Cake & Neave’s lego portrait of Jeff Koons (2010) (image from littleartist.co.uk)
The Little Artists, now known as Cake & Neave, turn iconic works of art into tiny lego sculptures, creating relics that fetishize the social cache of famous pieces and figures. In one series, the duo create artist portraits like this one of Jeff Koons, featured with his iconic Neo-Geo (basket)balls. This isn’t the Made in Heaven series, people!
The series also features Salvador Dali and Damien Hirst:
Cake & Neave’s lego portrait of Salvador Dali (2010) (image from littleartist.co.uk)
Cake & Neave’s lego portrait of Damien Hirst (2010) (image from littleartist.co.uk)
Cake & Neave also recreate gallery space in their work. Like a miniature version of the peacocking that goes on at any gallery opening, John Cake and Darren Neave depict their milling crowds grasping tiny wine glasses and circled into conversation, faced away from the art. Not one of the lego figurines seems particularly absorbed into their faux Warhol money painting or Donald Judd.
Lately, the artists have been photographing monochromatic lego sculptures in a way to further exaggerate their tiny monumentality. Check out this hilarious Anselm Kiefer winged book turned plaything:
Cake & Neave’s recreation of an Anslem Kiefer sculpture (2010) (image from littleartists.co.uk)
When in doubt… just start doing portraits of other, far more famous artists.. preferably in an unusual way, but one with pop culture relevance to the average viewer. Then you, too can contribute to art’s self-absorbed, navel gazing retreat into the world of being famous rather than talented.