Rihanna Gets Arty At The Brit Awards

Last night’s Brit Award saw pop artist Rihanna turned fine artist for a performance of her hit single We Found Love

Recently turned 24, Rihanna took the stage in Timberland boots while a troop of backing dancers locked away inside a clear gage engaged in a mega paint fight Jakson Pollock Stylee.

Earler that evening she had taken the award for Best International Artists for the second year running, which she dedicated to her fans: ‘At times when I feel misunderstood, my fans remind me that it’s OK to be myself.’ That’s right Rihanna. Express yourself.

And this isn’t the first time that Rihanna has tipped her hat to fine art. The video for We found Love, for example, was the subject of a plagiarism scandal, with bloggers pointing out blatant parallels with the work of grungy artist-photographer Sandy Kim. The whistle-blower was FADER contributor Bryan Derballa, who described how, ‘when a friend played me Rihanna’s video for that infectious song “We Found Love”, I thought it looked really familiar. It’s Sandy Kim’s blog! There are so many thematic and aesthetic similarities’.

Sandy Kim is currently the favourite artist of photographer Ryan McGinley – one of the youngest artists to have a solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art, and named Photographer of 2003 by American Photo Magazine: ‘Sandy is a confessional photographer with a thing for body fluids. … Sometimes it’s hardcore … and sometimes it’s pure beauty. She often photographs cute long-haired nude or near-nude boys lying on dirty couches in classical repose. … She really knows how to use natural light, like early morning light, or sunset light in an apartment. She pays attention to it and that’s always the sign of a good photographer, knowing when and how to use that light.’

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