New book: Artworks of Michael Jackson

[passy001]

Please don't spam the thread if you have nothing to say.

 

[myosotis]

^^Tygger-are there any pictures that Michael drew as a child, or are they all drawn when he was an adult?

Can I just add to Tygger's earlier reply...There are indeed some photos of young Michael with his art in the initial chapter. These photos have also been available on the internet for a while now. eg MJ at Hayvenhurst with his Chaplin drawing, MJ in the garden with his painting of a pot full of artists brushes, late-teen MJ seated sketching. There is also a small reproduction of young Michael's 'Chaplin' ink sketch.

As regards the legality discussion, I think the book can be bought legally, but whether all of the contents can be sold legally is not certain. I would imagine that the Estate will have the opportunity to claim substantial financial redress if the sales are not legal, including presumably compensation in regard to every book sale made.

 

[Bubs]

I most certainly don't believe for second Michael gifted these drawings to B L-S.
He kept these drawings all of his life, then enter Tohme, and few months after all sort of Michael's stuff are making disappearing act.
Tohme was hired late June, by August he was selling MJ's stuff to Julien's auction house, then a little later giving away Michael's drawings?
September 23 June G recorded Michael when he said he doesn't know what is in his accounts etc... and is afraid of Tohme, and are we supposed to believe that after that MJ went to Tohme and told him to "give away my drawings to Brett"?

As for what comes to Dieter Wiesner, he can stuff his books to his a.... as he ain't going to get a penny from me. It was proven that he stole from Michael during the time he was meddling as Michael's manager, and then he sued Michael in lawsuit which he called MJ as "former pop star" (directly from his lawsuit against MJ).

Now, when it suit him, he is all about international pop star/close friend/ yada yada.....
I seriously hate to see Dieter making any money out of Michaeluke:

 

[Tygger]

As regards the legality discussion, I think the book can be bought legally, but whether all of the contents can be sold legally is not certain. I would imagine that the Estate will have the opportunity to claim substantial financial redress if the sales are not legal, including presumably compensation in regard to every book sale made.

Indeed, this book of reproductions can and is currently being sold legally until it is decided otherwise.

In the future, it may be decided the Estate is eligible for a percentage of profits from this book of reproductions. I dare say, those profits will be meager, not substantial.

 

[Virre]

How can anyone support Dieter and his book? He´s on Michael´s list over people not to trust.

 

[Snow White luvs Peter Pan]

Some people would buy anything that has Michael's name no matter which scumbag is behind it. DW without a doubt is one of those.

 

[AliCat]

Michael's work is a time capsule, which is why HIStory made sense. Michael befriended Bill Clinton (on account of Bill Clinton's womanizing way's) and did sing at the Clinton Inaugural Gala - Jan 93, which makes sense why Bill Clinton would have Michael's art work!

John Travolta would have been from the "Liberian Girl" short film.

Just a trivia moment in my life was when I met John Travolta outside his apartment building, back in the summer of 1978. He was huge because of "Saturday Night Fever," and "Grease," starring with Olivia Newton John, who is also in "Liberian Girl."

 

[krikzil]

I reached out to the Estate through the Online Team for an answer. (They've responded quickly in the past to several inquiries I've made.)

Hi Liz,

Thanks for reaching out. We have confirmed that the Estate did not authorize this book so I think it’s safe to say that your, and the greater fan community’s, concerns about Mr. Wiesner are justified.

Best,

MJOnline
The Official Online Team of The Michael Jackson Estate™

 

[Snow White luvs Peter Pan]

I thought people would inquire if a book has limited release in Germany, it's highly probable it wasn't authorized. Good to see comfirmation from The Estate's people.

 

[Tygger]

Question please: what did anyone expect the Estate to say?

The Estate will not encourage anyone, fan or no, to purchase a book of reproductions by the man they represent when they may not profit directly from those purchases.

Krizkil, I would be interested to know if you asked the Estate if it was legal for a fan – or no – to purchase these reproductions of Michael’s work. I am sure if you did, the Estate did not (and will not) respond to that question.

There is no legal requirement at this time for the Estate to authorize this book so of course, they would not.

In case you were wondering, it is legal to purchase this book until it is legally decided otherwise.

Tis a good book indeed.

 

[ivy]

The Estate will not encourage anyone, fan or no, to purchase a book of reproductions by the man they represent when they may not profit directly from those purchases.

Not true , they endorsed author/journalists when they weren't directly profiting from their books. Vogel, Anderson etc. a few names that comes to mind.

 

[Tygger]

Ivy, please re-read what I said.

 

[barbee0715]

Michael's work is a time capsule, which is why HIStory made sense. Michael befriended Bill Clinton (on account of Bill Clinton's womanizing way's) and did sing at the Clinton Inaugural Gala - Jan 93, which makes sense why Bill Clinton would have Michael's art work!

John Travolta would have been from the "Liberian Girl" short film.

Just a trivia moment in my life was when I met John Travolta outside his apartment building, back in the summer of 1978. He was huge because of "Saturday Night Fever," and "Grease," starring with Olivia Newton John, who is also in "Liberian Girl."

Well, that's a super cool story- 78 was great with SNF and Grease and Wiz all coming out-what a fun time and you ran into Travolta?

Yes, I know Michael became pretty good friends with Clinton (but didn't know he made friends with him because he was a womanizer?). That seems odd.
Michael wasn't political, but Clinton gave him quite a bit of credit for swinging the election his way due to his influence. And of course, later, he performed at the Democratic Fund Raiser at the Apollo and visited him in Harlem, etc.
And of course, Michael and John go way back since they were both spending quite a bit of time in Studio 54 while filming their movies in 77-I've seen scads of pictures of them together.

But all of the pictures posted with the prints were fairly recent-and I was just wondering the context in which they were taken-were they taken at Michael's house? I know Oprah's was, because I saw her on TV with the MLK pix when she visited his mother. The others look like they may have been somewhere like an Awards ceremony-something that Dieter was involved with? Did Michael give some of these prints as gifts-is that why Clinton has one? I don't know.

 

[AliCat]

Well, that's a super cool story- 78 was great with SNF and Grease and Wiz all coming out-what a fun time and you ran into Travolta?

Yes, I know Michael became pretty good friends with Clinton (but didn't know he made friends with him because he was a womanizer?). That seems odd.
Michael wasn't political, but Clinton gave him quite a bit of credit for swinging the election his way due to his influence. And of course, later, he performed at the Democratic Fund Raiser at the Apollo and visited him in Harlem, etc.
And of course, Michael and John go way back since they were both spending quite a bit of time in Studio 54 while filming their movies in 77-I've seen scads of pictures of them together.

But all of the pictures posted with the prints were fairly recent-and I was just wondering the context in which they were taken-were they taken at Michael's house? I know Oprah's was, because I saw her on TV with the MLK pix when she visited his mother. The others look like they may have been somewhere like an Awards ceremony-something that Dieter was involved with? Did Michael give some of these prints as gifts-is that why Clinton has one? I don't know.

Bill Clinton was practically impeached because of his antics with Monica Lewinski. Then there was the issue with his mistress, Jennifer Flowers, when Bill Clinton was Governor of Arkansas. Bill Clinton was definitely a womanizer. By the time Blanket was born to Michael, Bill Clinton needed a friend.

Meeting John Travolta was pretty cool. I had first seen John Travolta when he did the sit com, "Welcome Back Kotter." I was in the audience for that. I really liked "Saturday Night Fever," because of the dancing. "Grease" was a great musical. How I happened to meet John Travolta was because I thought it would be fun to get a map and go see where the star's lived. I drove up from Del Mar and headed to Sunset Strip, hoping to find a place that sold one of those maps. Instead, I saw a crowd standing in front of this one building. So I parked and went over to investigate. It turns out that John Travolta was making a film with Lily Tomlin. Someone in the crowd was a neighbor of John's and told me where he lived. So I decided to go find the apartment building. I found it and headed back to where John was filming. I parked my car and right in front of me was John Travolta sitting in a limo waiting to go home. Filming was done for the day. He waved at me and I thought that was so cool. So I headed back to my car just to follow the limo. The driver was pretty fast and so I lost the limo. Instead I drove over to John's apt. building. I parked the car and thought I had missed John, as a limo was pulling out of an underground parking area. Then the limo with John in it pulled up to the front door, where I was standing. John was super nice, as we talked a bit and then I said good bye. All I could think was, "I'm talking to the biggest superstar in the world!" Unfortunately, John's career faded after that, for a while. That film he made with Lily Tomlin was a total bomb.

I still think that Michael gave those drawings as gifts to the different individuals, when he was with them, which I'd mentioned above. When "Thriller" hit, Michael was a huge superstar and any celebrity that Michael gave a drawing to, would take care of the item, like a prized possession. I like that Paul McCartney had a drawing of a Japanese geisha.

 

[barbee0715]

^^I see. I wasn't sure if you meant that he gave them as gifts. Makes sense. He have a couple to David Gest that he made when he was a kid. (Who tried to sell them).
I think Travolta would be nice so good to hear. I remember that movie being a bomb.

 

[morinen]

I have purchased the book, it came in the mail just the other day. I'll leave a review here for those who are interested.

Let me first say that I couldn't care less who gifted what to whom, who has rights to what and who endorsed what in today's reality. All I'm interested in is releases showcasing Michael's talent or personality one way or another, so I'll review the book from this perspective.

This book is probably one of the most treasured MJ-related items I have by far - because it's the only book that shows a rarely explored dimension of Michael's genius: his talent of a visual artist. It is designed as an art album, has the same large format and printed on an expensive glossy paper. The only thing that spoils the impression a bit is the cover - it's not in jacket, but instead has a regular pasteboard cover which tends to get wrinkled, so it really makes the book look cheaper than it should.

The book starts with a foreword by Katherine Jackson (in German, like the rest of the book) followed by a short interview with her. Then there is a sizable story of "Jackson-Strong alliance" which talks about Michael's interest in art and how the works showcased in the book came to be (at least I assume it does, my German isn't that good to read it all carefully, haha).

Then there is a chapter that touches on depiction of Michael in different works of art. Warhol's portrait is shown, as well as several Michael portraits from Neverland. Then follows the main portion of the book - the one with Michael's drawings.

It's definitely not a full collection of his works - I can recall many images that are not included there - but it's a very good representative collection. Most of the works are done with crayons and there is one landscape painting that I think is done in watercolors (the first and only watercolors work I've seen of Michael's). The collection starts with different geometric forms which, I guess, Michael drew as an exercise. Then there are a few drawings of his signature symbols - the toe-stand, the hat and glove and a self-portrait from the Thriller video. Then there are drawings of Disney characters followed by various full-size human bodies (including another self-portrait of himself in the Chinese outfit similar to this https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3543/3313622221_d098fff149.jpg). Then there is a series of very, very impressive portraits - he really was a great portraitist (I found his picture of Clark Gable simply amazing). These works show that if Michael didn't make a career in music, he could definitely become a successful artist - like many geniuses, his talent was multi-faceted. Finally, the collection ends with a series of ornaments - chairs, gates, keys. I found these drawings interesting mostly due to the attention to detail - the ornaments are really intricate and detailed. After hearing from multiple people that Michael's attention span was short and he never could focus long enough to master a musical instrument, I was surprised to see how much attention and effort went into these drawings.

All drawings are dated and have annotations explaining their story.

The book is definitely a collectors item and something Michael's fans will appreciate. One day, I'm sure, the general public will appreciate it too. I wish this project was backed by the estate - because it deserves to be released in English, promoted to a wider audience and receive the finishing touches that would do it justice in terms of quality. I think if the publishers and the Estate had made a deal, this would have been a win-win for both sides, and definitely a win for Michael's legacy. But alas.. I'm glad that it saw the light of day even as it is, and in German.

For a sneak peek, see this video someone posted

 

[MzKittyCat777]

Same here, I don't believe MJ would give BLS everything at all.

I still cringe when I see that photo of OPRAH being allowed to touch MJ's artwork, after she repeatedly denigrated him by perpetuating the myth that he was guilty of the allegations against him when she should have been accurately informing the public that there was never any actual evidence against him.

With her own personal experience at being sexually abused and how the media reported about it, I think that affected her mindset about the whole matter. I do not fully agree with all the things she's ever said. But I also do not think she's a bad person. People make mistakes, she's human after all. I just hope she woke up and realised that she was in the wrong for her asessment on the whole matter.

On a different note as to be on topic with this thread. I think that book is pretty cool. I don't know enough about legal terms and stuff so I'm not going in on that matter lol. I just hope it was published legally.

 

[barbee0715]

@morinen-thanks for posting the video of the book. Quite lovely.

 

[Tygger]

Morinen, I was also impressed by Michael’s attention to detail and skill with portraits. I am also quite pleased that I have access to these quality reproductions in an affordable format. The slip cover would be appreciated, however; the absence of a slip cover reduces production costs which translate to savings for the purchaser.

After hearing from multiple people that Michael's attention span was short and he never could focus long enough to master a musical instrument, I was surprised to see how much attention and effort went into these drawings.

On the contrary, his artworks are a testament to his patience. Can you name these people? I have not heard these comments.

It's definitely not a full collection of his works - I can recall many images that are not included there - but it's a very good representative collection.

Can you speak more to the works that are not included; specifically, the number of works not included in your estimation?

I just hope it was published legally.

Amazon Germany would not sell this book illegally.

 

[CherubimII]

Michael Jackson's Artwork is AMAZING!!!! :woohoo:
Is there anyway I can purchase this book in the United States?

 

[Tygger]

Is there anyway I can purchase this book in the United States?

No, however; Amazon Germany ships to U.S.:
http://www.amazon.de/Kunstwerke-von...p/3724520905/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8

 

[myosotis]

Can you speak more to the works that are not included; specifically, the number of works not included in your estimation?

Amazon Germany would not sell this book illegally.

If I can add some information here...
The original article about the 'collection' said:
In an astonishing appraisal of the 182-pieces, obtained exclusively by Star, the “rare intact major collection” was valued at a whopping $902.52 million, with “an invaluable pedigree for future sales in the international art market.”

But these 182 pieces seem to include non-MJ art, such as:

- An interesting political relic: The U.S. Presidency Seal signed by President Ronald Reagan. Jackson had visited the White House on May 16, 1984.
- Hand-signed sepia prints of ‘The Book,’ reputed to be the only portrait he ever posed for. The portrait depitcs Jackson dressed in red velvet holding a journal of thoughts and sketches.
- The collection also includes a rocking chair made by one of President John F. Kennedy’s White House staffers for the president’s use in the oval office during his term in office.
The chair was presented to Michael by Walt Disney’s brother, Roy E. Disney.

I don't think it is possible to know at this stage how many of the collection items are not works of art by Michael. There seem to be around 70-80 works by Michael featured in 'Kunstwerke'.

Michael Jackson's Artwork is AMAZING!!!!
Is there anyway I can purchase this book in the United States?

I can see one seller (Stork Group) listed on Amazon.com, which ships from MD. You have to search for the book's German title on the Amazon.com website :
Kunstwerke von Michael Jackson


http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-list...8-1&keywords='kunstwerke+von+michael+jackson'

 

[Augustino]

That last gate is just amazing. Look at the details. He has such a unique style, so precise and finespun.

 

[morinen]

On the contrary, his artworks are a testament to his patience. Can you name these people? I have not heard these comments.

Well, Brad Buxer says it - specifically, that Michael wanted to be taught piano/keyboard, but never had enough patience to sit down and actually learn. I believe, David Nordahl said the same about their art lessons - that MJ initially hired him for art lessons but those never went far because Michael didn't have time or patience, and instead Nordahl became his artist. So it is surprising to me that Strong seemed to have found an approach that helped Michael focus and actually spend significant time on this.

Can you speak more to the works that are not included; specifically, the number of works not included in your estimation?

I can't estimate the number because it's unknown how many in total are out there. But as myosotis pointed out, these works are from one private collection - so anything Michael did with Nordahl, or while he doddled in the recording studio, or any of the stuff that turns up at the auctions is not included. But in terms of diversity of the works showcasing Michael's abilities, I'd say it's a representative collection.

In regards to purchase - I bought mine from amazon.de and it arrived in California in about 2 weeks.

 

[ivy]

Well, Brad Buxer says it - specifically, that Michael wanted to be taught piano/keyboard, but never had enough patience to sit down and actually learn. I believe, David Nordahl said the same about their art lessons - that MJ initially hired him for art lessons but those never went far because Michael didn't have time or patience, and instead Nordahl became his artist. So it is surprising to me that Strong seemed to have found an approach that helped Michael focus and actually spend significant time on this.

I don't know if it's true or not but some people said many of the MJ- Strong pieces (especially the portraits) are actually traced and/or referenced from actual photographs etc. If true, it might have made it easier / quicker.

 

[CherubimII]

I can see one seller (Stork Group) listed on Amazon.com, which ships from MD. You have to search for the book's German title on theAmazon.com website :
Kunstwerke von Michael Jackson


http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...ael+jackson%27

Thanks, I was able to order it from the seller from Maryland. :give_heart:

 

[Rhilo]

I think he referenced, but didn't trace his drawings. With tracing you can't get capture the finer details.


Maybe patience, or lack of it, was the reason he stuck to sketching, which doesn't take as much time as say, oil painting.

 

[barbee0715]

I don't know if it's true or not but some people said many of the MJ- Strong pieces (especially the portraits) are actually traced and/or referenced from actual photographs etc. If true, it might have made it easier / quicker.

I think most of the portraits were referenced from photos, but as someone who used to draw most of my life, it would be difficult to trace a photo. And to me, its as difficult to draw a realistic portrait from a photo as it is from real life.

I learned to draw by copying Disney Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, etc. when I was little and wrote my own fairy tale comic books, so I find his Disney pix most interesting.

 

[Tygger]

Morinen, thanks for the response. Nordahl and Buxer's views about Michael's patience in regards to two tasks does not mean Michael was not a patient man overall. His patience shows in his drawings. It takes patience to draw/sketch the type of detail and depth Michael showed.

Ivy, anyone accusing or suggesting Michael traced any artwork that has been reproduced in this book is simply ill informed about art and seeks to damage Michael's reputation for their reasons.

Tracing does not allow for depth/nuances. There are those who will trace an image and then add depth/nuances to the results to hide from the fact an image was traced. Even then, it is quite simple to locate the original image that was traced as the dimensions of the original image and the resulting traced image will be an exact match. There is no crime in referencing a photograph and attempting to replicate that image. That is not tracing.

By the way, who would those people be who are accusing Michael of tracing? Ridiculous.

 

[myosotis]

^ I agree. I think tracing a photograph would be (to Michael) like 'counting the beat' in learning choreography. I think he 'felt' his art as much as he 'felt' his dance and music. I agree that photographs may have been used as references, but since many have some factual basis eg portraits, existing architecture, he would have had to have used a reference of some kind.

The only time that I have seen discussion of 'MJ' drawings being traced, is in relation to drawings by people who were faking
Michael's art.

As to patience, I think Michael had infinite patience for the things he really wanted to do, like perfecting the moonwalk, or rehearsing other choreography. Even in his singing, I have heard it said that he would do voice warm ups for a long time before recording. These are very repetitive exercises, and I think must take a lot of patience to work through.