

I'm torn between a couple of ideas now.. but will pursue this a little way before making a firm decision for the final piece.

Image by photographer Dennis Stock