When Art meets Covid-19: How Artists are Taking on the Virus | Phase 1

Now that the museums are closed, new ways of making cultural visits have been developed. Check out our selection of virtual tours of the best museums around the world here:

World Best Art Exhibitions now in VR from the Comfort of your Home | Part 1

World Best Art Exhibitions now in VR from the Comfort of your Home | Part 2

Today we invite you to visit a different type of exhibition. Its name is Covid Art Museum and it is the first virtual museum for the art at the time of Corona. Register to the Lot-Art blog to receive news from the Art world.

Art has many forms, but in today's society, digital art is becoming more and more popular. The technique of digital collage photoshopping of some of the most famous paintings and masterpieces is what we show in this article: contemporary artists rethinking Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, and other world-renowned painters by adapting their most popular works to corona times.

Here is a selection of some of the best artworks, including Illustrations, edited photographs, and 3D renderings, all inspired by life during COVID 19.

Left: Painters and their masks - Pablo Picasso, by @failunfailunmefailun; Right: Painters and their masks - Frida Khalo, by @failunfailunmefailun

Ertan Atay a.k.a @failunfailunmefailun starting point is the thought of “Everything that attracts attention and makes one want to take a second look is special.” He likes to "make difference in perception". Interested in Renaissance paintings, Ertan likes to put them together with modern times. Inspired by the current times he creates the series "Painters and their masks" where he illustrates famous artists like Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, Edvard Munch, Vincent van Gogh and Salvador Dalí with masks representing their artworks.

Left: Put the mask, by @hayatininevreni; Right: Reverence, by @hayatininevreni

Another artist who makes "Mashups Of The Most Famous Artworks In History And Contemporary Pop Culture" is Hayati Evren. He is inspired by people he sees in everyday life. His art integrates inspiration from mundanity with acclaimed classic works like Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci or The Souls of Acheron by Adolf Hirémy-Hirschl.

Left: Painters and their masks - Edvard Munch, by @failunfailunmefailun; Right: Welcome Corona, by @hayatininevreni

The Scream by Edvard Munch is one of the most manipulated artworks by today's digital artists. The agonized face in the painting has become one of the most iconic images of art, seen as symbolizing the anxiety of the human condition. As anxiety is so common today, there are numerous edits of the painting. Especially now during the lockdown, artists see it as a way to express the current condition of many people affected by the virus.

Interesting fact: The 1895 pastel-on-board version of The Scream sold at Sotheby's in London for a record price of nearly US$120 million on 2 May 2012. After the sale, Sotheby's auctioneer Tobias Meyer said the work was "worth every penny", adding: "It is one of the great icons of art in the world and whoever bought it should be congratulated."

Left: Painters and their masks - Vincent van Gogh, by @failunfailunmefailun; Right: Stay Inside, by @hayatininevreni

Vincent van Gogh is one of the biggest inspirations of today's artists. His artworks have been used by almost every digital "retoucher". The Bedroom has been manipulated by the artists on Instagram to represent the quarantine days and call people to stay at home.
While Van Gogh was in Arles, he made this painting of his bedroom in the Yellow House. He prepared the room himself with simple furniture and with his own work on the wall. The bright colours were meant to express absolute ‘repose’ or ‘sleep’. Hayati Evren used it as a background to spread the message of one of the fastest-growing Instagram accounts, @dudewithsign with 7.1 million followers. In his edit, Evren transforms @dudewithsign into Van Gogh. What a better way to grab the attention and spread an important message like "Please Stay Home" in a funny way inviting people to take the needed ‘repose’ and ‘sleep’ during the quarantine?

Left: Painters and their masks - Salvador Dalí, by @failunfailunmefailun; Right: The Persistence of Corona, by @hayatininevreni

Masks, sanitizers, and gloves are today's essentials. They became so popular as never before. Artists use them in almost every edit they create related to Corona.
In his art, Hayati Evren replaces the well-known surrealist piece in The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dalí, the soft melting pocket watch with a glove and a mask. The pocket watch epitomizes Dalí's theory of "softness" and "hardness", which was central to his thinking at the time.
The orange clock at the bottom left of the original painting is covered in ants. Dalí often used ants in his paintings as a symbol of decay. For Evren, a symbol of decay is obviously the coronavirus, as he replaces Dalí's aunts with illustrations of the virus.

Left: Quarantine - Day 11, by @hayatininevreni; Right: #quarantinedays Tag your friends you already miss, by @failunfailunmefailun

In the famous Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo da Vinci, the Ermine becomes KFC food, representing eating habits during quarantine days in an amusing way.
As many people miss their friends during self-isolation, Ertan Atay makes an interesting collage art where the characters of the famous TV show Friends are replaced with the faces of Van Gogh, Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dalí, Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa and the Girl with a Pearl Earring by Vermeer.

Left: “Modern Love in 2020.” 1, by @mehmetgeren; Right: “Modern Love in 2020.” 2, by @mehmetgeren

Love in days of self-isolation is represented by the Retoucher & Designer Mehmet Geren who created the series "Modern Love in 2020". His edit of The Kiss by Hayes represents today's reality very accurately, where Face Time becomes a symbol of Modern Love.
Another inspiration for "Modern Love in 2020" was The Follow Me project that is based on the concept of showing the beauty and uniqueness of different locations around the world. It is a story told through the eyes of two ordinary travelers who attempt to portray local lifestyles and narratives by means of photography. In each stunning image, photographer Murad Osmann is led to a new location by his girlfriend, Nataly Zakharova. Today the only way to visit different locations around the world is via photographs and @mehmetgeren's message is "#staysafe #stayhome #staystrong".

Left: #corona, by @mehmetgeren; Right: “Modern Love in 2020.” 3, by @mehmetgeren

The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo has become iconic for humanity. The fresco has been reproduced in countless imitations and parodies and it is one of the most replicated religious paintings of all time. In his edit, @mehmetgeren puts the so essential gloves on the hands of God and Adam. The original fresco illustrates the Biblical creation narrative from the Book of Genesis in which God gives life to Adam, the first man where Adam's finger and God's finger aren't touching. It gives the impression that God, the giver of life, is reaching out to Adam who has yet to receive it. The message in Geren's retouch is very strong and represents the current times where people do not have to shake hands and wearing gloves can save lives.

Left: Love these days be like, by @donna_adi; Right: #BreakfastAtTiffany, by @keratill

Donna Adi is an artist and creative director from Los Angeles whose illustrative twists have taken the internet by storm. Today, she illustrates and orchestrates brand campaigns and events for companies like Balmain, Puma, Google and Michael Kors. Her emergence onto the scene dates back to 2016, when she created a popular multimedia art style that has since gone viral - one in which she combines vibrant illustrations with lifestyle and fashion photographs. Her artwork unveils deeper stories within photographs. Kissing with masks is how "Love these days be like".

Kera Till who also have created several artworks inspired by the Covid19 uses Pitt Artist Pens for colouring and drawing. For most of her artworks, she uses watercolours in addition. The artist edits a photograph of the British actress Audrey Hepburn by putting her in a mask in the famous Tiffany Blue colour associated with Tiffany & Co.

Left: Commuting in Corona Times, by @keratill; Right: Stay Safe America #campbellsoup #popart #americanicon, by @keratill

Another inspiration for Kera Till was Campbell's Soup Cans by Andy Warhol. The soup cans are probably the most recognizable images in American art, and Warhol intended it that way. Kera Till illustrates a Campbell's Soup can and replaces the flavor with "STAY HOME". Her message is "Stay Safe America".

Left: Luxury in times of COVID-19 (sanitizer), 3D modeling and rendering by @mluengo.creativ & @and__garcia; Right: Luxury in times of COVID-19 (mask), 3D modeling and rendering by @mluengo.creativ & @and__garcia

Luxury in times of COVID-19 by María Luengo and Andrea García is a critical and graphic analysis of price increases and product speculation in times of need. Items such as masks, gloves and sanitizer gels, vital in many circumstances, have multiplied their prices in an exorbitant way. The price of sanitizer gel has increased by up to 600%. The price of face masks has increased by up to 690%.

Left: "CORONA VIRUS in ROME" Art by @andcrespi (Digital Art on Smartphone / 4:5, Feb 2020); Right: HOME SWEET HOME, by @andcrespi

Andrea Crespi is the artist who "can't draw but is creative". And he proves it even during these hard times with the Coronavirus. He puts a mask on the famous sculpture The Pietà in Rome with the description: "CORONA VIRUS in ROME".
The Pietà ("The Pity"; ,1498–1499) is a work of Renaissance sculpture by Michelangelo Buonarroti and it is "one of the finest sculptural masterpieces in the world". This famous work of art depicts the body of Jesus on the lap of his mother Mary after the Crucifixion. It is the only piece Michelangelo ever signed.

"My creativity is nourished by images and my mission is to bring people closer to creativity to see things differently than we are used to. I believe that if we change the way we see the world, we can definitely change our lives." - @andcrespi . Let's change our lives for better by staying home and enjoying art. Because Art can change the World and Staying Home can save Lifes.

#StaySafe and #StayAtHome

You can also check the interesting article on how to start an Art Blog on 9mousai »

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