Rethinking Celebrities
14 / 11 / 2021
The post below will showcase my designs for “Rethinking Celebrities”, along with some information about the process behind these designs and the inspiration I drew from creating them. I will also showcase the description I wrote to accompany the designs
THE INSPIRATION BEHIND
THE INSPIRATION BEHIND
The Instagram Post
For this Rethinking session, I took inspiration from TMZ, gossip magazines, early 2000’s tabloids, and paparazzi pictures.
Even though the terms and definition behind “celebrity” has certainly changed much (especially since the rise of social media - which is something the descriptions touches upon) I wanted this design to bring it back all the way to the time where technology began to affect the ways in which we approach celebrities and what we expect from them.
I wanted to replicate the trashy and tacky aesthetic of these media outlets, that are more concerned with getting your attention rather than the overall aesthetic appeal of their designs.
In order to maintain this aesthetic (and to channel a certain nostalgia from the 2000) I took paparazzi pictures of the holy trinity of paps: Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Britney Spears - along with Lindsay’s infamous yet somewhat iconic mugshot.
The Event Description
Celebrities are our modern-day monarchs. 21st-century gods of Olympus. We are obsessed with them - sometimes getting so close to a form of worship. Whether you’re a swiftie, a directioner, a believer, or whatever else falls within this spectrum - everyone has a celebrity they admire.
But why is that? Do we love them so much because we want to be them? Because they have what we don’t? Because they all seem to be hot, funny, talented, and rich?
No matter how much we love celebrities or their lifestyle, there is nothing more than we love than to see them fail. Take, for example, the queen of TMZ pictured in the mug-shot above; or even celebrity gossip websites like Perez Hilton or DeuxMoi.
Suddenly, the tables are turned. Are celebrities simply jesters in our kingly court whose only job is to entertain us? And, most importantly, when does the entertainment begin and where does it end? In our TV screens? Or does it follow celebrities all the way down to their personal lives?
Nevertheless, the “form” that celebrities are taking has evolved in our social media-obsessed society. Many people online were angered by the appearance of TikTokers and YouTubers at the 2021 MET Gala because they aren’t, and I quote, “real celebrities”. This creates a nuance around the word and the figure of a celebrity. So then, who is a “real” celebrity? And what are the parameters that make them so?
Join us this Thursday 18th of November and let us know what you think!
Oh, and before you go, Free Britney.