Dora Ciccone

Like a Madonna Picasso Prayer

Killer Queen

Madonna by Betty

A brilliant sketch by my great friend Betty done around 1987 of Madonna's Island Magazine cover.

1990 Omnibus Madonna Special

One of the greatest specials on Madonna - her importance in culture, music, art, fashion. Her legacy and body of work is so immense that we're still living in its aftermath.

The year of this special was 1990. Madonna had just finished her third tour, the aptly and perfectly titled Blond Ambition - the tour that is still influencing concerts today - 21 years after the fact. Madonna is here commenting on her cultural impact over the last 7 years.

We have great commentaries with fantastic Greil Marcus, cultural historian from Artforum Magazine, on so much from her reaction to the nudes to her Like a Prayer which he describes as "blasphemy on ten levels at once - which is as strong and as upsetting a piece of public work that you're going to see". Kristine McKenna from the Los Angeles Times on her "mythical status". Andre Leon Tally from Vogue Magazine on her being "a goddess of style for fashion, especially for high fashion in Paris - the force of her fantasy is accessible to everyone from eighteen to eighty". Glenn O'Brien from Interview magazine on her having "a medium like ability to read the minds of the audience" and "being a religious figure herself". Her high school teacher, Marilyn Fellows, about her "quality of charisma." The Harvard University course that was taught on Madonna. Her jaded brother, Christopher Ciccone. Carl Arrington from People magazine stating how she "seized back the crucifix." Luc Sante from New Republic Magazine on Madonna's "Post Modernism". Of course, we have the wonderful and fabulous Christopher Flynn - her dance teacher and mentor, wondering "where's my little Madonna?" Stephen Bray on "her having written 14 songs" before he had written even one and the honesty of her songwriting. And so many and so much more!!! Here are all 4 parts for your educational and viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

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Illustration by Frank (2)

Illustration by Frank

Illustrator, artist and great Madonna fan, Frank from Spain sent me his wonderful work. More to come soon. Thanks Frank. xo

Cherish At Land

In 1944, dancer, photographer, poet, artist, daughter of psychiatrist, self promoter, and film maker Maya Deren (born Eleanora Derenkowsky) made her second film, At Land.  I believe the first minute of her 15 minute experimental surrealist film, about preserving ones self identity, influenced Madonna and Herb Ritts for Cherish.

The parallels between Maya and Madonna are interesting for the cerebral Madonna fan and it's not a far stretch to see why Madonna was attracted to this defiant spirit and her experimental work.

Narcissism, mirrors, choreography, self portraiture, movement, and identity are themes that not only run through At Land but in much of Maya's work.

If you get the chance, watch the wonderful documentary of Maya's life, In the Mirror of Maya Deren.

Here is the first minute of At Land.

Gursky Photo of Madonna Show Could Fetch $2 Million

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Sotheby's upcoming contemporary-art sale in London is getting a dose of celebrity wattage from post-Warholian pop icon Madonna, thanks to a personalized photograph by Andreas Gursky that is scheduled to go on the block Feb. 10. Titled Madonna I, the nine-foot-high photo is an aerial shot of the singer playing to a packed Los Angeles audience on Sept.13, 2001. Part of her Drowned World Tour, the emotionally-charged concert had originally been scheduled for September 11, but was called off in the wake of the World Trade Center attacks. In the photo, Madonna has an American flag tied around her waist.

Gursky, the coveted artist known for his outsize, minutely detailed photographs, gave the photograph to Madonna — an art collector who owns more than 300 paintings by artists from Picasso and Man Ray to Damien Hirst — and inscribed a dedication to her on the back. Sotheby's estimates that the photograph could fetch as much as $2.1 million at auction. Madonna, however, is not the seller. According to the sale's catalogue, she parted with the piece in 2005, either cashing it in or giving it away, leading some to surmise the photo has been consigned by her ex-husband, Sherlock Holmes director Guy Ritchie.

http://www.artinfo.com

American Life TV Commercial plus Album Art

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