93RD OSCARS® CAMPAIGN ARTIST
LOS ANGELES, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has revealed the campaign art for the 93rd Oscars®. The 2021 campaign illustrates this year’s tagline, “Bring Your Movie Love,” celebrating our global appreciation for the power of film to foster connection, to educate, and to inspire us to tell our own stories.
The Academy invited seven international artists to create custom Oscar® statuette art inspired by the question, “What do movies mean to you?” The artists are Temi Coker, Petra Eriksson, Magnus Voll Mathiassen, Michelle Robinson, Karan Singh, Victoria Villasana and Shawna X.
This year’s campaign features an expanded color palette, broadening the artists’ approach to reimagining the iconic statuette. Ranging across illustration, motion design, painting, photography and textile art, the pieces are drawn from the artists’ diverse personal inspirations and experiences, including theaters of 1920s and ’30s Hollywood, film as both a form of escapism and a bridge of communication, and more.
KARAN SINGH
Karan Singh is an artist and illustrator from Sydney, Australia. His distinctive work is a contemporary and playful combination of op-art and mid-century graphic design. Through restricted yet vibrant color palettes and hypnotic patterns, he explores and exploits our perception of depth and movement. His art lives in an eclectic variety of mediums, including prints, animation, video, augmented reality, puzzles, sculpture and clothing. Over his professional career he has worked with the likes of Apple, Louis Vuitton, Herman Miller, The New York Times and Nike.
Instagram: @madebykaran
Artist Statement
My explorations were inspired by the ideas of harmony and unity. Although it’s been a tough year for us all to be together, film has helped entertain, distract, console and inspire. The Oscars are a celebration of this art form, casting the spotlight upon the diverse humans that bring these stories to life. My visuals are a celebration of these different walks of life. I’ve explored how we can visualize different elements coming together to create a unified form within and around the form of the iconic statue.
MAGNUS VOLL MATHIASSEN
Norwegian graphic designer and illustrator Magnus Voll Mathiassen co-founded the design agency Grandpeople and now runs his own design studio. Mathiassen currently works on illustration, graphic design and art direction projects for clients such as Adidas, Converse, Nike, Rihanna and Sony PlayStation.
Instagram: @mvm_magnus
Artist Statement
I see movies and movie fans as an interconnected being. Movies give experiences on all levels to people, and ordinary people’s lives inspire the industry, which then again brings fantastic and fantastical stories to the screen. This ecosystem of you and me and the film industry—a complex patchwork—is connected on all levels. It is film physiology: an organism where magic flows through its system. It is easy to forget that film art many times comes from our daily lives—it is distilled chaos and complexity, often made to enlighten and bring clarity, and that is what makes it art.
MICHELLE ROBINSON
Artist Biography
Self-taught African and Korean American artist Michelle Robinson was born an identical twin in Seoul, Korea, and now lives in Los Angeles. Robinson’s work explores bold contrasts, color palettes, patterns and the female form. Natural or unfamiliar, loud or subtle, she creates whimsical interpretations of the human condition using the movement of the female body as her wholly intriguing and revealing device. The artwork demands a momentous conversation between itself and the viewer concerning self-empowerment, identity, community, sexuality, freedom and the human condition.
Instagram: @mister_michelle
Artist Statement
I drew my inspiration from the thoughtfully built structures that sheltered the genesis of movies: theaters. There is much to be admired about the stunningly ornate amphitheaters that were built during Hollywood’s golden era of the 1920s and ’30s. It was here, behind towering velvet curtains and beneath elaborately decorated walls and ceilings, that curious minds first began to fall in love with movies. I envisioned the Oscar silhouette encapsulated in an intricate framework that exemplifies the theater; a renowned figure centered proudly as the heart and soul within this architectural body. Theater & Performer—a sublime symbolism of body and soul.
PETRA ERIKSSON
Artist Biography
Born in Stockholm and based in Barcelona, Petra Eriksson took a journey via Dublin and Malta on her way to becoming an illustrator. Her work is littered with eclectic references she picked up along the way. Working predominantly in Adobe Illustrator, Eriksson creates bold imagery awash with big bright colors (as seen in her All about My Mother art for Pedro Almodóvar and Criterion) and anchored with strong compositions.
Instagram: @petraerikssonstudio
Artist Statement
When thinking about what movies mean to me, I realized that the most important aspect is that it works as an escape from my reality into a different world. Through that, I get to experience another kind of life for a while, with the colors and the emotions that this different story entails. With my image, I wanted to create the feeling of being in a state where you’re surrounded by notes of this other world, whether that’s a specific visual style, a photo so vivid you can imagine the scent of the scenery or a song that brings out a certain emotion in you by reminding you of a forgotten memory.
SHAWNA X
Artist Biography
Based in New York, Shawna X is an independent artist and creative known for her vibrant, visceral and graphical image-making across mediums in digital, motion and physical spaces. She creates experiences in music, fashion, technology, collaborating with clients such as The New Yorker, The New York Times, Nike, Google, and Ghostly International. Shawna X enjoys projects about cultural identity, the creative process, and more recently, motherhood. She has been invited to speak on these topics by Adobe Max, Us by Night, AIGA Keynote, and in publications such as The Creative Independent and The Great Discontent.
Instagram: @shawnax
Artist Statement
An eye is illuminated behind the silhouette of a statue. This visual is direct and to the point: We watch movies. What we absorb has an effect on our dopamine levels, whether it’s for pleasure, excitement or inspiration. Abstract patterns that reference energy arise from around the statue and eye, creating a shroud of colors and patterns.
TEMI COKER
Artist Biography
Multidisciplinary artist Temi Coker was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, and now resides in Dallas, Texas, with his wife. He is an alumnus of the Adobe Creative Residency and currently co-runs his own creative studio. His mix of vibrant colors and textures comes from his upbringing in Nigeria as well as his love for the African Diaspora. His style focuses on evoking emotion through color, patterns and storytelling.
Instagram: @temi.coker
Artist Statement
Movies mean a lot of things to a lot of people, but to me it’s about creativity, inspiration and the art of storytelling. As a Nigerian-American, I love watching movies that have people that look like me who tell our stories from our perspectives. It gives me hope knowing that Black actors, directors, writers have been given a chance to tell our stories on the big screens. I have been so inspired by Hattie McDaniel’s story and her perseverance to be the first Black woman to win an Oscar. In a lot of ways, she really paved the way for so many Black actors that you see today. I really believe “because she did, we can.” That’s why I wanted to make the Oscar statuette Black––to honor all the Black actors, writers, directors and filmmakers who have really done a great job telling our stories. I wanted this artwork to be visually striking and colorful because that’s what I feel when I watch movies that have people that look like me. This representation transcends past film and into our lives. Our future kids/mentees will look at us and think “because they did, I can.” Black representation matters and always will. I pray we never lose sight of that.
VICTORIA VILLASANA
Artist Biography
Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, Victoria Villasana is a textile artist interested in history, culture and how people relate to each other through their vulnerabilities in a fragmented and post-digital world. The dynamism in her work stems from the way the thread is left uncut, far below the frame, giving a surreal and unfinished aesthetic that reflects on the importance of acceptance of change, imperfection and the ephemerality of life. She currently resides in Mexico and England and continues to explore this medium through installations, social projects, editorial and commercial work and collaborations with artists, brands and galleries around the world.
Instagram: @villanaart
Artist Statement
When I was younger, I was really into fashion and I used to get a lot of inspiration from movies. They inspired my style. I would dress up and pretend I was a character in my own movie. I think movies are an excellent vehicle to take you out into another world, it gives you the opportunity to put yourself in other people’s shoes. Movies create a bridge of communication, and it makes us understand deeper truths about our connection to each other as humans. They also allow us to play with our imagination and fantasize about other worlds.
